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Thanks again for signing up for email updates about the PUD's fiber internet expansion. We'll try to spare your inbox by only emailing when we have new and pertinent info. You can unsubscribe at any time.
What's the latest news? After more than nine months of waiting, the PUD now has signed contracts on all of our grant and loan funded projects. What does that mean for you? It means we can finally begin spending some of the $25M we've been awarded to build fiber to your homes and businesses.
Unfortunately there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before we can begin connecting you to the internet. Right now we are in the early phases of engineering and permitting. We're farther along on purchasing. We've already bought a couple hundred miles of fiber optic cable. We still need a couple hundred more. We've ordered all of the electronics to send and receive the bursts of light that make up internet traffic. But we still need to order the cabinets and racks to put the electronics in.
And we've started advertising for new hires. Currently we are looking for a Network Engineer (the person that runs IT for the network), and we'll be advertising soon for Network Technicians (the fiber equivalent of line workers: out in the field, in a bucket truck, no matter the weather) and, a little later, Network Installers (the folks that bring the fiber inside the house and set up the modem and router).
Once the engineering is farther along we'll begin advertising for construction contractors as well. We're hoping the first fiber goes on the poles and in the ground next spring. Future emails will give better updates on timelines for specific areas, including when we'll be bring fiber to your neighborhood, and when you you'll be able to have gig speed internet in your home or office. I'll also try to explain a bit about about how fiber works, what you'll get with the service, and how we'll get it into your building.
That's all for today. More soon. Thanks again for signing on!