Ziply Fiber has connected about 3,000 Walla Walla addresses to its new fiber optic internet.

WALLA WALLA — Ziply Fiber, a regional internet provider whose service spans 250,000 miles across the Northwest, is installing 100% fiber optic internet in Walla Walla.

“This is the internet of the future,” Rod Putney, vice president of Ziply Fiber said. “Our mission is to connect people to better internet.”

Ziply Fiber connected about 3,000 homes to the high-speed internet on Tuesday, June 20. This is the company’s second market expansion with the first in Yakima when it bought Frontier Communications’ Northwest territory in 2020.

Putney said Ziply Fiber started working with Walla Walla at the beginning of the year to install the high-speed internet.

He said the difference between cable and fiber internet can be boiled down to speed and reliability. “We have symmetrical download and upload speeds meaning you can upload something just as fast as you download it,” Putney said.

Download speeds measure how long it takes to pull things such as videos from the internet. Upload speeds are how long it takes to send items to the internet.

One of the plans that was recently started offers 10 gigabytes for both download and uploads speeds. “That speed was pretty inconceivable just a couple of years ago,” he said.

Beyond being fast, Putney said the internet is also affordable because the company offers free or reduced cost monthly internet service for those who qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is a benefit program of the Federal Communications Commission.

“There are no data caps or no credit checks to get fiber internet with Ziply Fiber,” he said.

Construction has begun on the fiber optic internet beyond the 3,000 addresses that were connected June 20.

Walla Walla residents can expect to see both aerial and inground construction.

Putney said Ziply tries to do aerial construction more often than inground because it is less disruptive.

Before construction begins, affected homes and businesses should receive a notice such as a door hangar or a mailer. Roads and sidewalks may be temporarily closed as well.

Construction times will vary based on city planning, neighborhood layout, weather and local restrictions.

First, Ziply surveys the neighborhood where fiber will be installed, and crews will place markers and/or paint on the ground to avoid other utility lines when digging is required.

Once utilities are marked, construction teams start the process of preparing areas for hanging fiber lines or burying them underground. Crews will start hanging cables on any available utility poles or pulling fiber through underground conduits. In some cases, the crews may trim any branches that are close to the cable lines for safety reasons and to prevent cable damage.

The area where crews are working should be patched up in places where construction occurred. After the fiber network has been prepared for an area, residents and businesses can sign up for service.