Tekoa, WA (November 22, 2021) – The Port of Whitman County today announced the high-speed fiber-optic network built in Tekoa is now available for hundreds of residences and businesses across the city.

The network enables “Gig speed” or Gigabit fiber internet and phone services for the first time in the city, the same services that recently went live in Garfield on November 1, as part of a five-city partnership between the Port and Ziply Fiber to build fiber internet in Whitman County. The final network build in the county – in Oakesdale – is currently under construction and scheduled to launch next month. 

“We are happy to announce that Tekoa’s high-speed internet network is ready for service. This network launch will continue our mission of connecting our cities with dependable broadband internet and phone services,” said Kara Riebold, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Whitman County. “We have seen how advantageous the open-access model has been within the Port’s cities these past few months, and now, residents across Tekoa will have the opportunity to sign up for these service options, as well.”

Residents and businesses will benefit greatly from significant speed, capacity, and reliability upgrades that fiber internet provides when making video calls, uploading, and downloading content and streaming entertainment. 

“Everyone deserves the best possible internet. That is the philosophy Ziply Fiber has operated under from day one. It is fundamental for individuals and businesses to thrive in our increasingly connected world,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber. “Our partnership with the Port of Whitman County has allowed and encouraged us to continue bringing this vision to life. This week, as we mark our fourth service launch with the Port of Whitman County, we are pleased to provide the residents and businesses in Tekoa with access to gig-speed internet service.”

Construction of the new fiber network was supported by the Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), which was formed in 1982 to respond to local economic development in Washington communities. CERB’s Rural Broadband Program provides low-interest loans and grants to local governments and federally-recognized Indian tribes, financing the cost to build infrastructure to provide high-speed, open-access broadband service, to rural underserved communities, for the purpose of community economic development. 

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About Port of Whitman County 
The Port of Whitman County is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County through industrial real estate development, preservation of multi-modal transportation, facilitation of economic development and provision of on-water recreational opportunities.