Skagit Valley Herald
Anacortes Begins Designing Municipal Fiber Network
The city of Anacortes (WA) took a step toward developing its own fiber-optic Internet network when the City Council gave the go-ahead to design part of the network.
The city commissioned the nonprofit Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) to design the central portion of the network in the northeast area of Fidalgo Island for no more than $175,000. The long-term goal of the project is to eventually provide internet to homes and businesses that is faster and cheaper than what’s offered by private companies. The city will begin by creating the backbone of the network to be used by Public Works to control its facilities, including water reservoirs and water treatment plants. Those facilities are currently controlled by an unreliable radio-based telemetry system, said Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer.