Fiber to the Home ribbon cutting

POMEROY–The Port of Garfield held a ribbon cutting on the Port office west lawn, officially signifying completion of "Fiber to the Home" rural broadband fiber optic project early this year in February, reaching the downtown and most city residents.

Port of Garfield Manager Diana Ruchert opened the ceremony by acknowledging key people in mapping out a plan to bring high-speed internet to the area, and then bringing it to fruition. She said the Port had entered into a public/private partnership with PocketiNet, nodding recognition to representatives Don Gibbard and Randall Brenes, both from PocketiNet.

Others who helped with bringing and sustaining the internet to this area is Byron Hagman with NoaNet–an open access network in the Pacific Northwest, who helped with co-location and operating the "NOC" (which is the security for the co-location).

First step Internet Joe Savoy, Inland Cellular Arron Westgate and Mark Thompson who have been essential to getting this project up and running. The Inland Cellular store came in after the broadband came to the area, offering phones and service. They have been a good partner to have next door in the Port building, Ruchert said.

However, there is that one person who made all the difference in co-leading the project when it first started, answering questions and getting people up to speed on the rural internet model: Kara Riebold, Port of Whitman Chief Operating Officer. She was the adviser from the beginning of the "Fiber to the home" broadband project, and "without Kara, Ruchert said, "I feel I wouldn't have had any arms in this project."

She mentioned Joe Porie, who is the Port of Whitman Executive Director and affiliated with Petrichor Broadband, LLC–which is a municipal corporation offering broadband consulting and network management.

The "Fiber to the Home" project was "completed in February, 2021, which now provides internet services for less than $100 per month and we get gigabit services for that," said Ruchert. Being open access has unlocked the window for the Pomeroy area.

This project had some major costs which were partially met by the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) that funded $500,000 in loan and grant, with funds also coming from the Port of Garfield of $200,000 and $100,000 from Garfield County.

Washington State Commerce Department Director Lisa Brown attended to celebrate the advancements made by bringing broadband infrastructure to Pomeroy. "I am here to celebrate with you and congratulate you on the great work and the partnership," says Brown. "The mission of the Department of Commerce is to strengthen communities and this "Fiber to the Home" project is a stellar example of that mission."

Brown said to all the Ports that this is the model we want to replicate across the state. "Legislature has historic investments in this budget to expand internet for all and to achieve the goals that were laid out in the bill passed a couple of years ago to create the broadband office. She went on to say with the incident of the COVID shutdown, they will be making adjustments to accommodate the new workforce habits. "We are not going back to the way things were before," said Brown. "At Commerce, for example, we are taking two major buildings that the department leases and downsizing to one because people can live and work all over the State and telework and get closer to communities."

In addition, Brown extended a special acknowledgement to CERB Executive Director Janea Delk. "This is the third stop so far in this field trip, the first at the Conservation Commission in Spokane, in Malden yesterday and what's happening there to reconstruct Malden after the devastating fire, then on to Dayton and beyond, she said. "That is what CERB and public support of infrastructure with our private partners is all about."

According to Broadband Office Director Russ Elliot, the process the Port followed "is the model of what we want to accomplish. Local solutions, public investments matched with resources in private investment," he said. "And very ambitious too, not low quality. High quality, high speed ...so healthcare, education and economic activity can really thrive throughout the State; so, we can enjoy beautiful places to live and still have economic opportunity for our families."

Jack Peasley, Pomeroy Director of the Southeastern Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA), reflected on a text message he received from Inland Cellular asking permission to hook his house up to broadband first. "I received a text message around Christmas from Inland Cellular (Mark) asking what I was doing the Monday after New Years Day," said Peasley. "He wanted to make the Jack Peasley home the first residence in Pomeroy to get fiber. In reality, the Peasley house was to be the Guinea pig for the first install," he added with the audience laughing in response. He went on to say there were a couple snafus which were corrected and things work well.

"The greatest feature of fiber is the streaming ability and the fast internet connections via Hugues Net at the Hunting Club," said Peasley. "It just makes things faster and easier to accomplish." He has noticed people are beginning to migrate out of the cities and settling in smaller, more intimate communities which offer internet connectivity so they can continue to work from home.

"People from all around the country are now moving out of the cities to other places because they can now do their work anywhere," said Peasley. "They are telecommuters. COVID showed how that can be done and how business can function. In Pomeroy, we have been trying to create new housing. The idea was 'build it and they will come' and the first step of building it was getting fiber here. It is a life changer and there are good things in store for Pomeroy in the future."