Businesses wait for dark fiber

EPHRATA - It's not clear when Grant County PUD will restart its dark fiber wholesale program that at least eight businesses want.

The halt to the program stops any new agreements, which has put a temporary damper on some business plans.

Utility spokesperson Sarah Morford said there's no plans to restart the program because lit fiber (fiber with equipment) has a higher potential to repay the cost of the utility's fiber-optic network expansion to homes. The expansion to 15,000 homes and businesses will cost $50 million and take place over five years.

Dark fiber is a piece of fiber where customers put electronics at both ends. Some customers prefer dark fiber because of the lower cost and security issues, she said.

Quincy data center owners Yahoo! and Microsoft use dark fiber, as well as the Northwest Open Access Network and Qwest.

Commissioners recently reached a consensus to not lift a moratorium on the program and commissioners will have to take formal action to restart it, Morford said.

Commissioner Randy Allred was absent from the meeting.

The utility is aware of at least three companies wanting fiber, Zayo, a group representing the Titan Building near Moses Lake and a second branch of Qwest, she said.

A representative from a fourth company, the Wenatchee-based Northwest Telephone Inc., attended an April commission meeting because the company wanted to enter into a 10-year contract with the utility.

WSS Corporation President Lee Willis represents four companies trying to complete a multi-tenant data center at the Titan Building. The new businesses could bring about 200 jobs to the area, he said.

He described the businesses as large Fortune 100 and Fortune 500-type companies, but declined to name them because of nondisclosure agreements in place.

Willis said he delivered a request for proposal this week to the PUD, which details what the companies need. He said he thought it was inaccurate that the commission previously reached a consensus.

"We have everything answered except for how we'll provide them (the customers) with data communications (fiber)," Willis said.

Dark fiber is needed to provide a back-up circuit for a "mission critical data center," he explained. "They're very clear in the requirements that have to be met to have a Class 1 data center here."

Commission President Tom Flint said this week he thought the dark fiber moratorium will stay in place to give lit fiber the opportunity to be used.

He said the district has been moving away from dark fiber and moving toward lit fiber.

"It also fits into our business plan better and will help with the economics of the total fiber buildup," Flint said.

Dark fiber agreements were stopped in May while the utility set new rates and was estimated to last two or three weeks, PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson said at the time.

The dark fiber halt happened after the PUD restarted its expansion of its fiber-optic network for homes and businesses this year. The utility doesn't want to subsidize the operations and maintenance of the expansion.