Port working to bring high speed internet to Haynie, rural Whatcom

The Port of Bellingham has a plan to bring high speed internet to rural parts of Whatcom County that currently have little or no internet access, including areas east of Blaine.

The port, as part of its mission to spur economic development, plans to start construction next year on the first segment of a $6.8 million, 113-mile network of fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, commonly called fiber, transmits internet using light rather than electricity and is faster than cable or DSL internet.

The port completed a feasibility study with a $50,000 state grant this spring and plans to start construction next year with state Department of Commerce Community Economic Revitalization Board grant. The port plans to start building from Bellingham toward Deming, Kendall and Glacier – areas the feasibility study found are most in need.

That’s the first of three segments; segment two is a line from Nugent’s Corner through Nooksack, Lynden, Haynie, Blaine and Birch Bay. East of Blaine, that segment would travel along Haynie Road. The third segment would run from Deming to Sedro-Woolley, connecting with a fiber network in Skagit County.

“As we did the feasibility study we confirmed what we already knew,” said Gina Stark, port economic development project manager. “There’s a huge need for the businesses, for community members, schools, first responders, firefighters, sheriffs and EMTs.”

The network will include buried lines and fiber strung from utility poles. The 64.8-mile-segment from Birch Bay through Blaine to Nugent’s Corner would travel almost entirely along utility poles.

Once the fiber is installed, internet service providers could lease it for 0.02 cents per foot. The port should break even on its investment in the infrastructure after 16 years, according to the feasibility study.

Multiple service providers could use a segment of fiber; the port hopes that will spur competition and lower prices. According to state law, the port itself can’t operate the fiber as an internet service provider.

The feasibility study proposes that the port would build connections from the main fiber network to homes and businesses. How far those connections would extend depends on topography and other factors, Stark said.

In northwest Whatcom County, the fiber network will have the biggest impact in the Haynie area east of Blaine, the feasibility study found. At Northwest Fire and Rescue station 65, on Haynie Road, satellite is the only option for internet, and it’s more expensive than other forms of high-speed internet.

Division chief Henry Hollander said the district currently uses radios when information can’t be transmitted online. While fiber would impact the fire district, it would be a bigger change for local residents, Hollander said.

The feasibility study mentions an IT business operating out of a home east of Blaine that pays $160 a month for satellite internet service that the study calls inadequate.

The port is currently applying for county, state and federal grants and working with public utility districts and other partners to plan construction.

“Implementation will be gradual. It’s going to take many years,” said Mike Hogan, Port of Bellingham public affairs administrator. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re committed to putting this core infrastructure in.”