Eastern Oregon Telecom is gearing up to bring a gigabit broadband network to rural homes and businesses in the Hermiston area.
EOT General Manager Joe Franell said this week that the company has selected Huawei, a global information and communications technology company, to provide its Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) solutions throughout EOT’s network footprint in Eastern Oregon, bringing ultra-broadband to over 8,000 homes and businesses in Hermiston and the surrounding area.
“We are excited to partner with Eastern Oregon Telecom to bring innovative and competitive gigabit broadband to the Hermiston community,” said Bill Gerski, Vice President of Sales for Huawei USA. “Rural communities in America, which are typically underserved by broadband, are beginning to recognize the economic and social benefits of having fast and reliable connectivity. Huawei is committed to working with rural carriers and communities across the U.S. to help them get connected.”
Franell said EOT has already started getting homes in Hermiston connected.
“We have close to 200 homes activated now and at the end of the month, we’ll have another 550 connected,” Franell said. EOT expects to complete initial deployment of its gigabit network in the second half of 2015, with underground fiber deployment occurring in 2016. The new network deployment will include the commercial corridor in the cities of Umatilla, Irrigon and Boardman, as well as Hermiston.
Franell said this will give Hermiston advantages that most cities in the Northwest don’t have.
“To put it in perspective, we’ll have better connectivity than Portland and Salem,” he said.
Once deployed, the fiber optic network will boast up to one gigabit-per-second speed, which is an average of 100 times faster than broadband. It is estimated to take about three seconds to download a high-definition television show and 36 seconds for a high-definition movie.
But the real impact goes far beyond entertainment capabilities. Franell said homes connected to ultra-broadband see an increase in resale value of between 12-17 percent – at least that’s what happened in Kansas City when it was introduced a few years ago.
Franell said ultra-broadband will also make distance learning far more convenient, allowing people to take classes from their home with zero lag or delay in the connection.
Ultra-broadband also makes it easier for people to start their own business without having to find someplace to rent that has access to connectivity speeds that make it possible to do business anywhere in the world.
“So, people can choose to live in Hermiston and do business anywhere in the world,” he said. “Economic development is one of the big benefits.”
Franell said bringing ultra-broadband to Hermiston was the brainchild of Umatilla Electric Cooperative (UEC).
“EOT was started 13 years ago by UEC to serve its members with advanced telecommunications,” he said. “Because we were started by a cooperative organization, we are as concerned about serving our community as we are making a profit. In fact, we reinvest almost every dollar we make so that we can continue to provide the greatest opportunity for economic development, education, and quality of life for the people in this area. Additionally, we are headquartered here and all of our employees live in the area. We are truly committed to doing the best we can to ensure that this remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann applauded the news from EOT.
“Super-fast, reliable and affordable broadband connectivity is becoming increasingly important in helping our community and businesses stay competitive,” said Drotzmann. “We are pleased that Eastern Oregon Telecom and Huawei have partnered to bring this service to the community, and believe better broadband will help us create more economic opportunities and educational enhancements in the city of Hermiston.”
