Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) will begin the next phase of its $65 million expansion project this month, bringing high-speed fiber- optic internet to hundreds of homes in northeast Jefferson County. 

So far, crews have installed 200 miles of fiber between Quilcene and Gardiner, with over 4,000 customers added to the PUD’s fiber network as of Sept. 30. 

“My favorite thing to tell customers is that we are providing faster internet in Quilcene than most of Seattle,” said PUD Broadband and Communications Director Will O’Donnell. “Every home that we build fiber to has the ability to get 10-gig service. Our basic service is 10-20 times faster than what rural customers can get today. At basically the same price.” 

Starting this month, PUD crews will build 100 miles of overhead and underground fiber-optic cable between Discovery Bay and Marrowstone Island. 

In this phase, PUD fiber will pass more than 1,000 homes in designated areas on Marrowstone Island, along Anderson Lake Road, within the Woodland Hills community east of Rhody Drive, and along most of the eastern shore of Discovery Bay, before extending across Cape George to Hastings Avenue. 

“We have 5,000 customers registered and waiting for fiber today,” O’Donnell said. “Our biggest challenge is getting it to them. We have 400 more to go, through some rough country, with a lot of shoreline and a lot of trees, and homes spread far apart. But that’s where we live, and we’re excited to get our rural friends and neighbors connected.” 

This phase of the project, estimated at $13 million, is primarily funded by grants from the Washington State Public Works Board and the State Broadband Office. The remaining is made up by a $750,000 match from Jefferson County and a cash match from the PUD. 

Although construction is set to start this month, customers in the select areas are unlikely to have service until 2026, O’Donnell said. 

A majority of this phase’s work follows the path of existing PUD power lines.

On Marrowstone Island, however, underground trenching will take place along a four-mile stretch of Flagler Road starting at the Kilisut Harbor Bridge. Construction will cause traffic disruptions on the state highway, with work taking place October to December, Monday through Friday from October to December, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Radha Newsom, board president of the Marrowstone Island Community Association and the owner of Newquist Forge, a blacksmith shop on Marrowstone Island, said the effort to bring faster internet to the island will have a meaningful impact. 

“Personally, I live on Flagler, and chose not to get Century Link because of the difficulty they give customers and the low bandwidth, which leaves our property without internet,” Newsom said, “I am very excited to get PUD fiber hook up to our business and rental on our property.”

Once MasTec North America — the PUD’s underground contractor — completes construction of fiber outside homes, PUD technicians will work with homeowners to bring the fiber inside the house and connect customers to the internet. 

“Because this project is majority grant funded, most customers do not have to pay a fee to get the fiber inside their homes or business,” O’Donnell said. “But, our funding only covers the first 60-70% of residents to sign up in a project area. Latecomers are asked to pay a $750 construction charge to cover part of the cost of building the home.” 

That fee bumps up to $1,200 for businesses. 

Customers, once connected, will have the option to choose between service levels and service providers. 

“The PUD operates what is called an Open Access Network, meaning other internet service providers can pay to use our fiber infrastructure to reach customers,” O’Donnell said. “It gives customers choice and flexibility.” 

PUD internet starts at $65 a month for 150 Mbps upload and download speeds and includes a WiFi router. Customers enrolled in the PUD’s payment assistance program will pay $30 for the same service. 

Residents in Chimacum, past Port Ludlow to Coyle, are next up on the PUD’s list, with that phase of the project slated to kick off next summer.