Council approves three‑year Ziply Fiber contract for city’s primary upstream connection

The Anacortes City Council voted to authorize the mayor to sign a 36‑month contract with Northwest Fiber LLC, doing business as Ziply Fiber, for dedicated upstream Internet connectivity totaling $151,200.

Fiber division staff told council that Ziply maintains two geographically diverse fiber paths between Seattle and Anacortes and typically uses about 40% of each path’s capacity so traffic can automatically fail over to the alternate path if one route is disrupted. The city plans to make Ziply its primary connection and keep the existing NoahNet circuit as a backup. “I personally feel very, very confident in the engineering of that and feel it will be a strong addition” to the city’s connectivity, the presenter said.

Council members asked about marketing sensitivity (whether Ziply would market services directly to residents) and cost comparisons. Staff said the 20‑gigabit Ziply circuit replaces an existing 10‑gigabit Cogent circuit and that the new price per gigabit is more favorable despite a modest monthly increase. Council moved and the motion carried by voice vote; the mayor declared the ayes had it and the contract award was approved.