Building Bonner County as the new face of rural tech starts with our connection to the rest of the world.  Rural Tech demands the same bandwidth capabilities as urban tech.

Bonner County Economic Development Corporation has been working with U.S. Metronets and our local municipalities and other community and business leaders to fund and build a Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) project in central Bonner County.

The Community Fiber Initiative is a public/private partnership that will fund, construct and deliver a state of the art FTTP network to our community.  This will provide every business in our service area the same levels of bandwidth with rates that will compete with traditional urban tech areas such as Silicon Valley and the Puget Sound.

But the reasons why FTTP is important for our community are NOT only about urban tech. The reasons extend well beyond today’s limited broadband and “faster internet browsing.”

The reasons are about people, families, relationships and improved quality-of-life services. For example, our hospital and health-care providers being able to extend sophisticated diagnostics and communications to patients in remote locations, allowing doctors to diagnose and monitor the homebound elderly.

It’s also about education and providing access to educators at all levels who are preparing students for the tasks of the future. Local students will see and interact with teachers and professors in real-time, and collaborate on group projects when participants are located in different geographical locations.

Our Community Fiber Initiative is about preserving our choice to live and work in Bonner County and retaining our growing children and young families by ensuring future employment opportunities. It’s about “retaining brainpower” in ways that will keep Bonner County vibrant and stimulating. It’s about preserving our ability to continue to live, work and raise a family in Bonner County.