Fiber piping installed in Sandpoint

SANDPOINT — Fiber Internet may be more than a reality for Sandpoint residents, however, the city needs a retailer to supply the service.

Kody Van Dyk, public works director, said the conduit has been laid for fiber from the "point of presence," or the spot they hook into the transcontinental fiber line at the lake water treatment plant, to City Hall. There is no fiber in the piping, he said. The installation was done this past summer by city crews.  

The backbone connects into the fiber line that runs along the Northern Pacific Railroad. There is a connection into the fiber backbone that spliced fiber into the electrical room for distribution, Van Dyk said. Zayo Group, a dark fiber provider, spliced the plant with dark fiber giving the city a connection point.

"It connects to all the major cities in the U.S. It just happens to run through Sandpoint," Van Dyk said. "It has not been lit up yet." 

Once a fiber service has been chosen, it will run fiber through the pipes and connect the schools, library and city government with high speed broadband service. Van Dyk said he is unsure when fiber will be ran through the piping, but hopes for fall or winter of this year.

Residential fiber is still in flux as a provider has to agree to provide the service. Van Dyk said there are companies that have shown interest, but no one has signed on the dotted line.

"The city does not want to get into the business of providing fiber service," he said.

There were two conduit lines run when the installation occurred, and Van Dyk said the city now has two options for the second conduit line. They can sell the conduit space and have a company come install fiber for retail purposes, or the city can run the fiber and lease the conduit and fiber line to a retailer.  

Dark fiber is used two ways, Van Dyk said. It could mean fiber is in the ground but has no connection points on either end of the line, meaning it is not lit up. The other option runs point to point, meaning the feed does not ever hit the Internet.

The courthouse and the jail communicate for video arraignments, and dark fiber would run a feed directly from the courthouse to the jail with no other connections along the way.

This would ensure a fast connection, that is secure.

"If it's connected to the Internet, that's where it can get hacked," Van Dyk said.

The cost of the project was budgeted for $80,000, but may cost less in the long run.

"I'll come in under," Van Dyk said. "We did a good job."