Public Utility District of Pend Oreille County (PUD) in Washington state deployed 573 miles of fiber optics through June 2013. These new miles of fiber are part of PUD’s plans to deploy a 588-mile fiber network to bring affordable broadband access to rural areas of the county in northeastern Washington. Currently, the project employs more than 35 local construction crews that are laying fiber-optic cable. When complete, PUD’s network will deliver broadband Internet services to several rural communities that border Idaho and Canada. This new network also will increase reliability and upgrade broadband speeds to approximately 3,200 households, 360 businesses, and 15 community anchor institutions.