Ziply Fiber expanding its presence in Cove

Dick Mason, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·2 min read

Jul. 20—COVE — Ziply Fiber, an internet service provider, is expanding its presence in Cove.

Ziply has purchased the portion of OTC Connections that is currently serving the community. This puts Ziply in a position to be the major provider of fiber-optic internet services in Cove, according to Dan Miller, a public relations representative for Ziply Fiber.

Miller said OTC Connections, which provides internet service throughout Oregon, Idaho and Washington, has an abundance of equipment in Cove that Ziply will incorporate into its network there.

"They have excellent hardware that will strengthen our network," he said.

OTC Connections, which also provides fiber-optic service, has 50 Cove customers that will now be served by Ziply. These customers will have a chance to continue receiving service packages similar to the ones they have from OTC Connections. They, and many others in Cove, will also have the opportunity to begin receiving some of the other high-speed fiber-optic services offered by Ziply.

Serving customers in Cove since 2020, Ziply Fiber during that time has been laying the foundation needed to begin providing fiber-optic service.

Ziply started taking customer orders from Cove residents for new fiber-optic services Friday, July 15. Ziply will start scheduling installation of its fiber optic service in the next several weeks.

Harold Zeitz, chief executive officer of Ziply Fiber, said he is delighted his firm has the opportunity to increase its presence in Cove.

"The community of Cove deserves the best, fastest, most reliable internet in the Northwest. I'm proud of the work our team has done to put the infrastructure in place to be able to manage all the internet traffic we expect from this great place," he said in a press release. "I'm thrilled that individuals and families will be able to get even faster speeds at their homes, faster than any other provider in the Northwest."

Ziply Fiber's work in Cove is part of its commitment to invest more than $500 million to build an advanced, fiber network to both suburban and rural communities across the Northwest that have been underserved in terms of internet access, Miller said.

"We absolutely want to provide fiber-optic internet service to as many people as we can," he said.

Ziply, in Union County, is already providing service to La Grande and Union, and is preparing to begin offering service in Elgin and Imbler. Ziply is also providing internet services in Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph. In every location it serves, Ziply offers internet and phone services for residential customers and small businesses, and the company is already providing or is preparing to provide fiber-optic internet options.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.