Whidbey Telecom Receives Grant to Expand BiG GiG Fiber on South Whidbey

Whidbey Telecom said an Infrastructure Acceleration Grant will expand The BiG GiG Fiber Network to additional homes on South Whidbey, extending fiber-to-the-premises service into neighborhoods the company describes as previously underserved. The company’s notice ties the award directly to a push to add more residential fiber coverage on Whidbey Island while maintaining its longer-term build plans across the region.

The announcement coincides with a company program of network upgrades and federal grant-backed projects. Whidbey Telecom has upgraded its core optical transport to a 600 Gigabit per second capacity that connects its service area to internet connection points in Seattle and other regional locations. "This high-capacity network is designed to support not only current needs but also future growth in data usage," the company notes in planning documents, and it currently advertises home service up to 5 Gbps and commercial service up to 10 Gbps.

Beyond South Whidbey, the company is pursuing a Middle Mile submarine fiber project funded by an NTIA grant to add submarine capacity from Whidbey Island into the San Juan Islands and Point Roberts, Washington. Island County planning material states the Middle Mile plan includes building The BiG GiG Fiber Network north of its current terrestrial termination in Greenbank/Coupeville, "north up through Oak Harbor to make the submarine connection," and that Whidbey Telecom "plans to deliver fiber optic internet service to North Whidbey Island in the near future."

Whidbey Telecom’s expansion onto neighboring islands is already underway through a separate USDA Rural Development grant. That grant, awarded to subsidiary FiberCloudNW, is funding extension of Fiber-to-the-Home via existing submarine fiber to currently underserved areas of South Camano Island. FiberCloudNW operates out of Whidbey Telecom’s Langley headquarters and the planning excerpts state it has "future plans to expand onto Camano Island." The company’s Customer Experience Center and headquarter office locations in Langley serve as key points for operations and customer service.

Company materials emphasize local service and long-term design intent. "Whidbey Telecom believes that this region is ripe for superior, local customer service to the consumer, extraordinary performance of fiber optic broadband, and is excited to grow beyond South Whidbey," the planning text states. The documents also note Whidbey Telecom’s longstanding practice of burying infrastructure and reference the county 2025 Comprehensive Plan - Capital Facilities & Utilities Element in framing network siting and demand planning.

Key specifics remain to be disclosed publicly: the Infrastructure Acceleration Grant announcement does not include a dollar amount, an awarding agency name beyond the program title, a construction timeline, or the count of homes to be passed on South Whidbey. Likewise, NTIA and USDA grant summaries in county materials include purpose and route goals but omit award amounts and schedules. Residents seeking connection or construction updates can contact Whidbey Telecom’s Langley Customer Experience Center, which the company lists as its local operations hub while the firm completes permitting and build planning.