According to a Port of Ridgefield press release, at a Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) meeting on Sept. 15, members voted unanimously to award the Port of Ridgefield a $50,000 grant, which is the highest available amount for a planning grant.
CERB provides funding for public infrastructure to “local governments and federally-recognized tribes” as a way of supporting private business growth.
The port requested the grant to “complete a feasibility study and formal needs analysis for constructing a fiber optic broadband “loop” around the Ridgefield Port District, also known as the Discovery Corridor.”
The Port of Ridgefield’s goal is to bring available data “speeds in the area to a level on par with that of the Portland-Metro area by constructing a dark fiber network within the Discovery Corridor.”
Vice President of Innovation for the Port of Ridgefield, Nelson Holmberg said that the “feasibility study determine construction costs and aid in determining a cost/benefit analysis for the infrastructure development and project revenue generation capacity.”
Port of Ridgefield representatives see the installation of dark fiber optics as an important step to better serving the community, “ In the face of the onrushing innovation economy.”
