The county signed a three-year contract in December with Wave Broadband “for transport of data” between county buildings, according to Gary Schrier, commercial accounts manager with Wave, which is based in Kirkland and has an office in Port Orchard.

“The beauty of fiber optic is that it’s virtually limitless for data that can be transported over it,” Schrier said.

The initial phase will include eight sites, the county’s first-responder buildings such as the Poulsbo courthouse and the sheriff’s precinct in Silverdale; the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton; as well as two test sites, the household hazard waste facility and the waste transfer station. Future phases will include the Public Works building, and non-county buildings that are part of the local responder network, including fire district headquarters and school district administrative buildings, according to George Guyer, the county’s Voice, Video and Infrastructure engineer. The move has been in discussions for two years, he said.

“We are keeping current with technology,” Guyer said. “This is a very visible leap forward but the network has evolved in the last seven years and this is the next logical step.”

In addition to providing more bandwidth, the fiber optic cable will enable other future capabilities, such as migrating the phone systems to a Voice over-IP network, video conferencing, remote data backup and more.

Five of the fiber optic circuits belong to the Kitsap Public Utility District, but the county cannot directly buy from the PUD, and will buy the service through Wave.

“...We have enough inertia, enough size and enough support for what the county needs,” Schrier said, adding that the county would become their largest commercial customer. “It brings a lot of focus to our company.”

Wave Broadband started out in the early ‘70s as Olympic Cable, and was founded by Gig Harbor resident and cable pioneer Gene Twiner. The company, which was purchased by Wave three years ago, began by providing video, and has since added broadband, high-definition television and video-on-demand. Between Twiner’s ownership and Wave’s, the company has been sold several times. Former owners include Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen, through his Charter Cable subsidiary. Wave serves Western Washington and Southern California, with customers in Kitsap and North Mason Counties, excluding North Kitsap and Bremerton.

“Fiber optic service is not new, but it’s new for the county and a lot of businesses that see it as the best support medium for new applications that will come down the pike,” Schrier said. “I think this is a good move for the county, and a good move for Wave.”.