Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- When will Access Fiber Internet be available in my neighborhood?
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The City is building the fiberoptic network to pass all premises in the City of Anacortes. Our Interactive Availability Map will help you determine if service is available in your area of Anacortes.
- If I place an order now, can I change my mind?
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Placing an order now allows us to see where service is in high demand, and which plan is most popular. This helps us to plan and forecast more accurately as we grow our network. When we enter a neighborhood with several awaiting orders we will first contact the customers to confirm the order and the service requested. There is no penalty for changing your mind before an installation date is agreed upon and scheduled.
- Other providers offer discounts and promotional pricing sometimes, does Access Fiber do this too?
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We consider our complete offerings: service levels, pricing, local customer support, and truly unlimited data plan to be an unparalleled value to Anacortes residents. In essence, we believe our overall value to you will be superior to our competitors' services, including their temporary discounts/promotions. You will not receive price hikes from us after being in service for a short period of time. You will not be put on long periods of hold on the telephone while trying to navigate through multiple layers of computerized voices misinterpreting what you say. You will not have to wait days for a service call to your home, should the need arise. You will get a knowledgeable, experienced, unscripted, and local city employee helping with your needs.
The City of Anacortes also has its Utility Discount Program. More information can be found here: Utility Discount Program
- Is there a fee to have Fiber Internet connected at my home or business?
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There is a one-time installation/setup fee of $100 after the installation and setup are complete, which will appear on your first bill. The fee defrays the much higher full cost of physically installing lines and devices, provisioning and testing devices, and setting up accounts. Each time a customer goes into service, a number of dedicated City employees are involved in making it a success.
- What does the installation process look like?
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In general, installation looks a bit like a traditional cable or DSL Internet installation. If you are in a location where the fiber is connected to telephone poles we would drop a line to your building, this is called an "aerial" drop, we then penetrate a wall to get the fiber inside and terminate the fiber in the home. If you are in an area where utilities are underground, we bore or trench to the home and then follow the same steps as an aerial installation. The fiber does not use or disturb other lines (phone, coaxial cable, power, etc.) to your home. For more on the installation process, please visit our What to Expect During Installation page.
- Will my router work with the Fiber Internet service?
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Maybe: we provide an ethernet connection out of our ONT (aka "modem"), if your router accepts ethernet as the internet connection then it should work. If your router is a router/cable-modem combination device, which has an older style coaxial cable input, then it will not work with our service. Also, routers that are more than a couple years old may not meet the newer WiFi standard which could limit your WiFi internet performance at our high-end service level. If desired, we can provide a router that we manage for an additional monthly cost of $10.
- Why would I want a Managed Wi-Fi plan?
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With a City Managed Wi-Fi plan, we will provide a router at installation that our department can maintain and troubleshoot. The fee for this additional hardware and associated support service is an additional $10 per month. For those that don't want the hassle of maintaining their own router, this is a great option. Also, if you provide your own router and have a connection issue that is determined to be outside of our network and hardware, we will not be able to troubleshoot a router or other equipment we have not issued. We also have a call center in case a problem arises; it would be best used after hours, weekends and holidays.
- If I want to provide my own router, how much should I expect to pay for a decent one?
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Routers range widely in price and specifications, but you can expect to spend anywhere between $50-$300, depending upon your needs. If you home is large enough and you need to blanket the entire site with WiFi signal, a "whole-home" or "mesh" system may be needed (see the question below).
- If I start on one service plan, may I move to another plan without penalty?
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Yes, customers may change plans to accommodate their usage and billing will be prorated. Just a quick telephone call or email to our friendly City staff will make this happen.
- How do I cancel service with Access Fiber?
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You may cancel service at any time if you are a residential customer. If you are a business customer, you may cancel service after the one year commitment has elapsed. To cancel service, return our ONT (aka "modem") or City Managed Wi-Fi router to us at Anacortes City Hall (904 6th St, Floor 2, next to Utility Payments) during normal business hours. Make sure to return the power supply cable with the equipment.
- How long do I have to keep the service?
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Residential customers will be on a month to month contract that they may cancel at any time without penalty. Business customers must pay for service for an initial 12 month period before their contract becomes month to month.
- When can I cancel my former service?
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We recommend that you keep your existing service provider until our service has successfully been installed, in order to prevent any gaps in service.
- If I rent or lease a property do I need to get permission from my landlord to get Fiber Internet service?
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Yes, we will contact the property owner on your behalf in order to get permission to install fiber. We will collect the property owner's contact information from you.
- My email is through my current Internet provider. Will Anacortes Fiber provide my new email?
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Anacortes Fiber internet does not offer email accounts, but there are numerous options (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Zoho, etc.) that offer free email services. Some providers will allow you to keep your email with them even if you don't use them as your internet service provider.
- Can I get phone service through Access Fiber?
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We do not provide phone service however the link below takes you to a document that may be helpful. Phone lines that use your internet connection are called "Voice over Internet Protocol", also known as "VoIP" phone lines. VoIP phone services generally cost less that traditional phone services, while having more features and producing better sound. Typically, a VoIP phone service provider sends you a small box that connects directly to the internet. You can then plug your telephone directly into that box.
https://www.anacorteswa.gov/1103/Phone-TV-Service-Replacement-Resources
- If I live in a condo that gets a bulk-rate to provide service to all units and is paid by the condo association, will Anacortes Fiber do the same?
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We can provide a bulk contract so that all of the bills are paid by the condo association, however we do not offer a discount. We are confident in our competitiveness, since our service is already a great price for the speed and we feel that bulk-rate discounts would not be fair to other residents.
- Have More Questions?
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Contact us. Phone: (360) 588-8361. Email: broadband@cityofanacortes.org. Visit: Anacortes City Hall - 904 6th St., Anacortes, WA 98221
- Why is Fiber better? What's the big deal?
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Fiber optic data transmission lines have been around for decades. Made of glass and as thin as a human hair, fiber optics can transmit much more data in much longer distances than conventional data transmission lines consisting of copper or other, electricity-based lines. Long distance fiber optic data transmission lines have revolutionized telephone and computer networks worldwide; however, their high cost has prevented them from being deployed directly into homes -- until now. The City of Anacortes' Access Fiber department extends the fiber optic network directly to customer homes and businesses.
- What about modems?
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With fiber internet, an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is roughly equivalent to a modem. This device transfers your internet signal from the optical domain to the electrical domain. At installation, we will place an ONT inside the home or business. If you have a City Managed WiFi plan, the ONT will also provide an integrated WiFi router. If you do not have a City Managed WiFi plan, we will place a basic ONT in the site which can be connected to your router via an ethernet cable. There is no fee for the ONT device.
- I have the City Managed WiFi router, how can I log into the router and change settings?
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If you have the City Managed WiFi service and router, then you can follow the link below to log into the router and make changes:
- Why are speed tests over WiFi less reliable?
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There are numerous factors which can affect the performance of speed tests. Many of these factors reduce the reliability of test results, which can confuse the actual speed our service is delivering to the ONT. If you must conduct a speed test using WiFi rather than directly connecting a cable to our ONT, then we advise that you conduct the test with a computer that is within a few feet of the ONT. Even so, the results will often be lower than a direct-connect arrangement as suggested in the previous question.
- At times, the speed I am getting seems slow, how can I test the connection speed?
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Speed tests, when properly performed, can give you results which indicate a general level of performance. To properly conduct a speed test follow these steps: 1) direct connect your computer to the ONT we have provided with an ethernet cable**, also temporarily turn off the computer's WiFi feature. 2) Wait until your computer indicates the internet is available, then browse to https://speedtest.net. 3) When the page fully loads, it should automatically indicate that it will be using the City of Anacortes' speed test server; this is indicated by the phrase "City of Anacortes" prominently displayed on the page. 4) Click the "GO" button/hyperlink. 5) The test will be conducted and the results for both download and upload will be presented to you. 6) For our 100Mbps service level, the results for these should be in the tens of Mbps range up to 100Mbps; for our 1Gbps service level, the results for these should be in the hundreds of Mbps range up to 1Gbps (or 1,000Mbps). 7) Conduct the test several times to get a general feel for the average speed you are experiencing during the session.
**if you are subscribed to our 1Gpbs service level, the ethernet adapter on your computer should be capable of a 1Gbps connection
- I have a large home and my WiFi is weak in some areas, how can I improve that situation?
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A whole-home or mesh system may be more appropriate for blanketing your home with WiFi. These systems have multiple transmitting units, often called "satellites", "nodes", or "extenders" that provide additional coverage. We cannot recommend any particular system, but want you to be aware of some common ones (in no particular order): Netgear Orbi, TP-Link Deco, Asus ZenWiFi AX, Nest WiFi, Eero Pro 6, and Linksys Atlas.
- Do you limit or filter the websites I may visit?
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We do not limit or filter the websites you visit.
- Do you cap or limit my data usage?
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There are no data caps on our service.
- I just purchased a new router. Will the city come out and set it up for me?
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No. Access is responsible for supplying the internet service to the home, and does not work on personal equipment supplied by the customer including routers, computers, switches, printers, phones, etc. If you are diagnosing an issue, you can always call to see if there is something wrong with the service to your home. However if you're having issues with personal devices, we recommend calling an IT support professional.
- Won’t 5G make Fiber Optic Internet obsolete?
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5G may be great for mobile data, however it will rely on fiber optic infrastructure to the 5G towers and will be used in conjunction with fiber rather than replace it.
- There is a storm/power outage, and my internet is flickering in and out. What should I do?
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The fiber internet, like other service providers, requires power in your home to transmit data via the ONT and router. Power outages can temporarily disrupt service, and does not reflect an issue with the network's functionality. If you are experiencing problems after a power-impacting event like a storm, please power cycle the equipment. Sometimes the devices need to be reset to function properly. If you are experiencing problems after power cycling, please contact our customer support number. Sometimes devices such as your router can be damaged during a storm from power surges.