Issaquah Highlands Connections
February 2020
27
THE SMART HOME
HFN Welcomes Jeremy Fallt! Highlands Fiber Network’s New GM by Nina Milligan, Communications Manager, Highlands Council, resident of Starpoint
When Issaquah Highlands was just a vision, back in ’90s, the master developer knew it would be a forward thinking, technologically savvy, and technologically demanding community. But could they know how many tech-workers would live here? And how important the internet would be to so many things we do? They had an idea. Still, they anticipated being “connected” would be more important in the future. Although it was unheard of in other master-planned communities at the time, and a very expensive endeavor, the master developer invested in fiber-to-the-home, for every home, and Highlands Fiber Network (HFN) was born! The master developer (Port Blakely Companies) invested in building and installing this valuable infrastructure, managing it until they phased out of the community in 2013. Several years before a plan was put in place to sell HFN to the community. In 2013, HFN became a community-owned network. Soon after, HFN hired Frank Pineau as General Manager. Frank served as HFN’s GM through December 2019, leaving this post to join his wife in retirement, enjoying all the NW has to offer. You will find them helping out at a local winery, or paddling on Pine Lake, or at Issaquah Highlands Travel Night. Frank will still be a welcomed member of this community! Replacing Frank at HFN’s helm is Jeremy Fallt. Jeremy is a veteran in the telecom industry, having worked for Qwest, Verizon and Frontier as an engineer and a planner. He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Economics in Prague. Jeremy began his duties the first of January 2020. We would like you to get to know Jeremy a little better, so we asked him a few questions.
Frank Pineau, HFN General Manager I was born and raised 2013-2019 in the Denver area, and took a job with Qwest after college. After working in Denver for a couple of years I had an opportunity to move to Seattle with Qwest in 2002 and I've been here ever since.
Tell us about your family.
My wife and I were married on Kauai five years ago, and just welcomed our daughter Addison to our family in August.
How did you first learn about Issaquah Highlands?
I heard about Issaquah Highlands years ago as an engineer for Qwest. I started out with Bellevue as my territory, but I inherited Issaquah and Mercer Island at one point. I remember thinking what a great idea it was back 10 or 12 years ago.
HFN welcomed Jeremy Fallt as its new GM in January 2020, pictured here completing an updated fiber installation certification.
I really love the layout of the community, as well as all the events bringing people together. It seems like such a great place to raise a family.
What are you most excited to do in your work managing HFN?
I'm excited to continue the great work Frank has done over the past few years in really creating a great product and resource for the community.
What is your favorite techy gadget that you own/use and why?
Before I had a child, I would probably have said my virtual reality glasses. But these past few months I'd have to say it’s all the tools we are using to help us raise a child, from different baby monitors, all the different apps for tracking sleep, diapers, and feeding etc. , different sound machines to help us all sleep. I don't know how we would survive without all the "help"!
Issaquah Highlands was designed as an innovative, highly connected, urban village enjoying traditional neighborhood design.
Fiber to the home, community owned!
The “Covenant for Community” was created to fund it, attached to land titles. The Covenant states that each home purchase must include a connection to the network ($250 one-time fee, required at closing). And each home is required to subscribe to the minimum connection (10/10mbps), which is currently $50/ month. Most apartment rentals in Issaquah Highlands provide the option to join the network, with the same hook up fee ($250) and the same monthly rates.
How long have you lived in the PNW?
What do you think the coolest thing is about Issaquah Highlands (besides HFN)?
Highlands Fiber Network: Fiber to the Home, Community Owned
HFN’s High Speed Fiber Optic Network is fast, reliable, and competitively priced. Our current offerings include 10/10mbps, 100/100mbps and 1000/1000mbps speeds. For rates and information Highlands Fiber Network Customer Service: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week highlandsfibernetwork.com (425) 427-0999 support@hfnservices.com or see highlandsfibernetwork.com/support Direct questions about the Covenant for Community to: Jeremy Fallt, General Manager, HFN jfallt@hfn.org 425-427-0999 HFN Office is at Blakely Hall
Thank you, Frank! Frank performed a myriad of tasks in his role as GM and has left HFN in a solid position to serve the residents of Issaquah Highlands far into the future. He strengthened our relationships with GigaBite Now (our ISP partner), Canon Construction and the various home building contractors in Issaquah Highlands. He involved himself in Highlands Council events and regularly welcomed residents’ requests for assistance or information. He leaves our network growing, financially strong, well documented and poised for the next steps into a digital future. Larry Norton President, HFN 2013-2019