Cheney, Wash. – January 10, 2021. The City of Cheney, Washington and Avista Edge, Inc., a non-utility subsidiary of Avista Corp., are rolling out a broadband pilot, enabling high-speed Internet to select neighborhoods this winter. This partnership will enable the City of Cheney to offer a new secure and reliable high-speed internet option for its citizens in addition to the electric, water, sewer and solid waste services the city already provides. This is the first broadband pilot of its kind for Avista Edge.

The initial pilot for Cheney fast INTERNET will focus in the areas of the Harvest Bluff and Avalon neighborhoods and will begin with eligible customers being invited to participate. Customers can expect those invitations to arrive as soon as January 31st. Details on pricing and waiver of installation fees for participation in the two pilot neighborhoods will accompany these first invitations.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has highlighted the critical need for rural American communities to have easy access to high-speed internet service.

“We live in a connected world. Today we rely on technology for nearly every aspect of our lives, from accessing telemedicine or online classes to remote work or connecting with family and friends. That’s why we’re so excited to be able to offer this high-speed internet service to our customers,” said Mark Schuller, City Administrator for the City of Cheney.

Avista Edge will provide a turn-key solution through a patented device that attaches to the electric meter in minutes and uses advanced 5G networks to provide high-speed internet service to rural communities. Avista Edge technology can be deployed to communities more quickly and at a lower cost than other last mile solutions like fiber to the home, while still taking advantage of 5G’s future-proofing performance.

Offering retail broadband internet technology via electric utilities is a logical extension of Avista’s more than 130 years of experience providing electricity and natural gas service to its customers. Avista has expertise with the electric meter and electric delivery systems, as well as advanced communication networks. 

“Access to high-speed internet is the new electricity. It’s essential to powering our lives.  We are eager to help bridge the widening digital divide that exists in rural communities by making it easy for electric utilities, like the City of Cheney, to add high-speed internet service alongside their other essential services,” said Avista Edge President and CEO Mark Gustafson.  

Customers seeking more information about the pilot can visit the City of Cheney website at https://www.cityofcheney.org/462/High-Speed-Internet-Service

Along with its telecommunication industry partnerships, Avista Edge, Inc. enables electric utilities a turn-key solution to offer high-speed internet service to their customers as an essential service. Avista Edge delivers this product offering through a business-to-business-to-retail customer model, creating a unique value and growth proposition for electric utilities like the City of Cheney. 

About the City of Cheney
The city of Cheney is a thriving community of 12,640 full-time residents and is located just 17 miles southwest of Spokane. Our quality of life is unmatched because of our small-town atmosphere and family-friendly environment. Outdoor recreational opportunities abound in the Cheney area, such as fishing, boating, biking, hiking, and camping. Just south of Cheney is the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, a unique area of wetlands, grasslands, and forests, where you can see a variety of birds, waterfowl, and other forest dwellers in their natural habitat. Cheney is home to Eastern Washington University and the “Inferno” a famous red-turf football field. For more information about the city of Cheney, please visit www.cityofcheney.org. 
 

About Avista Edge, Inc.
Avista Edge, Inc. is a subsidiary of Avista Capital, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA). For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.AvistaEdge.com. Avista Edge is a trademark of Avista Edge, Inc.

About Avista Corp.
Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides electric service to 403,000 customers and natural gas to 369,000 customers. Our service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million. AERC is an Avista subsidiary that, through its subsidiary AEL&P, provides retail electric service to 17,000 customers in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol “AVA”. For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

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