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HFN Welcomes Jeremy Fallt!

By February 12, 2020February 19th, 2020Connections, HFN
Jeremy Fallt, HFN with family

Highlands Fiber Network’s New GM

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. Did 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 knew being “connected” was important would be more so in the future. So, they invested in fiber-to-the-home, for every home. This was unheard of in other master-planned communities at the time, and a very expensive endeavor. Thus, Highlands Fiber Network (HFN) was born!

Frank Pineau HFN

Thank you, Frank!

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. They could have sold the network to a private internet provider. However, Highlands Council Board of Trustees President Larry Norton, negotiated with Port Blakely to purchase HFN so it could be a community-owned network. Soon after, HFN hired Frank Pineau as General Manager. Together, Larry and Frank have taken HFN to its current, well-managed, financially stable and still innovating role in the community.

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 International School of Economics in Prague. Jeremy began his duties the first of January 2020 and can be reached at 425-394-4184 or jfallt@hfn.org .

We would like you to get to know Jeremy a little better, so we asked him a few questions.

Jeremy Fallt HFN Fiber Installation

Jeremy completing an updated fiber installation certification.

How long have you lived in the PNW?

I was born and raised 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.

What do you think the coolest thing is about Issaquah Highlands (besides HFN)?

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”!

Photo (top): Jeremy with his wife, and young daughter, Addison.

As published in February 2020 Connections >