Fatbeam LLC, a Post Falls-based provider of broadband fiber networks, says it recently inked a contract worth more than $2 million with the Yakima School District to provide high-capacity fiber-optic connections amongst the district's facilities.

The seven-year contract will enable the school district to begin using several new technologies that previously hadn't been available to it, such as video surveillance and distance learning between about two dozen school facilities, says Fatbeam President Greg Green.

The new contract with Fatbeam also resulted in monthly savings for the district of about 30 percent compared to its previous service contract, Green asserts.

He says the new fiber connectivity services for the school district were made possible partly through the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program, which finances essential connectivity upgrades for schools and libraries.

Green says work to install more than 20 miles of fiber-optic conduit to serve the Yakima School District began earlier this month and is scheduled to be complete in late May.

He says that as part of a greater strategy for Fatbeam and for Yakima business development, the company plans to build its new fiber network between the Yakima metro market and other nearby cities in the area.

Fatbeam's fiber network also is planned to meet up with the national and international long-haul fiber backbone in Moxee, Wash., located about 13 miles southeast of Yakima, Green says.

"Having an asset such as this in Yakima, especially the availability of dark fiber, is very beneficial to potential telecom partners and enterprise customers," Green says.

Dark fiber refers to fiber-optic cable that has been laid, but isn't yet carrying a signal.

Fatbeam was founded in mid-2010 and focuses on delivering data-transport services to businesses and the health care, education, and government industries throughout the Pacific Northwest. The company, headquartered at 971 S. Clearwater Loop in Post Falls, also focuses on providing Internet connectivity to underserved markets.

Fatbeam currently employs five people, including Green.