*NOTE: Mayor Steve Callaway and other City of Hillsboro experts are available for media between 11 am and 1 pm today.
The City of Hillsboro is excited to take another step forward to provide internet service for the Hillsboro community by announcing the selected name and logo for the new service: HiLight.
High-speed internet access is essential to everyone. In spring 2018, the City of Hillsboro made a long-term commitment to connect everyone in Hillsboro by providing affordable internet service at gigabit speed. HiLight service will:
- Cultivate business
- Foster student success
- Reduce barriers to internet access
- Strengthen City infrastructure
- Protect net neutrality
- Provide a local, affordable option to our community
“HiLight will ensure that schools, neighbors, and businesses have access to fast, reliable internet and the highest-quality customer service,” said Mayor Steve Callaway.
HiLight’s Name & Logo
The “Hi” in HiLight represents Hillsboro and the communication opportunities the internet provides to connect community members. “Light” is a nod to the fiber-optic technology that will connect HiLight customers to gigabit speeds.
HiLight’s logo color and style complement the City of Hillsboro logo with a clean and straightforward font. “Hi” is in a speech-bubble shape — sending a friendly "hello" to the City. The shape also represents a location pin. The logo’s tight letter spacing symbolizes the closeness of the Hillsboro community.
HiLight’s Core Values
In addition to creating the HiLight name and logo, the City identified the core values that will define the HiLight customer experience.
Build community. The City's affordable high-speed internet will create a stronger, better Hillsboro by giving more residents an opportunity to connect.
Create opportunity. Access to essential resources such as education, jobs, and housing, will create opportunities that improve lives and brighten Hillsboro’s future.
Keep it simple. HiLight will provide straightforward and honest service for our residents and businesses.
Live equity. The City will respond to internet access barriers by offering fast and reliable service at affordable rates.
Serve the City we love. HiLight will listen to our customers’ needs and offer quality high-speed access with the excellent customer service that the community expects from the City of Hillsboro.
Service Availability
The first customer connections will be made in two areas that present the greatest opportunity for cost savings or have the most significant need: South Hillsboro and the Shute Park/Southwest Hillsboro neighborhood.
- First, HiLight will connect customers in South Hillsboro, where we are installing our underground network as roads and houses are built. The first customers will be able to connect next winter.
- Next, HiLight’s network will reach Shute Park/Southwest Hillsboro, where many families are living without high-speed internet service.
- Over time, HiLight will expand to reach every resident, business, and nonprofit in Hillsboro.
Making Connections
Partnering with the Hillsboro School District, we are working together to connect schools to a super-fast shared fiber “backbone” that will serve as HiLight’s information superhighway and expand the City’s existing fiber network. The shared backbone will extend throughout the City and enable us to connect neighborhood networks as they are constructed.
We’ll connect the first schools this summer, complete the backbone next winter, and hook up all 47 schools and District facilities by next spring. By working together, the Hillsboro School District will save as much as $5 million and the City of Hillsboro will save up to $10 million.
Fiber huts
"Fiber huts" will link neighborhood networks to the backbone. In South Hillsboro, a fiber hut will double as a play feature at the soon-to-open Century Oaks Park. For Shute Park/Southwest Hillsboro, we will build a hut into Shute Park’s backstage area as part of a planned expansion of the stage facilities.
Setting Up for Success
Providing excellent internet service requires qualified staff, top-notch software, and reliable equipment. Over the past several months, we’ve hired four dedicated staff members to form the HiLight team. In addition, we are building out operations with support software, equipment, and a local call center.
More Information
Visit Hillsboro-Oregon.gov/HiLight for details on the City of Hillsboro’s HiLight internet service, or visit Hillsboro-Oregon/Fiber for more information on the City’s Fiber Network Expansion Project.
About Hillsboro, Oregon
illsboro is one of Oregon’s most diverse and dynamic cities, with a steadily growing population of 101,940 residents. During the workday, more than 50,000 employees commute to Hillsboro to work at companies such as Intel, Nike, and Genentech. Known as the “high-tech hub of Oregon” and the “tallest tree in the Silicon Forest,” Hillsboro has some of the best land, power, and water resources in the country. Learn more at www.Hillsboro-Oregon.gov.