Published June 2001

Whidbey Telephone to open data center in Everett

By Kathy Day
Herald Economy Writer

David Henny acted on his passion for technology and telephones in 1953 when he bought the Whidbey Telephone Co.

Now his son, George, is carrying on the tradition, heading efforts to launch Everett’s first Internet data center. Under construction in the Everett Mutual building on Colby Avenue, it’s small by comparison to other “telecom hotels” springing up through the region.

When you ask, “Why Everett?” Henny’s ready with an answer.

There is no other similar facility nearby to meet the needs of local businesses, he said. He also liked the fact that the Everett Mutual building, owned by the Skotdal family, is the tallest in the area and has all the requirements in place for a data center.

When all its space is filled, the center will house 150 data server cabinets — wire-mesh lockers that can hold from two to 20 servers each to host Web sites or Internet service providers or back up a company’s computers.

It’s no simple task preparing the 5,600-square-foot space on the office building’s seventh floor for its new tenant. Fiber-optic cable is being pulled through walls and ceilings. Massive air conditioning units have been installed, and backup battery systems are in place. Biometric security systems, a card-reader and video are being rigged so only authorized personnel can enter the space.

There’s also a powerful backup generator and power equipment being put in the basement. When the center opens later this spring it will have a staff of seven to 10 people.

Henny said he has been working with the Snohomish County PUD to ensure that power needs are met. The center would use less than 1 megawatt of power if all of its systems were running at once, he added. An AT&T facility begun earlier in Lynnwood will consume about 7 megawatts.

One of the advantages Henny touts about the center is a direct link to the Westin building in downtown Seattle that serves as the nerve center for the telecommunications industry in the Northwest. By providing that link, clients who sign up for Whidbey’s services will be connected to the rest of the world, Henny said.

Whidbey Telephone Co. prides itself on personal service, he said, and to this day is one of a handful of phone companies with its own local operators who can help people find friends as well as the newest restaurants on the island, he said.

Besides its phone service, the company offers Whidbey.net, a high-speed Internet service with more than 10,000 customers throughout Island and Snohomish counties.

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