Southern Tier Telecommunications, or STT, and their underground construction team, Tier One Drilling & Construction, have started HiLight construction in the neighborhoods surrounding Patterson Elementary School.

Like anyone doing underground work, STT calls Oregon 811 before they dig. This process is called, “calling for locates.” Calling for locates causes utility owners with underground utilities to mark their utilities with paint and flags.

The paint and flag colors all represent different utilities.

• White is often sprayed first and represents where new work is planned. This helps the other utility locators know where they need show their markings.


• Red is electric.


• Yellow is gas.


• Orange is communications like internet or cable television.


• Blue is for water.


• Green paint shows sewer lines.


• Purple for reclaimed water and pink for temporary survey markings are used less often.

You may also see letter and number codes that represent who owns each of the utilities.

Once existing utilities are located and STT’s crews know where it is safe to build, they get to work building the HiLight network.

First, they use a vacuum excavator to “pothole” anywhere they are going to cross existing utilities. A vacuum excavator is a piece of equipment that uses water pressure and suction to dig a hole. A vacuum excavator is a much cleaner way of digging holes than using a traditional excavator. “Potholing” is a process where the crews dig around existing underground utilities to expose them so they can avoid them as they work through the construction process.

The crews will also use the vacuum excavator along the planned HiLight fiber-optic route to place “handholes” where we will be able to access the fiber to connect your home.

Once the existing underground utilities are located and potholed where the HiLight path is going to cross them and the handhole locations have been excavated, it is time for directional drilling. 

A directional drill is a machine that drills a hole perpendicular to the ground instead of vertical to it like you would do with a well. Modern directional drill machines have drill heads that can be steered to increase or decrease their depth and to make some broad curves. STT’s teams will drill from one handhole location to the next. When the crew uses the machine to “pull back” the drill head, they will attach conduit to it to create the path for the HiLight fiber.

Most of the HiLight infrastructure in your neighborhoods is below ground or level with the ground. Once the conduit is in place, the STT crews then place “handholes”. These are high-density polyethylene or polymer concrete boxes that are level to the ground – much like a sprinkler valve box.

HiLight places handholes to access the fiber and get service to your home. Most of HiLight’s handholes are about one foot by two foot. Some of them are about twice that size. HiLight may place a handhole in the utility right-of-way easement on your property.

STT’s team will work hard to do as little damage to yards and hard surfaces like sidewalks and streets as they can. However, some damage will happen. Once handholes are in place, the team will start restoration work to bring your neighborhood back to its original condition.

While restoration work is ongoing, some temporary patches may be put in place. For example, asphalt and concrete are easier to manage in larger batches. Restoration crews may temporarily use a “soft patch” – that is, a soft, ready-to-use asphalt product designed for quick repairs without the need for heating the material or curing concrete.

If restoration crews use soft patches, they will return to complete the restoration with more permanent materials.

For each neighborhood of about 250 homes, we will place an above ground cabinet structure. This is where the fiber from your neighborhood comes together to connect with the rest of HiLight’s network.

With conduit, handholes, and cabinets in place, our teams can start placing and splicing the fiber-optic cable HiLight will use to serve you with super-fast, super-reliable internet service.

The construction process up until now has been a little loud and very visible. Pulling in the fiber and splicing it takes quite a bit of time and is not nearly as visible in your neighborhood.

Once all the fiber is spliced and tested and all our data is recorded so HiLight can provide you with the broadband internet service you deserve, we are ready to take orders – but construction isn’t quite done.

When you place an order, we have to build a conduit and fiber path from one of the handholes we placed in the utility right-of-way to your home. One of our technicians will also come to install an Optical Network Terminator, or ONT. The ONT is like a modem for fiber optics. If you select our Wi-Fi Management product, our technician will also install a GigaSpire router and will help you set up your HiLightIQ app to control your network. 

The foundation of the HiLight network is its fiber optic backbone. This backbone was constructed in partnership with the Hillsboro School District (HSD). 

In addition to providing the connection source for all HSD schools and facilities, the backbone will feed five fiber huts that will serve as nerve centers of the HiLight network’s Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) distribution system serving residences, multi-unit properties, and businesses throughout the community.

Construction of the HiLight FTTH distribution network is expected to continue for the next several years to reach all neighborhoods in Hillsboro. Construction of the distribution system will be completed in phases, organized around five fiber huts.

We have largely completed work on the first two fiber huts that serve the south of Hillsboro from South Hillsboro areas through Shute Park and into the downtown area. You can see our service availability map at HiLight Availability that shows where construction is complete, and service is available. We are currently working to provide service in the third fiber hut area covering the west and central parts of the City.  While there will be exceptions, generally you can expect that if other utilities are located underground in an area, then the HiLight fiber optic lines will also be placed underground in the public utility easement (or PUE). If other communications or power utilities are aerial, you can generally expect that the HiLight fiber lines will be placed on existing poles. HiLight construction activity will be identified by signs placed at the worksite.

The distribution network construction will extend the HiLight fiber optic lines from the fiber huts to the area outside each Hillsboro residence and business. Once activated, the system will be ready for the final leg — installing the fiber optic lines to and within each subscribing home or business and delivering service!

A Note About the Public Utility Easement: Throughout the City, a Public Utility Easement (PUE) generally exists on each homeowners property 8.5 feet from edge of the sidewalk. (There are areas where there is not a sidewalk, yet these PUEs are still present). These easements exist as public pathways for the placement of underground franchised utilities and services. Most commonly, these easements run in front of a property, but they may also exist in the back or side of a property. Permitted utilities are allowed to build in the PUE without additional permission from the property owner.

The construction of the HiLight distribution network is in these utility easements. The contractors engaged to complete this construction will be responsible to repair any damage or restore any landscaping disrupted by their work in the public easement. 

For multi-unit dwelling (MDU) properties, additional steps are required. 

While the HiLight fiber optic distribution system will be constructed to the exterior of each apartment, condominium, and other MDU property, in order to make service available to tenants of these properties, the owner will need to grant HiLight permission and access, with the signing of a Right-Of-Entry (ROE) agreement.

Once an ROE is signed, HiLight will coordinate with the property ownership/management to pre- or post-wire a fiber optic line directly to each unit of the property. This will equip each unit and allow each MDU resident to access and subscribe to HiLight internet and voice services, once activated.