Canada’s largest communications company will be the next owner of Kirkland-based Ziply Fiber Northwest, which services the Tri-Cities.

An administrative law judge for the state’s Utilities and Transportation Commission approved Bell Canada’s acquisition of the fiber and broadband Internet provider on July 28, according to a release. The $3.65 billion deal should be completed before the end of the year, roughly a year after the company’s announced it. 

The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, approved the deal in mid-July. 

Ziply’s customers won’t see any changes in their services or monthly bills for at least a year as part of the deal. Other elements of the settlement for the acquisition include Ziply continuing to provide broadband to Washington residents, maintain its networks, provide service quality credits automatically to customers who experience outages of certain lengths and make other reports to the state commission. 

Bell Canada has said bringing Ziply under its umbrella will expand the Canadian company’s fiber footprint to more than 12 million locations across North America by the end of 2028, reinforcing its position as the third-largest fiber internet provider in North America.