Making “internet for all” possible in Washington
How the state and federal governments are working together to bring high-speed internet to every corner of the Evergreen State
President Biden’s administration announced this week that Washington will receive over $1.2 billion to expand high-speed internet networks statewide.
“I’m thrilled to see the federal government stepping up to invest in the work we’ve been doing for years to expand equitable access to high-speed internet,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “We’re going to put this funding to work connecting Washingtonians across the state to broadband, with all the opportunities this technology brings.”
Washington consistently ranks among the ‘best connected’ states in the country when it comes to internet access. But there are still nearly 230,000 households in Washington that do not use broadband services, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
These households face multiple barriers. For some, it’s a lack of infrastructure in rural areas. For others, it’s an affordability issue — the monthly subscription fee or the cost of an internet-enabled device just doesn’t fit in their budget. For still others, it’s a question of technical knowledge — they need to develop certain digital skills that many of us take for granted.
Today, with the increasing availability of remote work, tele-medicine, online education and workforce training, access to the internet is essential. The price of staying disconnected is high and rising. And despite record state-level investments in broadband programs, those without access have continued to fall further behind.
The projected cost to fully address remaining gaps in internet service throughout the state runs to billions of dollars. Private companies haven’t expanded service to some less populated parts of the state simply because the construction and maintenance work required is too expensive and not profitable.
As a result, the state government stepped in over the past several years to partner with communities and bridge the digital divide across Washington. With the influx of federal funding, the state will be able to scale up these efforts and serve more Washingtonians.
Programs tailored to the communities they serve
The Nisqually Tribe’s leadership looked at broadband expansion the same way they had looked at building out the electrical grid a century earlier. They recognized it as a necessity for the Tribe to fully engage in the social and economic opportunities afforded by new technology. They drew that parallel explicitly in planning meetings.
“We called it ‘lighting up the rez,’” said Joe Cushman, an economic development director with the Nisqually.
In 2017, the Tribe applied for funds from Washington state to build their own high-speed internet network. Through creative public and private partnerships, they also started a training program to create the workforce necessary to build out broadband infrastructure — drilling, excavating, splicing wires, and installing lines. The workforce training program has become a permanent fixture on the reservation and has a 90% job placement rate for graduates, according to Mike Mason, the Tribe’s manager of economic development.
“This is a big picture strategy: it’s about making connectivity affordable; it’s about working with communities so they can take advantage of high-speed internet; it’s about training to bring workers into the industry,” said Mason.
Those living on the Nisqually Tribe’s land now have access to advanced, one-gigabit broadband — faster than what is available in many U.S. cities. And the Tribe is now working with others, including the Chehalis Tribe and Thurston and Pierce counties to expand their network beyond the reservation’s borders.
Innovative efforts like this are being replicated across the state. In 2018, Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission provided $800,000 to help bring broadband to the Quileute Tribe and to the residents of La Push. The new federal Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program will provide significant funding to enable Tribes to continue doing this work.
Thanks to legislation passed in 2021, certain public entities can provide broadband services directly to their constituencies. Some Washington cities and counties, including the city of Anacortes and Jefferson County’s public utility district have started their own internet service providers, rather than waiting for private companies to build out the infrastructure.
“We’re taking that extra step to be that retail ISP… so that, in our rural areas, we can ensure our customers that if we build it, there will be someone there to provide that service and take care of that service in case anything goes wrong,” said Will O’Donnell, communications director of Jefferson’s Public Utility District.
The Washington State Public Works Board supported the Jefferson County PUD’s project with a $1.8 million loan last year to help connect hundreds of businesses in and around Port Townsend — the county’s only incorporated city — to high-speed internet.
The SBO’s crucial role
The State Broadband Office (SBO) within the Washington State Department of Commerce oversees this crucial work. It coordinates public and private investments, and ensures that resources are deployed efficiently and equitably. Approved by the Legislature in 2019 at Inslee’s request, the office is driven by a legislative mandate to ensure that all businesses and residences in Washington have access to some form of internet service by 2024 and that all businesses and residences have access to high-speed internet service by 2028.
The state has been steadily providing grant funding to projects around the state. Recent rounds include $121 million in grant funding for 19 projects that will bring access to nearly 15,000 people in unserved and underserved communities across Washington.
The SBO understood what was at stake in the run-up to the federal government’s decision regarding funding. Commerce and the SBO worked with closely with federal partners, including the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to map out where new infrastructure would be necessary to reach the goal of ‘internet for all’ in Washington.
The surveys they conducted, which included official ‘challenges’ to the FCC’s initial maps, were crucial to insuring that the FCC understood just how great the need for funding was in Washington. The survey efforts and other outreach work helped secure federal grants for counties in Washington in the past and increased the amount of federal money that Washington received as part of the BEAD program announced this week.
“All of our schools… have fiber-optics connected. That’s half the equation. The other half is when the kids go home, they don’t have good internet access,” said Mark Cockerill, a community councilmember in Key Peninsula. “In some cases they don’t have internet at all. And the same is true for some of our teachers. [Without internet access at home] they can’t do what they need to do, to progress and stive forward.”
Promoting digital literacy
The SBO’s goals extend beyond building out infrastructure. Their digital equity programs also provide Washingtonians with the opportunity to learn how to use broadband-enabled devices, through the Washington’s Digital Navigator Program.
Since its inception in 2022, the office’s Digital Navigator team has served tens of thousands of clients. Services run the gamut from basic digital literacy trainings for activities like online banking and telehealth appointments to more advanced lessons in advanced activities like database design and building mobile apps — the kinds of skills that can lead to family-wage jobs and careers.
“Telecommunications technology relieves the tyranny of distance by connecting people. Bridging the digital divide is about more than providing fiber optic lines or wireless infrastructure. It’s about bringing communities together” said Mark Vasconi, the director of Washington’s State Broadband Office.
