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Clark County hears update on state broadband plan; $1.2 billion in federal funds could reach county projects
Summary
Staff updated council on Washington's broadband plan submitted to NTIA and summarized expected technology mixes and timelines; the county should learn specific project maps after federal approval, possibly in December.
Jordan Bogie updated councilors on the state's broadband deployment plan submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). He said Washington applied for approximately $1.2 billion in federal funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reach unserved and underserved locations.
Bogie said the state submitted a final plan on Sept. 4 and the federal review window is roughly 90 days; if approved, work could begin early next year. He said state-provided summaries show the statewide technology mix for the awarded projects is roughly 35% fiber, 39% fixed wireless and 26% low-earth-orbit satellite services.
Bogie noted the state previously hosted GIS project maps that showed which providers bid on which project areas but those maps were removed from public view; he expected more detailed maps to be available later. He listed providers expected to serve parts of the county, including Comcast, SpaceX (Starlink), Amazon Kuiper and local provider Concept Communications.
Councilors welcomed the update and said the funding could materially improve connectivity in rural parts of District 5; Bogie said the state expects 99.99% of broadband-serviceable locations statewide to receive high-speed internet within a five-year implementation timeline if the federal review proceeds on schedule.
