Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO)
- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- 2024 09 18 A32203 D273918 Commerce Wsbo Washington S Internet For All
- Date
- 2024-09-18
- Case
- 2024 09 18 A32203 D273918 Commerce Wsbo Washington S Internet For All
Summary
A Washington State Department of Commerce slide presentation on the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO), dated September 2024 and presented by Director Aaron Wheeler. It describes the state's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), including a $1.23 Billion funding allocation from NTIA and the addition of 71,000 unserved locations to the FCC map. The slides outline Initial Proposal Volumes 1 and 2, both approved by NTIA, and the challenge process timeline, with 20,861 challenges submitted by non-WSBO organizations and 16,395 rebuttals received. Later slides list steps communities can take to prepare for BEAD subgrant applications, expected to open in fourth quarter 2024, and legislative priorities including the full $15.9 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grants.
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Cite this document
“Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO).”
Original at app.leg.wa.gov, dated 2024-09-18. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-09-18-2024-09-18-a32203-d273918-commerce-wsbo-washington-s-internet-for-all/
, SHA-256 56d8efee967648426d662e7ec59ce8f408fc42cae680acbfe89a652d0b845be0.Full text
Washington State Broadband Office
(WSBO)
Aaron Wheeler
DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON STATE BROADBAND OFFICE
SEPTEMBER, 2024
v1.5
HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMALL BUSINESS
HOMELESSNESS BROADBAND ASSISTANCE ENERGY
PLANNING AND TECH CRIME VICTIMS AND ECONOMIC
ASSISTANCE COMMUNITY SERVICES PUBLIC SAFETY DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 2
The “digital divide” refers to the gap between those who have
access to high-speed Internet and its benefits, and those who Benefits of high-speed Internet can include:
have limited or no access, driven by three key barriers.
Education Workforce Access to
Adoption and
Access Affordability Digital Literacy
development government
services
Federal funding that states have received will help close the Social Information Telehealth
connectivity
digital divide focusing on “unserved” (<25/3 Mbps) and access
“underserved” (<100/20 Mbps)* locations.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 3
Washington’s Broadband Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program (BEAD) Overview
• $1.23 Billion Funding Allocation from NTIA
• WA stepped up to the plate! State Broadband Office and other efforts (QR
code, social media, press releases, crowdsourcing) added 71,000 unserved
locations to FCC map through on a base of 167,000; 42% increase is top 10 in
the nation
• Fabric location challenges added 20,000 locations
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 4
Washington’s Broadband Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program (BEAD) Activities
• Initial Proposal Volume 1 – State Challenge Process
• NTIA-required State Challenge process
• State challenge process is required to enhance the accuracy of served
and unserved locations to improve map
• State modifications to NTIA model process
• Speed tests
• Tribal consent
• Expansion of Community Anchor Institutions (CAI): to include Youth
Centers, Job Training Centers, and Senior Centers. Complete list is
available in Draft Volume I.
• Draft Volume 1 was submitted to NTIA at the end of December 2023 with
final approval received in February of 2024.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 5
Washington’s Broadband Equity, Access, and
Deployment Program (BEAD) Activities
• Initial Proposal Volume 2
• Project area definition
• Affordability (beyond ACP)
• Application scoring criteria
• Fair labor practices
• Workforce development
• Cyber security
• Draft Volume 2 published Nov. 1 with a 30-day comment period, ended Nov 30.
• Draft Volume 1 and Volume 2 are now both approved by NTIA
• Volume 2 received NTIA approval in May 2024.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 6
• Challenge portal opened in April
• Challenge Process Timeline
• Step 1: Challenge process – April 15 to May 14, 2024
Step 2: Rebuttal phase – April 15 to June 23, 2024
Step 3: Final determination – September 2024
• Who was eligible to challenge?
• Local governments
• Non-profit organizations
• Tribal governments
• Internet service providers
*dates subject to change
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 7
How many participated in the Challenge
Process?
Challenges Submitted by Non-WSBO Organizations – 20,861
Locations Challenged by Area Challenge – 50,237
Rebuttals Received – 16,395
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 8
2%
9%
Internet Service Provider
Local Government
28%
62% Tribal Government
Non-profit Organization
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 9
No Response from Challenged ISP - Challenge Upheld 255,360
Rebuttal Accepted and Challenge Rejected 16,208
Challenge was Moot 8,601
Challenge Rejected Due to Insufficient Evidence 4,994
Challenge Accepted by ISP 2,057
Rebuttal Rejected and Challenge Upheld 187
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 10
• Looking ahead - How can communities prepare to apply for
BEAD funding?
• Engineer certified design to be submitted with application
• Create a Pro forma
• Obtain a Letter of Credit or Performance Bond
• Obtain project Certifications
• Disclose other public finding for self and affiliates
• Prepare for audits of financial statements, along with providing proof
of managerial, technical, and operational capability
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 11
Subgrantee Selection Process - Do not wait!!!
• We expect application period to begin in fourth quarter 2024.
• Being prepared to apply for funds takes time and a great
deal of effort
• Consider establishing partnerships today: tribes,
associations, ISPs, PUDs, ports, schools, economic
development staff, healthcare, etc
• Understand relationships with pole owners – early and
frequent communication helps
• Start talks with permitting organizations to discuss
timelines, costs and potential areas of concern
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 12
• Securing state match funds for public entities and tribes
• Spending authority for full BEAD funding to enable us to fund
broadband projects statewide
• Spending authority releasing the federal funding for the full
$15.9 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grants
• Digital Navigation funding
• Continuing our work on the Digital Equity Dashboard in
partnership with the Office of Equity
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 13
• SBO program update including moving the Digital
Equity Forum to the Office of Equity and SBO goals
update (ARL) - This ARL will formalize the movement
of the Digital Equity Forum to the Office of Equity. The
ARL will also update the SBO goals to align with the
current work in PWB, CERB and the WSBO.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 14
www.commerce.wa.gov
Aaron Wheeler Learn more about broadband funding
DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON STATE BROADBAND OFFICE in Washington state:
Aaron.Wheeler@commerce.wa.gov
Broadband Funding - Washington
(360) 725-2972
State Department of Commerce
File and source
- File
- 2024-09-18_a32203_d273918_commerce-wsbo-washington-s-internet-for-all.pdf
- Size
- 491,484 bytes
- SHA-256
- 56d8efee967648426d662e7ec59ce8f408fc42cae680acbfe89a652d0b845be0
- Original
- app.leg.wa.gov