Internet for All in Washington
Summary
A slide presentation, "Internet for All in Washington," is dated 2/4/26 (v1.5) and names Jordan Arnold, Director of the Washington State Broadband Office, for the House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans Committee. It gives a Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) update, including that the office submitted the Final Proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on September 4, 2025, with the most recent formal resubmission on January 9, 2026. Preliminary results list Fiber at 58,531 locations (35%), Fixed Wireless at 63,642 locations (38%) and LEO Satellite at 44,333 locations (27%). Later slides describe permitting, with a goal of permits issued or denied in 90 days.
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- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- 2026 02 04 A33850 D295050 Commerce Broadband Equity Access And Deployment
- Date
- 2026-02-04
- Case
- 2026 02 04 A33850 D295050 Commerce Broadband Equity Access And Deployment
Cite this document
“Internet for All in Washington.”
Original at app.leg.wa.gov, dated 2026-02-04. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2026-02-04-2026-02-04-a33850-d295050-commerce-broadband-equity-access-and-deployment/
, SHA-256 c0a36f8e93cb18cc0a05708d7f89b4bd71d4721b2ae4cc47817aa6cf0b9b6c9e.Full text
Internet for All in
Washington
House Technology, Economic Development,
& Veterans Committee
Washington State Broadband Office
JORDAN ARNOLD
DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON STATE BROADBAND OFFICE
2/4/26
v1.5
We strengthen communities
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
Broadband Equity Access
and Deployment (BEAD)
Process Update and Next Steps
Timeline of Important Dates
January – June 2025
Trump Administration reviews the BEAD program
June 6, 2025
Trump Administration overhauls BEAD, prioritizing low-cost technologies
July 3, 2025
WSBO opens Benefit of the Bargain Round – Read our announcement
September 4, 2025
WSBO submits the Final Proposal to NTIA – Read our announcement
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 4
Expecting approval soon – but no formal date
• Since submission of our Final Proposal five months ago, we have
been working towards gaining National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) approval
• 25 formal requests for changes
• Common discussion with NTIA included:
• Project area costs – Benefit of the Bargain requirements prioritized cost
savings over fiber
• Tribal sovereignty – WSBO prioritized tribal sovereignty in the final proposal
and deferred to Tribe’s prioritization process for their projects
• January 9, 2026: Most recent formal resubmission of Final Proposal
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 5
Preliminary BEAD results - Funding
$112 M
• BEAD is driving over $1 billion
$163 M investment in Washington.
Other/In-kind
State Match • All applicants were required to
Total BEAD Private Match provide >25% match
investment: Federal BEAD • State match funding was
$1.02B
available for public entities,
$736 M
PUDs, ports, cities, counties
and Tribes ($112M).
Funding (in millions)
Please note: Funding results are not final without NTIA approval.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 6
Preliminary BEAD results - Technologies
Washington’s BEAD Program will connect 166,000 homes and
small business stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Fiber Fixed Wireless LEO Satellite
58,531 locations (35%) 63,642 locations (38%) 44,333 locations (27%)
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 7
What happens next
• After NTIA approval is secured, WSBO will:
• Formally announce awards to provisional awardees
• Execute subgrantee agreements with approved providers
• Monitor permitting and environmental reviews
• Begin construction oversight and monitoring
• Ensure projects are completed on schedule and within budget
• Construction timelines vary by project, but all construction must
be completed within four years.
• WSBO anticipates that some projects will break ground this
year.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 8
BEAD Permitting Process
What is broadband permitting?
• Easements, Rights-of-Way (ROW), and
Other Permits
• Subgrantees need permission to access
assets controlled by public or private entities
• Examples of assets: State, Tribal, or federal-
owned land, poles, conduit, federal highways
• Environmental and Historic Preservation
(EHP) Reviews
• All BEAD projects must complete National
A mile-long project can require Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review
many permits. before starting construction, as well as other
federal and state EHP requirements
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 10
How will WSBO accelerate permitting?
• Goal: Broadband permits issued or denied in 90 days
• Communicate regularly with our permitting partners
• Examples: Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), Public Utility
Districts (PUDs) and utilities, and local governments
• Establish permitting roundtables
• Working groups of relevant partners, including federal, state, local, and tribal
authorities; utility pole owners; and BEAD subgrantees that meet regularly to
resolve project-specific permitting issues
• Publicizing federal permitting resources and trainings
• Example: NTIA/Bureau of Land Management Interagency Permitting Summit
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 11
How will WSBO accelerate EHP review?
• Acquire expertise to support our environmental and historic
preservation review
• WSBO’s request for proposals for environmental support services
closed Monday, February 2 (using BEAD funding)
• Work closely with the awarded firm to support subgrantees
• The firm will offer guidance and technical assistance to subgrantees
• Use streamlined review options when available & as appropriate
• NTIA has created multiple efficiencies to speed environmental review,
including expanded categorical exclusions for NEPA and decision keys
for Endangered Species Act reviews
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 12
Thank you!
www.commerce.wa.gov
Questions?
Jordan Arnold Dave Pringle
DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON STATE BROADBAND OFFICE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND POLICY DIRECTOR,
COMMERCE
Jordan.Arnold@commerce.wa.gov Dave.Pringle@commerce.wa.gov
(360) 918-1241 (360) 725-2986
File and source
- File
- 2026-02-04_a33850_d295050_commerce-broadband-equity-access-and-deployment.pdf
- Size
- 571,089 bytes
- SHA-256
- c0a36f8e93cb18cc0a05708d7f89b4bd71d4721b2ae4cc47817aa6cf0b9b6c9e
- Original
- app.leg.wa.gov