Whether you’re doing great things or just wasting time, the Internet is everywhere nowadays. We use the Internet for work, for school, for entertainment…heck, even our toasters now connect to the Internet! So, it really helps when our Internet is FAST. For a lot of folks, that’s not the case…yet.
Here are Five Fast Facts on getting more broadband Internet in WA state:
- 😞 Still Missing Out - Here in the Evergreen State, 91% of our households have broadband Internet. That’s great, but it means there are still over 250,000 households who don’t have it! So it’s still a big problem that needs fixing.
- 📜 The Law - It started with the huge infrastructure law passed by the federal government a couple years ago. In that law was a program called the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which specifically targets Internet improvements for all states.
- 🌲 Just For Washington State - Our state will get $1.2 billion of that BEAD money. It’s the 10th highest amount in the nation! That should get us a whole lotta cat videos!
- 🦸 Leading The Charge - The Washington State Broadband Office is the group of folks who will be creating a 5-year plan, prioritizing projects, and spending the money. Feel the powah, WSBO!
- 🦇 BAT Signals - The state had previously set up Broadband Action Teams (BATs!) to study how best to bring broadband access to everyone in the state. The WSBO will work with these BATs to connect all the dots and make it all happen. Heroes? Some would say yes!
🔥Bottom line: While some may not appreciate spending huge amounts of taxpayer money because it keeps pushing up inflation, it’s already done. At least this time it’s going to be spent on something that will affect real people in a real beneficial way! With more broadband Internet, businesses, schools, and individuals can flourish, and that’s going to eventually lead to better Paychecks. And a lot more cat videos. Soooo many cat videos…
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