Ag and Rural Caucus for June Policy Briefing
| Policy Briefing Broadband: Has it Happened? 6:30 pm Thursday 20 June Jenny Dickinson, Port of Columbia Debra Hansen, WSU Stevens County Extension Director https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85907982157?pwd=MU4vV3E3VGZ5VU02dnhvZjg2b3hKZz09 Paste link into browser. |
| BAT? What is it? BAT – Broadband Action Team – what I called “an essential first step” a couple of years ago…I had pretty much forgotten about them until Lisa Wolfe, Stevens County, mentioned “BAT” in a meeting not long ago. I followed up and Lisa introduced me to Debra Hansen who has “been engaged in community broadband planning for over 24 years and established the first Broadband Action Team in the state.” She is also Stevens County WSU Extension Director. And then I looked at Jennie Dickinson’s website (Port of Columbia) and read A Broadband Action Team (BAT) is currently working on Infrastructure and Digital Equity plans to provide broadband service to every citizen, business, and community building in Columbia County. But that is old news. Jennie is my neighbor and I didn’t know the incredible progress the Port of Columba has engineered. I have been asleep. Further, talking to Lee Tischer, a Wahkiakum county commissioner over the weekend, I learned that BAT’s may not be “an essential first step”. There are different ways of getting broadband done. Join us Thursday to learn more about the different routes to building broadband, an essential tool of rural economic development. Bring your experiences. Don 17 June 2024 |
| Broadband Maps: Where are you? Senator Cantwell mentioned the other day that Microsoft has a broadband map that differs from the standard FCC map. Check them out. Note: Drill down with the FCC map; the Microsoft map is by census tract – choose a county on the left of the screen to get detail. Don 10 June 2024 |
| Broadband: What happened, or has it happened? Where are we on broadband? In 2021, I wrote Broadband and apple pie. COVID has underlined how important broadband access is to live in a socially-distanced world. Students require internet to “go to” school. Parents pay the bills by telecommuting. Telemedicine brings health care for patients who cannot travel to town. Businesses set up in our smaller markets because they can reach customers and suppliers from wherever as long as UPS can make it up their gravel road. If you are in the real estate market, you can sell your house if it has broadband, but not if it lacks a connection. It is trivial to argue the value of broadband to rural families and their communities. Yet the New York Times reported last week that broadband funding has yet to flow: The biggest risk is that politics stop the momentum created by these laws, because the investments are just getting started. For example, the money has not even begun to flow to local projects from the infrastructure act’s signature $42.5 billion investment to close the broadband gap. Four years ago, ARC heard from Mason County PUD, Port of Whitman, Twispworks, and the Department of Commerce. We were all excited that broadband was happening. There was one hangup. In the broadband business there can be a difference between who builds the backbone and who provides the service on that backbone. Federal funding required that they be the same. Washington State – until 2021 – said no, the internet builder could not be the Internet Service Provider. The 2021 legislation authorized ports and public utility districts to offer retail service and, thus, become eligible for federal funding. So, what has happened? Join Jenny Dickinson, Port of Columbia, and Debra Hansen, WSU Stevens County Extension Director will bring us to date. Jenny has been the go-to economic development person in Columbia County as long as I can remember, and Debra has been on the planning side of broadband since the beginning. We have the best. Don 9 June 2024 |
Our Better Practices roundtable is on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm.. Use the link above for 2024.
Our Policy Series is on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm. Use the link above for 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Ag and Rural Caucus, All rights reserved. Ag and Rural Caucus of State Democratic Central Committee
Our mailing address is: Ag and Rural Caucus 2921 Mud Creek Rd Waitsburg, WA 99361