5308I2209N

Purpose: The Connecting Rural Counties: WSBO Partnership Broadband Initiative is a last-mile fiber and last-mile wireless project that aims to overcome the barriers to broadband access and connectivity in five rural counties of the state: Ferry, Jefferson, Kittitas, Okanogan, and Stevens counties. These counties were selected as a result of the assessment conducted by the State of Washington in 2019 following a state legislation to bring high-speed internet access to all by 2024. This application was submitted by the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) as the primary applicant.

The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) has entered an eligible covered partnership with City of Ellensburg, Declaration Networks (DNG), Hood Canal Communications (HCC), Jefferson Public Utility District (PUD), and ZIPLY Fiber to accomplish the project and bring broadband service to 7,196 unserved households.

Activities: This project has three prongs: a last-mile fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) that will serve 100% of the unserved households in the service areas, a middle mile infrastructure that will connect rural houses to local ISPs, and radio arrays for wireless broadband connectivity to homes and farms. The broadband service providers will deploy fiber optic network to all five service areas with qualifying broadband internet service. All FTTH projects will utilize fiber with GPON installations that will provide speeds of 1 Gbps symmetrical with latency at or under 80 ms. The City of Ellensburg will build wireless broadband radio sites at two water wells. Five miles of 288-count fiber will be laid from the wells to connect to the city's existing fiber network. DNG will deploy an all-fiber optic network along Highway 25 in Stevens County. Hood Canal Communications (HCC) seeks to close the digital equity gap by building a complete fiber to the home (FTTH) network along the Highway 101 corridor from Triton Cove State Park to Brinnon, in Jefferson County, along the scenic Hood Canal. Jefferson PUD is proposing to build out a fiber network to the communities of Quilcene, Discovery Bay, and Gardiner. ZIPLY Fiber currently serves its project areas in Ferry and Okanogan counties, which will facilitate rapid deployment of fiber optic infrastructure. Central Connect (Ellensburg ISP) will provide broadband service from 100/100 Mbps at $65/month to 1/1 Gbps at $120/month. DNG will provide broadband service from 50/50 Mbps at $75/month to 1/1 Gbps at $249/month. HCC will provide broadband service from 25/3 Mbps at $48.95/month to 1/1 Gbps at $83.95/month. JPUD will offer broadband service from 100/100 Gbps at $65/month to 1/1 Gbps at $90/month. ZIPLY will offer broadband service from 100/100 Mbps at $40/month to 1/1 Gbps at $60/month.

Outcomes: The projects are designed to serve the needs of each community at speeds that will allow them to utilize today and tomorrow's technology. The covered partnership projects high subscription pick-up, anticipating many unserved homes to subscribe to the broadband services offered.

Beneficiaries: Overall, this infrastructure project will bring broadband service to 7,196 households, 210 businesses, 50 community anchor institutions across five rural counties. The beneficiaries in the proposed service areas will receive broadband connectivity at speeds that are greater than qualifying broadband service.

Subrecipient Act: If applicable, the subrecipients of federal funds for this project are the City of Ellensburg, Declaration Networks, Hood Canal Communication, Jefferson PUD, Washington State Broadband Office, and ZIPLY. The City of Ellensburg will oversee project build. Declaration Networks, Hood Canal Communication, Jefferson PUD, and ZIPLY will oversee project build and act as the internet service providers for this project. The Washington State Broadband Office will act as the administrator of the grant.

Washington State Department Of Commerce

11.031 - Broadband Infrastructure Program

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) [DOC]

Olympia, Washington 98504-0001 United States

Single Zip Code

None

COVID-19 $30,000,000 (100%) percent of this Project Grant was funded by COVID-19 emergency acts including the CARES Act.
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 08/31/24 to 11/30/25.