The Washington State Broadband Office has awarded more than $121 million in grants for 19 broadband construction projects aimed at providing access to high-speed internet connections to nearly 15,000 households across the state.
Awards are conditional on the receipt of federal funds. The projects conditionally awarded funding include, but are not limited to:
- Grays Harbor PUD No. 1: $6,916,366 for the Grays Harbor South Elma, Porter, and Cedarville Broadband project
- King County: $1,767,681 for the King County Ziply to Duvall project
- Lewis County PUD No. 1: $11,958,421 for the Bunker Creek project
- Port of Whitman County: $1,135,475 for the Port of Whitman FTTx project
Demand for the grants exceeded available funds by 261%, with 50 different projects requesting more than $316 million, a release said.
“These grants will provide initial service availability to 14,794 end users located across the state, in communities as diverse as the San Juan Islands, Kittitas County, and the Spokane reservation,” said broadband office director Mark Vasconi in a press statement. “Unfortunately, we could not fund all who applied, but we are pleased that this round of grants, as well as future funding efforts administered by the Washington State Broadband Office, will bring us closer to our goal of ensuring that all Washingtonians have reliable access to broadband service.”
