State Senator Tim Sheldon, a Democrat from Potlatch, talks to the media at a press conference Oct. 28, 2014, in Olympia.
Rural Washingtonians are one step closer to superfast internet thanks to a bill approved last week by the state Senate.
Senate Bill 5935 makes the creation of a wide ranging high-speed broadband system with up to 5G service a priority for the state.
The measure was passed in an effort to prevent smaller markets from being passed over by communications companies. The bill creates a new Office on Broadband Access that will operate under the Department of Commerce. It also creates an advisory task force, and initiates a study to see how the state can help remove barriers to high speed internet access.
It must still be passed by the House to become law.
“The Legislature has come to recognize the importance of high-speed Internet service to our state’s economic competitiveness,” said Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, who sponsored the bill. “As a senator from the state’s most-rural district, I want to make sure none of us are left out.
“Good broadband service is just as important to rural areas as it is to cities — if not more so, as we encourage work-from-home as a way to reduce traffic congestion. We need to do everything we can on the state level to ensure this coming broadband revolution benefits all the communities of Washington.”
The importance of the bill was reiterated by Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, who serves as the chair of the Senate Energy, Environment and Technology Committee, and who co-sponsored the bill.
“The most important thing for economic growth in the rural parts of our state is high-quality, affordable access to broadband. Too many of our small communities and rural areas are still without it and changing that is a top priority for the Senate Democratic Caucus and many others across the aisle. The federal government recognizes the importance and for many years there’s been talk about it at the state level, but now we’re boldly developing a system to move forward,” said Carlyle, in a press release.
SB 5935 is in line with federal standards that set a target for high-speed internet of at least 25 megabits per second for download speeds with upload speeds of at least 3 megabits per second. The Office on Broadband Access would be in charge of coordinating with local governments, as well as public and private entities in order to execute the objective. The possibility of tax credits to encourage work in rural areas will also be up for discussion.
