Senator Murray announces over $33 million in grant funding and loans to improve high-speed internet access across Washington State

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced that Washington state will receive more than $33 million in new grant and loan funding to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers, and business owners across the state to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Senator Murray helped pass and is part of a total of nearly $700 million in grants and loans announced today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for high-speed internet projects in 22 states and the Marshall Islands through the ReConnect Program.

 This is the second batch of funding Senator Murray has announced for high-speed internet projects across Washington state this summer; in June, she separately announced more than $76 million in grant funding and loans for four entities in Washington state.

 “High-speed internet is no luxury—it’s absolutely essential for people across our state to get an education, fully participate in our economy, and take care of their families,” said Senator Murray. “That’s why I fought so hard to secure a historic investment to improve high-speed internet access for rural communities in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—and why the new resources announced today are going to make a difference for families in Mason and Okanogan. Students, workers, and families in every part of our state deserve access to high-speed internet—and I’m going to keep working to ensure federal investments like these are made in communities across Washington state.”

“Keeping the people of rural America connected with reliable, high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country and creates good-paying jobs along the way,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are connecting rural communities to a global marketplace. These investments will support economic growth and prosperity for generations to come.”

 The resources will support high-speed internet access in Mason and Okanogan counties with:

·         A $30,195,500 loan for the Public Utility District 1 of Okanogan County to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to deliver high-speed internet—benefitting 1,157 people, 21 businesses, 68 farms, and two educational facilities in the county. The project will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program and will serve vulnerable communities in Okanogan county.

·         A $3,809,000 grant for the Hood Canal Telephone Co. Inc. to construct 16.1 miles of fiber and install necessary technology to strengthen broadband access in Union, Washington. The new fiber lines will pass 800 households and 10 businesses.

 Applicants to ReConnect Program funding must serve a rural area that lacks access to service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload. Applicants must also commit to building facilities capable of providing high-speed internet service with speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in the proposed service area. Additionally, to ensure that rural households that need internet service can afford it, all awardees will be required to apply to participate in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP offers a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service to qualifying low-income households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal Lands.

 A longtime advocate for expanding broadband access, Senator Murray worked to include $65 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure that every family in America has access to reliable, high-speed internet. Notably, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included Senator Murray’s Digital Equity Act to help close the digital divide by funding activities that provide individuals and communities with the skills and technologies necessary to take full advantage of internet connection.