The 2026 legislative session was a rather quiet one for broadband and telecommunications policy, despite the February approval of Washington’s final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program proposal, allowing the state to begin awarding about $1 billion in federal and state funding for broadband infrastructure projects.

The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) has provisionally awarded 224 projects in under- and unserved locations across the state. These projects will now begin contracting and construction to bring approximately 166,500 businesses and households online by 2030 through three technology types: fiber, fixed wireless, and low-earth-orbit satellite. Cities with BEAD projects in their jurisdictions should begin preparing for any municipal planning and permitting needed for those projects.

AWC will continue to coordinate with WSBO staff and other broadband infrastructure stakeholders to support BEAD implementation as projects get underway. AWC is also continuing to work with partners to advocate for the state’s retention of another $491 million in federal funding that Congress previously allocated for BEAD non-deployment activities.

Just a handful of policy bills with impacts for cities were introduced this year. While none of them passed, AWC expects at least two to return in a future session.

HB 2365 aimed to make a wide range of updates to the state’s 2022 Digital Equity Act. Most notably, the bill would have increased the state’s definition of broadband service to 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload speeds (up from the current 25/3 megabits per second), improving the state’s minimum standard significantly to align with present-day technology. It also would have redefined “low-income household” to include a larger set of households than currently included. AWC expects a similar, if not the same, proposal to reappear next year.

SB 5188, another bill we anticipate returning, sought to authorize the Public Works Board (PWB) to issue loans to assist in funding repair and replacement of middle and last mile broadband infrastructure. Currently, the PWB may only award its broadband funding to infrastructure expansion projects.

A third bill, HB 2579, would have taxed telephone service subscribers to promote and fund public media broadcasters in Washington and digital equity efforts. AWC supported the underlying goal of the bill but objected to its preemption of local jurisdictions from levying a similar tax. The legislation failed to pass out of its first policy committee.