While broadband has been an increasingly popular policy topic in the last few biennia, the pandemic has drawn attention to, and in some case exacerbated, the inequitable access to broadband services across the state.

Legislators are working on a variety of proposals to address broadband inequity. HB 1457, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie (D–Vancouver), seeks to accommodate the rapid expansion of broadband infrastructure by proactively collaborating with broadband facility owners when operating projects on planned limited access highways. Under the proposal, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) may allow franchises to use a state highway for construction and maintenance of fiber optic facilities.

The bill also requires the Joint Transportation Committee to oversee a consultant study to provide recommendations related to WSDOT’s role in broadband service expansion efforts. The study must include the following recommendations:

• A WSDOT strategy to address missing fiber connections and inadequate broadband service areas;
• Planning and financial tools to provide greater ability to install conduit in anticipation of future broadband fiber occupancy;
• Opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships between WSDOT and broadband service providers;
• Strategies for mitigating potential safety, operations, and preservation impacts to transportation infrastructure; and
• Taxonomy to apply to areas that are underserved and unserved by broadband.

Dates to remember

HB 1457 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on March 16 at 4 pm.