Crosscut Now
Jul. 28, 2021 - New WA laws start to close broadband gap
7/28/2021 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
New WA laws start to close public broadband gap — but it’s a small step.
Legislators are spending $400 million to expand broadband, while opening up public internet options. But access for everyone is still a long way off.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS
Crosscut Now
Jul. 28, 2021 - New WA laws start to close broadband gap
7/28/2021 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Legislators are spending $400 million to expand broadband, while opening up public internet options. But access for everyone is still a long way off.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Crosscut Now
Crosscut Now is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(upbeat energetic music) - I'm Starla Sampaco in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.
New Washington laws are starting to close the public broadband gap.
But access for everyone is still a long way off.
Hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians lack high-speed broadband internet at home, making it difficult for them to work remotely or stream videos.
Shannon Beddo, a co-op school teacher based in Kingston, is all too familiar with this problem.
During the pandemic, she often lost her internet connection while teaching online classes, leaving the students without a teacher.
Nearby, business owners Heidi and Kelly Campo were having similar problems, struggling to log into their business email and their accounting software at the same time.
The state has set aside $400 million to expand broadband internet.
While not insignificant, this amount covers about only a 10th of the estimated cost to extend fiber optic cable to everyone in the state.
I'm Starla Sampaco.
Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.
(energetic upbeat music)
- News and Public Affairs
Top journalists deliver compelling original analysis of the hour's headlines.
- News and Public Affairs
FRONTLINE is investigative journalism that questions, explains and changes our world.
Support for PBS provided by:
Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS