SOUTH WHIDBEY RECORD: Port of Coupeville awarded $4.8 million for broadband

Karina Andrew reports:

The Port of Coupeville was recently awarded almost $5 million from the Washington State Public Works Board to expand broadband internet access in Central Whidbey.

Expansion of fiber optics infrastructure is expected to help level inequities in education, business and healthcare as households that have long been un- or under-served gain this critical access.

According to the Port of Coupeville’s Executive Director Chris Michalopoulos, there is still a lot of work to be done before the Port can even accept the grant. Chief among this work is the finalization of a private partnership agreement with Kirkland’s Ziply Fiber who would contribute the approximately $4 million in additional funding that would be needed to complete the project.

They Said It

Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair said that while reliable internet access has always been important, the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated how great the need is in the community for improved broadband infrastructure.

“We learned during the pandemic when we were trying to do school and Zoom meetings or virtual meetings, that having that capacity in the internet was critical to our ability to educate our kids, do business, operate government and even just have parties with our families when we’re in isolation,” she said.

St. Clair said that improved internet access would give kids at all grade levels increased access to educational materials, level the playing field for local workers who need to work remotely or small business owners trying to grow their brands, and increase medical professionals’ capacity to provide virtual care and respond to emergencies.