Seattle City Light and municipal broadband policy

What I wrote for mayoral candidate Andrew Grant Houston’s municipal broadband policy:

…the City of Seattle has an entire webpage dedicated to the effort.

Still, the pandemic impacts Seattle residents in ways we could not have predicted, one of them being remote learning for students. According to The Seattle Times, 2,700 preschool-12th grade students lacked sufficient internet for remote learning and over 6,000 students lacked internet access entirely.

The internet has become a necessary utility for our everyday lives.

Read Andrew Grant Houston’s policy here!

…we need to ensure all families and small businesses have access to the internet at the speed they need and at a price they can pay.

The time for an affordable, municipal broadband system is now.

How much will it cost?

Based on the City’s own 2015 study, between $400-530 million (adjusted for inflation). The cost difference is based on whether we place our proposed lines in existing power spaces (lower cost) or existing communications spaces (higher cost), hence why I want to create a joint venture with Seattle City Light to provide the services. At that cost level, the City could provide service to residents at up to 1Gbps for as low as $45/mo…