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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, May 19, 2008 State hopes to increase access to high-speed Internet A commission looks for areas lacking in service as a first step in an effort to bring broadband to most of Washington. By Jerry Cornfield Herald Writer OLYMPIA -- Josie Fallgatter found fighting City Hall tough enough. Doing it on dial-up made it even tougher. Fallgatter had no alternative in 2004 when she crafted the first of many challenges to the land-use practices and policies of Sultan leaders. High-speed Internet service didn't reach her home just outside city limits. She toiled on a desktop computer, storing up patience to endure the exceedingly slow downloading of documents. "And it also meant I couldn't take phone calls while I was on the computer," she said. Two years ago she bought a portable computer with wireless capability and started spending hours in the Sultan library, which offers free wireless service. "Once I made the switch, it was a 'holy smokes, this is fast' kind of reaction, she said. Even as more and more people like Fallgatter tie into higher-speed Internet service, there remain large chunks of the state and pockets of population without DSL, cable, fiber optic, wireless or satellite service because it's either not available or not affordable. "In the metropolitan areas including Spokane, I would give Washington state an A," said Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, a former White House computer technician. "But when we get out to the rural areas it is all D's and F's. We have some work to do." The state is now trying to do that work by finding out where the digital haves and have-nots live and figuring out what to do about it. Next month the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is expected to release a study of disparities in broadband use and availability in Columbia, Ferry, Grays Harbor, Lewis and Stevens counties. That will provide a starting point for a much larger and longer term undertaking ordered by the Legislature this year to map the entire state and prescribe means of filling any black holes of service. "The goal is to put together a strategy for what the state needs to do so every single school, residence and business has access to high-speed Internet," said Marcus Courtney, president of WashTech, a high tech workers union affiliated with Communication Workers of America. "Washington is at risk of falling behind other states because people do not have access." Under a new law, representatives of telecommunication companies, unions, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, cities, counties and state agencies will hammer out the best method to collect data without risking disclosure of proprietary information. "We want to see everybody with broadband," said Milt Doumit, vice president of government relations for Verizon. "You really can't address the problem until we know what the problem is. Once policymakers know where the problems exist, they can build a solution," he said. Washington is drawing loosely on the blueprint drawn by Connect Kentucky, an alliance of public and private interests that used mapping to increase the percentage of Kentuckians getting on the Internet highway at much faster speeds. Connect Kentucky has since spawned a new group, Connected Nation, and its leaders are spreading the gospel of the Kentucky experience to Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia and other states. Congress too is interested. The Senate is considering a bill passed by the House of Representatives that aims to reach unserved and underserved areas using the Connect Kentucky model. There are critics, and one of the loudest is Art Brodsky of Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group focused on defending rights of computer users. He contends the group's achievements in mapping and its role increasing access to high-speed Internet are overstated. More importantly for Washington, Brodsky said, is that elected leaders should understand the chief beneficiaries of the state-funded mapping will be the telephone and cable companies. "It is market research for them to learn where they want to build and not to build," he said. For areas that are hardest to reach, the state will be asked to provide subsidies or tax incentives to spur any company into providing service, he said. Courtney said the market will do a lot but it will not do everything. There needs to be recognition of the state's interest in spreading Internet access to help students learn, rural businesses thrive and medical clinics provide better health care. Such interest isn't free. "He's not looking at what it requires to make the investment," said Courtney, who said the Communications Workers of America does support Connect Kentucky. One of the sticking points will be getting telephone and cable companies to turn over detailed information on who they serve and where they serve them. Courtney said he wants mapping that shows this data block by block. To get sharing will likely require a trade-off. "It is a very competitive industry," said Johan Hellman, Verizon's director of legislative affairs. "We all have the same goal of getting ubiquitous broadband coverage. How we get there and how we protect everyone is the issue." Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com

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