McKeen said the Internet for All project aims to improve education and \u201chelp people learn about all things internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beginning in September 2022, its study committee spent 26 weeks researching barriers to internet access and solutions other communities had implemented to expand service.<\/p>\n
Community Research Coordinator Laura Prado said that as part of the research, the committee spoke with organizations such as the Senior Center and Blue Mountain Action Council to understand possible barriers, with infrastructure stakeholders, including internet service providers and port districts to explore opportunities for building capacity, and with service providers offering digital literacy programs to assess support available for residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then from there, they (the study committee) put together their conclusions, and from the conclusions, they put together their recommendations,\u201d Prado said.<\/p>\n
The report<\/a> was released in June 2023. According to the study, in Walla Walla, 20% of students lacked broadband access, compared with 40% in College Place and 100% in Prescott.<\/p>\n Prado said the project is now in its advocacy phase, in which committee members are developing an action plan for the recommendations. That involves \u201cwho are we going to talk to, what actions can we take, and how can we measure the results?\u201d<\/p>\n She explained that some of the recommendations from the study committee are concrete, such as classifying broadband as a public utility, similar to water and electricity. Others were kept open to interpretation, such as addressing service gaps, so they can be applied broadly to different situations.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are working with service providers and saying, \u2018Hey, you guys need to work together because you\u2019re providing similar resources, and you can combine and basically be better for our community,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt sometimes means talking to legislators or their aides and saying this is really important to our community, and we hope to have your support.\u201d<\/p>\n Rural internet gap<\/p>\n McKeen works as a sole proprietor doing computer-related consulting in Walla Walla and Columbia counties. He recalled an incident in which he was contacted by a household on the Oregon side of Mill Creek Road that had no reliable terrestrial internet options.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are so far out \u2026 there\u2019s no digital subscriber line, there\u2019s certainly no cable or fiber,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no wireless because it\u2019s so wavy, windy up there.\u201d<\/p>\n Their only choice was satellite internet, but because the property was surrounded by dense trees, they had to hire an arborist to climb a pine tree and place the dish more than 100 feet off the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they\u2019re operational now, but that was expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Dan Culley\u2019s case as well, satellite internet was the only option. After he installed it with McKeen\u2019s help, he was finally able to access Wi-Fi in his shop and call his son in Spokane over the connection. Almost everyone in his neighborhood struggles with internet access, Culley said.<\/p>\n McKeen said he believes a significant barrier to high-speed internet access in rural areas is commercial interest. If a community is 80% served, the incentive for the dominant internet service provider, or ISP, to cover the remaining 20% is relatively low because the return on investment is not ideal. Competitors typically do not step in either \u201cbecause the area in between is thoroughly served by that major ISP\u201d. As a result, small clusters of rural residents can remain without access even when nearby communities are connected.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I often run into is underserved individuals, people who can\u2019t get internet or they can\u2019t get it without some extreme response,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Expanding access<\/p>\n The Community Council\u2019s goal for this project, Prado said, is to accomplish three tasks. The first is building out infrastructure for internet providers.<\/p>\n She said service providers often can\u2019t afford to build in less populated areas with geographic challenges such as hills and dense trees that block signals, which require physically running cable or fiber lines.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they were to make that investment, they would never be able to afford to pay themselves back for it, and they would end up losing money,\u201d Prado said.<\/p>\n McKeen said that many communities do not have the infrastructure for aerial overhead lines and burying cable is expensive.<\/p>\n The Council\u2019s second goal is expanding affordability.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can we make the internet more affordable so people who would otherwise be cost-burdened and can\u2019t afford their subscription can still have access to the internet?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The third goal the Council is focusing on is accessibility. A study published<\/a> in the National Library of Medicine found that students in Washington\u2019s rural districts have significantly less access to internet-enabled devices adequate for online learning compared with those in urban districts.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people have the infrastructure and they can afford it, do they know how to use it?\u201d Prado said. \u201cDo they have the technology to be able to connect to the internet? Do they know how to navigate the Internet? Do they know how to do so safely, so that they\u2019re not so at risk for scams and phishing?\u201d<\/p>\n Dennis Lovett of Dayton spends a Friday afternoon using the free internet access and computer at the Dayton Memorial Library. Many online services in regional libraries are provided by the Washington State Library, which relies heavily on federal funding.<\/p>\n Federal cuts<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission ended its Affordable Connectivity Program<\/a> (ACP) because of a lack of congressional funding.<\/p>\n Through the ACP, eligible households received discounts of up to $30 per month for internet services and up to $75 for households on qualifying tribal lands.<\/p>\n According to a news release<\/a>, as the program neared the end of its funding, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent monthly letters to Congress that highlighted the need for additional support and the program\u2019s impact on participating households.<\/p>\n In June, the ACP exhausted its existing funds and discontinued all discounts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really have anything to replace it (ACP), not adequately, not at the state level, not at the federal level,\u201d Prado said.<\/p>\n In September 2024, the Community Council formed a coalition with Goodwill Industries of the Columbia and several other entities to apply for a Digital Equity Grant offered through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The request was for about $3.5 million, of which the Council would have received $40,000 over two years if awarded.<\/p>\n In January 2025, Prado said, the coalition was notified by email that it was recommended for an award and a contract would follow.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of our understanding of it, we should have gotten an award for that,\u201d Prado said.<\/p>\n It would have been the Council\u2019s first federal grant and would have directly supported its Internet for All project.<\/p>\n In May, the Trump administration canceled the digital equity grants. In Washington<\/a>, a $16 million grant was rescinded. President Donald Trump also called<\/a> the Digital Equity Act, which created the $2.75 billion grant program \u201cunconstitutional\u201d and \u201cracist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t mean that we had to cancel any programs,\u201d Prado said. \u201cIt meant that we have to work a little harder to find other sources of funding to help supplement what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n To make up for the lost funds, the Council has been pursuing other grants and increasing sponsorship requests.<\/p>\n Rural communities around Walla Walla also have been working to expand access.<\/p>\n The Dayton Community Broadband Project and the Touchet Valley Broadband Project were completed in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after the Port of Columbia secured federal funds.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n