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CenterFuse Broadband Feasibility Report 3. Improve Residential Broadband in the Surrounding Rural Areas The most difficult challenge to solve by the community is improving broadband in the areas surrounding Ellensburg. Any prospective employers are going to consider broadband in the area, not just broadband available in the city or broadband available to businesses. There is no easy way to solve the rural broadband gaps discussed in this report. But it can be done. As an example, nearby Chelan and Grant PUDs have undertaken the construction of rural fiber by the Public Utility Districts in those counties. Those particular counties have an easier way to finance fiber than most counties since both counties own and operate large hydroelectric dams. But there are many PUDs in Washington without that financial advantage that are finding rural broadband solutions. There are rural counties all across the country that are finding rural broadband solutions. There are a number of steps that other rural counties have taken to find broadband solutions. Some ideas to improve broadband around Ellensburg include: • Some communities have kick-started better broadband by funding a broadband feasibility study for rural areas. The most important aspect of such a study is to engage with engineers to identify the local issues with expanding broadband networks and to estimate the cost of building new broadband infrastructure. It's a lot easier to have the conversations with ISPs about better broadband if the community is armed with the facts and knows the costs of building better broadband. Not knowing the facts is always a showstopper, but we've seen that understanding dollars makes for a different conversation than plain advocacy. • Work with the Kittitas PUD to understand their plans, if any, to pursue broadband. If they have no such plans, ask that they consider it. If they have broadband plans develop a propose strategies that improve service to Ellensburg. • Work with existing ISPs. There might be a good business case that can be made for Charter to extend its network for a few more miles outside of the city. Charter has undertaken similar expansion plans around existing markets all over the country in the last few years. CenterFuse might need to paint a picture of why such expansion can be a success for Charter. • There are also several wireless ISPs operating outside the city. Most of these WISPs are offering slow broadband speeds due to not having fiber to their towers. It might be possible to work with the WISPs to increase broadband speeds around the city to speeds of 50 Mbps— 100 Mbps. Page 15