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BEAD is administered by the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) within the
<br />Washington State Department of Commerce. The BEAD process moved more slowly
<br />than the earlier recovery -funded programs and required Kittitas County to submit
<br />separate applications, business plans, and construction cost estimates for each project
<br />area. Washington State also made state funding available to cover the required public
<br />match for eligible public -entity applicants.
<br />DISCUSSION:
<br />Kittitas County does not intend to operate these networks as a retail internet service
<br />provider. Instead, the County has contracted with experienced broadband companies to
<br />support construction, operations, and service delivery:
<br />• Lightcurve - selected for the existing PWB and WSBO fiber projects.
<br />• Inland Cellular, LLC - selected as the County's broadband partner for the seven
<br />BEAD project areas.
<br />A small number of broadband -serviceable locations in six BEAD project areas were
<br />provisionally assigned to low -earth -orbit satellite providers, including Amazon Kuiper
<br />and SpaceX, where Inland Cellular could not serve the location through the County's
<br />proposed fiber or wireless design.
<br />Area
<br />Applicant
<br />BEAD Outlay
<br />State Match Private
<br />Match Total Cost
<br />21
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$3,945,167
<br />$1,315,056
<br />$5,260,223
<br />112
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$2,961,092
<br />$981,031
<br />$3,948,123
<br />156
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$3,619,809
<br />$1,206,603
<br />$4,826,412
<br />177
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$4,667,329
<br />$1,555,776
<br />$6,223,105
<br />199
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$4,740,174
<br />$1,580,058
<br />$6,320,232
<br />22
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$1,591,668
<br />$530,556
<br />$2,122,224
<br />227
<br />Kittitas County
<br />$3,156,018
<br />$1,052,006
<br />$6,118,700
<br />Final design adjustments are underway for the BEAD project. Contracts with WSBO are
<br />to be executed and returned to WSBO by October 8, 2026. Project areas are reviewed
<br />under the NEPA, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Governor's
<br />Executive Order 21-02. WSBO has contracted with a consultant to conduct these reviews
<br />for the BEAD projects. With the state -funded match included, the seven County BEAD
<br />project areas represent more than $34 million in broadband investment.
<br />The County's broadband strategy provides value beyond extending retail internet service
<br />to rural homes and businesses. As part of the negotiated arrangement with Inland
<br />Cellular, Kittitas County will receive 12 strands of fiber throughout the project network
<br />for public use. These strands can support public safety, telemetry, communications,
<br />intergovernmental connectivity, and other future County applications.
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