Fourth annual state broadband report shows high-speed internet access improving all over Washington
Washington is now 4th in the nation for access at 100 Mbps and third in broadband adoption
OLYMPA, WA – The work of public and private broadband providers is paying off in Washington according to the 2013 Annual Broadband Report released today by the Washington State Broadband Office. During the last year, more than 450 of the state’s 629 Census-designated communities saw increased access to broadband through wireline and/or wireless providers. For many of these communities it was the second straight year of improvement.
“Broadband access is especially important to our agenda for promoting economic development in small businesses, rural and underserved communities in all parts of the state,” said Brian Bonlender, director of the Department of Commerce. “Washington will continue to improve education, healthcare, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for all residents with these essential networks and tools in place.”
Today’s report is the fourth annual report on the state of the state’s broadband network and includes data based on the National Broadband Map which is compiled from information gathered by the Broadband Office. The report also includes the progress of five Local Technology Planning Teams working under grants from the Broadband Office and the results of the Office’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Challenge.
Other highlights of the report include:
- 9 percent of the state’s residents live in areas where broadband is available at 3 Mbps download, 83 percent of the state’s population live in households with Internet access and 73.8 percent of the state’s population regularly use their home broadband connection.
- Gross business income from broadband- enabled electronic shopping in Washington grew for the fourth straight year topping $3.5 billion in 2012.
- Washington is first in the nation for software publishers and second in total state-level payroll coming from the technology industry at 18.4 percent.
The report also contains recommendations for encouraging and supporting the continuing growth of the state’s innovation and broadband-enabled economy.