PWB Broadband Financing – Washington State Department of Commerce
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    • The Public Works Board (Board) Broadband program is authorized by state statute (RCW 43.155.160). Its purpose is to loan and grant funding to promote the expansion of broadband access to unserved populations in rural and urban communities across the state.

    How to apply for funding

    Eligible applicants for state funding

    • Cities and Towns
    • Counties
    • Public Port Districts
    • Public Utility Districts
    • Other Special Purpose Districts
    • Quasi-Municipal Corporation
    • Tribes
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Cooperative Associations
    • Limited liability corporations organized for the purpose of expanding broadband access
    • Incorporated businesses or partnerships

    To ensure that a grant or loan to a private entity primarily serves the public interest and benefits the public, there must be a guarantee that the asset or infrastructure to be developed will be maintained for public use for a period of at least fifteen years.

    Funding limits for state funding

    • $2 million per project loan/grant award limit with a 50% match.
    • Projects in financially distressed areas may receive up to 90% of the total project cost for a total not to exceed $5 million.

    Application resources

    Funding opportunities

    The Emergency Broadband Loan Program focuses on activities that repair, replace, rehabilitate, improve and/or reconstruct critical broadband infrastructure that have been made necessary by a natural disaster or damaged by unforeseen events. Priority is given for projects that replace existing infrastructure of the provider whose facilities were damaged by the unforeseen event, and the Board does not provide funding to a new provider proposing to replace existing infrastructure impacted by the emergency.

    Applications are accepted continuously until loan funds are expended. Apply for Emergency Broadband loan program on ZoomGrants.

    Resources

    The Public Works Board Broadband Hardship Map shows the hardship status of counties. Distressed counties are counties that have rural or Tribal status. Severely distressed status is determined for rural counties with: (a) an unemployment rate 20% above the state average for the previous three years and (b) a median household income less than 75% of the state median for the previous three years.

    Open interactive hardship map in new window
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    Public Works Board