A June 21 press release from Senator Maria Cantwell’s office regarding a $11.7 million grant to Whidbey Telecom has some recipients scratching their heads. According to the release, "The $11.7 million award will fund the construction, improvement, and acquisition of middle mile infrastructure for the residents of Point Roberts, Lummi Nation, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and surrounding areas."
The release goes on to state: "Overall, the project includes 47.6 miles of new terrestrial underground fiber and 63.1 miles of undersea fiber, connecting all 80,000 Whidbey Island residents, 5,000 residents of Lummi Nation, 17,000 residents of San Juan County, 1,200 unserved residents of Point Roberts, and thousands more households in mainland Northwest Whatcom County.”
Continuing on, the release says the grant will help connect all 2,164 Blaine school district students and connect "11 anchor institutions, like schools, libraries, healthcare providers, community colleges, public media, public housing, and other community organizations, six of which are currently unserved.”
The problem is, the release doesn’t say how this will be accomplished. According to Whidbey’s website, it only services Point Roberts and south Whidbey Island. Requests for clarification made by the All Point Bulletin to Senator Cantwell’s office and Whidbey Telecom received no response before going to press.
This story will be updated as details become available.
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