The Broadband Advisory Workgroup advised the City on policy considerations regarding municipal broadband. Workgroup members were selected by Mayor Fleetwood and confirmed by the Bellingham City Council. The workgroup presented its final report to the City Council on May 8, 2023.
In August 2020, the Bellingham City Council passed Resolution 2020-31 to create the Broadband Advisory Workgroup to develop recommendations to advise the City on policy considerations regarding municipal broadband. The Workgroup will:
- Evaluate the possibility of municipally owned broadband infrastructure as one way to further the goals of greater availability, affordability, equitability and quality of broadband access across the community;
- Address policy considerations and financial costs and benefits;
- Assess existing conditions related to broadband access, equity and affordability as well as options and ways to use the City of Bellingham fiber optic network, as it exists today, or as may be expanded or improved, to enhance the access, equity and affordability of quality broadband; and
- Report findings and recommendations to the City so that the City Council can hold public discussions on a broadband infrastructure policy.
Please view the Broadband Advisory Workgroup Purpose and Mission developed by the Workgroup at the March 2, 2021 meeting.
The Bellingham City Council directed the Mayor to appoint a volunteer ad hoc Workgroup consisting of not less than 5 and not more than 9 community members and industry professionals comprised of the following:
- General: At least 3 local residents with general backgrounds or experience with education, small business, manufacturing, organized labor, contractor associations, non-profit entities, and other interests representing diverse public interests.
- Fiber Network Industry: At least 1 but not more than 3 individuals with professional technology experience and training in fiber optic networks, internet provider industry, fiber optic installation, telecommunication utility providers, information technology or similar fields. Individuals currently employed by telecommunications service providers, fiber optic installers or similar are encouraged to apply, provided that there is no direct benefit to a current employer or business interest.
- Financial: At least 1 but not more than 3 individuals with professional experience and training in business, finance, economics, municipal operations or similar field. Individuals in this area shall not represent the views of their employer.
- In the event of a resignation or vacancy, the position will be filled by Mayoral appointment. Unexcused absences of more than 2 consecutive meetings shall be considered a resignation from the Workgroup. Substitutes or alternates shall not be allowed for any member.
Meetings
Use the following link for meetings dates, agendas, and meeting materials.
- Agendas and minutes for workgroup meetings
- August 5, 2024: Special City Council Meeting: City Fiber Network Comprehensive Plan Workshop and Presentation
Resources
- February 2, 2021: City appoints members to new broadband advisory group
- August 27, 2020: City seeks members for Broadband Advisory Workgroup
- August 19, 2020: City Council to consider workgroup to study municipal broadband
- February 24, 2025: City Council adopted the 10-Year Fiber Network Comprehensive Plan by resolution
- September 30, 2024: City Council approved Resolution 2024-23 adopting elements of the 2024 Fiber Network Comprehensive Report
- August 5, 2024: Presentation to City Council and Broadband Advisory Workgroup
- September 25, 2023: City Council Fiber Network Presentation
- May 8, 2023: City Council adopted Resolution 2023-05 to adopt the observations and recommendations of the Broadband Advisory Workgroup
- September 26, 2022: Broadband Advisory Workgroup presented final report and recommendations to City Council
- February 22, 2021: City Council Regular Meeting – Staff present a Broadband Advisory Workgroup Resolution Amendment to record meetings during COVID
- January 12, 2021: City Council Regular Meeting Action Summary – Mayor’s Appointments of Members of the Broadband Advisory Group
- January 11, 2021: Agenda Bill 22869 – Mayor’s appointments of members of the Broadband Advisory Group
- August 31, 2020: Resolution 2020-31 – Broadband Advisory Workgroup resolution, signed
- August 24, 2020: Agenda Bill 22007 – Broadband Advisory Workgroup resolution
- November 18, 2019: Agenda Bill 22007 – Community broadband update, draft RFP for business plan
- December 10, 2018: Agenda Bill 22154 – Bid award for Roeder Avenue project; bid alternate for City conduit was not funded; Port of Bellingham bid alternate for conduit was funded by the Port. Bid Cost was $120/ft.
- July 23, 2018: Agenda Bill 21937 – Dig Once Policy: Discussion on draft policy, cost estimate for conduit installation on Roeder Avenue, direction to secure bid for conduit on Roeder Avenue project
- April 23, 2018: Agenda Bill 21937 – Dig Once Policy: Discussion on draft policy
- November 13, 2017: Agenda Bill 21789 – Review of broadband initiatives by Chris Mitchell, Institute for Self Reliance
- March 27, 2017: Agenda Bill 21560 – Status of Bellingham Public Fiber network
- Emergency Broadband Benefit | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov)
- 2020 Broadband Deployment Report | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov)
- FCC Announces Start Date of May 12, 2021 for Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Application Page (GetEmergencyBroadband.org)
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Enrollments and Claims Tracker – Universal Service Administrative Company (usac.org)
- Washington Statewide Broadband Act – Washington State Department of Commerce – “Statewide Broadband – A collaborative Act”
- Washington State Broadband Office 2020 Report
- Washington State Senate: CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5511 Chapter 365, Laws of 2019 66th Legislature 2019 Regular Session BROADBAND INTERNET SERVICE ACCESS
- Voice and high-speed broadband support coming to rural Washington
- Port of Bellingham RFP – “Whatcom County Rural Broadband Dark Fiber Project” – issued Jan 2020
- City of Seattle Feasibility Study Final Report
- City of Decorah RFP – Fiber to the Premise Feasibility Study
- City of Stillwater Utilities Authority RFQ
- HR Green – City of Stillwater Broadband Network Utility Feasibility Study
- Magellan Advisors – City of Stillwater Feasibility Study
- Greene County Broadband RFP
- Pope County Broadband Feasibility Study
- City of Spring Hill Broadband Feasibility Study
- The New York City Internet Master Plan
- High Speed Fiber Optic Network Study – Falmouth EDIC
- Whatcom County Executive Memo re ARPA Funding Framework and Uses
Resources and Studies
- What is 10GbE and What Can You Do with It?
- Map of City of Bellingham Unused Dark Fiber Strand Counts
- Find Internet Providers in Your Area (broadbandnow.com)
- Community-Owned Fiber Networks: Value Leaders in America
- A Financial Assessment of Municipal Fiber in the U.S.
- Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act
- Municipal Fiber in the United States: An Empirical Assessment of Financial Performance
- US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released a new interactive map as a reference tool. Visit https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/indicatorsmap to see what the map shows for your community.
News Articles
- Prioritization of municipal broadband leaves unserved communities behind
- Comcast working toward 10Gbps to your home
- Apple hiring engineers to develop 6G wireless
- Municipal broadband offers hope for lagging US internet
- Nokia and Vodafone demonstrate 100-Gbps fiber broadband in new trial
- Chattanooga: The first 10-gigabit internet city
- Affordable, Accessible Internet for All (AAIA) Act sets positive standards by requiring local approval of federally funded projects
- Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative brings fiber to rural Alabama
- The best broadband in the U.S. is in Chattanooga, TN
- Knoxville knocking on door to be Tennessee’s next gig city
- Why cable hates Biden’s $100B internet plan
- Clallam County, Port of Port Angeles to form broadband authority
- When it comes to municipal broadband, this Washington state utility was way ahead of the game – GeekWire
- ISPs are using the Emergency Broadband Benefit to push Americans onto new data plans – The Washington Post
- Two South Carolina Cooperatives Bring Broadband to Blue Ridge
- A Wave (of Fiber) Crests Across Maryland’s Eastern Shore
- Wi-Fi 7 is Coming – key feature of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Connect premium brand
- ‘Quantum Internet’ Inches Closer with Advance in Data Teleportation
Contacts
Email: broadbandadvisoryworkgroup@cob.org
