Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the county executive to execute and enter into an agreement for the purpose of creating a high-speed optical network around Lake Washington and requesting that the executive undertake one or more pilot projects to use the created network to expand access to high-speed broadband service within the unincorporated areas of King County that have been underserved by high-speed digital technology.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. Under membership of the Community Connectivity Consortium, King County, various municipalities and public agencies are joining together to create a high-speed optical network, known as The Ring around Lake Washington.
2. The Consortium will build a cost-effective fiber-optic network around Lake Washington, from Bothell in the North to City of Auburn in the South, providing connectivity and access to services for public, not-for-profit and governmental institutions who otherwise could not afford to build secure, resilient, high speed fiber-optic networks to support their essential operations.
3. Participating agencies in the project agreement are the cities of Auburn, Bellevue, Kent, Kirkland, Federal Way and Renton, King County, Valley Communications Center and the University of Washington. The University of Washington is acting as the lead agency/project manager.
4. In some communities within King County, especially in the unincorporated areas, lack of access to high-speed, fiber-optic networks limits the ability of public, not-for-profit and governmental institutions to provide educational and economic opportunities to their constituents. It is the expectation that the Ring around Lake Washington network will extend high-speed digital connectivity closer to some of those under-served communities, creating a potential for public, not-for-profit and governmental institutions in those communities to connect with the new network. This will help serve the goals of the county's digital equity initiative.
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