Dye: Connectivity Must Be Improved For Rural Washington

Late last month, state Representative Mary Dye held a roundtable in Spokane, discussing the importance of broadband connectivity and technology for rural portions of the state.  The Pomeroy Republican said today’s world moves at the speed of light, and that’s true for the state’s multibillion dollar agriculture industry.  She said when farmers, use slow dial-up service and out dated infrastructure, they lose out on the international market.

To help, Dye is working on legislation to improve what she calls the “broadband divide”.  She noted House Bill 1702 and Senate Bill 5679 can help small rural communities that have struggled and in some cases died over recent years.

“We really want to have communities that are vibrant economicly and the brick and morter downtowns could be strongly enhanced by having the access to the Amazon marketplace and being able to participate in the global economy by providing goods and services out to the world, where foot traffic may not be sufficient.”

Dye said while legislation was not passed this session, they made a lot of headway, and she’s confident looking into the future.  She noted many in Olympia, from the Governor down see the importance of improving technology access in rural Washington.

“You know, I think that they recognize that in order to keep the entire state vibrant economically and provide some of the services that are essential for community life, that they really are motivated to get something done.”

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