Capital Project Fund Performance Report, 2025 edition
A stable broadband infrastructure provides equitable distance learning opportunities, drives job creation, promotes innovation, improves economic vitality, expands health care access, and develops new markets for Washington state businesses. It is crucial to advancing our state’s education, public health, commerce, public safety, and transportation systems.
In 2019, Washington’s technology sector accounted for over 22% of the state’s economy, the highest share of any state in the nation. Yet many Washingtonians lacked access to the very digital tools that Washington businesses were deploying to the world.
Less than a year later, Washington became the first state in the nation to confront COVID-19, marking the beginning of our country’s first pandemic of the digital age. The crisis revealed how a lack of digital access amplified existing vulnerabilities during a national emergency, including:
- Without a good internet connection, students could not participate in online learning, contributing to more significant learning losses than students with reliable online services.
- Workers living in areas with limited broadband couldn’t work remotely, so they were more likely to do jobs outside of the home. Unfortunately, working outside the home increased the risk of getting COVID-19 and spreading it to household members.
- Lack of high-speed internet access widened health disparities by preventing people from accessing online health care and behavioral health services.
- Digitally excluded individuals faced greater difficulty maintaining social connections during quarantine. For many managing mental health conditions, the sudden loss of contact and communal support increased mental health symptoms.
- When using cell phones, digitally excluded communities had higher dropped-call rates with crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and emergency services.
- Washington businesses in areas with insufficient broadband could not remain competitive in their markets by shifting to online service delivery, resulting in increased revenue loss and higher closure rates.
- Communities with limited digital connectivity could not access pandemic relief services — such as cash and food benefits — as quickly as communities with adequate broadband.
This performance report focuses on the $195,749,000 Capital Project Fund (CPF) award made to Washington in June 2022. It provides updated implementation information and illustrates how CPF is helping our state overcome long-standing barriers to affordable high-speed internet for all. Broadband access is essential to building a responsible, modern infrastructure that can keep pace with technological advancements and dependencies.
