Port accepts initial funding offer to extend broadband to 5 towns

The Port of Whitman Commissioners at their meeting last Thursday, Oct. 4, voted unanimously to accept the initial offer of financial aid from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) for the Port’s rural broadband project.

At the Sept. 20 board meeting, CERB awarded financial assistance for the Port’s Fiber to the Home Rural Broadband project in the form of a $750,000 loan over 20 years with a 2.5 percent interest rate and a $250,000 grant.

The Port must fulfill pre-contract conditions prior to March 21, 2019, in order to execute a final contract with CERB, according...