I still maintain that fiber infrastructure should be rolled out like electricity was rolled out during the Rural Electrification Act. It should be a non-partisan issue and viewed as the critical infrastructure that it is. However, when a specific political party does something significant in relation to broadband I try to keep you up to date.

I am very happy to say that on Saturday, August 28th, the Whatcom Democrats passed a very comprehensive broadband resolution in a unanimous (53-0) vote. https://www.whatcomdemocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Resolution-for-Public-Internet-Option-in-Whatcom-County-DRAFT.pdf

I'd like to extend a special thank you to Senator Lovlett who outlined the success of the Anacortes Public Fiber Network to the Dems on Saturday. I'd also like to thank Andrew Reding of the Whatcom Democrats for involving me in the process of providing feedback on the resolution. I am happy to say that they incorporated my suggestions into their well researched document. 

My top top 3 hopes for this document are that:

0. It will be used by our community as a standard defining what we need moving forward and seen as what it is, the community demanding a public fiber network as they have many times in the past.

1. It will also be used by other communities as a model for similar resolutions.

2. It will remind our elected officials, current candidates, county and city staff, our schools, etc. to live up to the broadband promises they've made especially as the school year begins. Nothing highlights the need for public fiber infrastructure like kids that can't attend school in a meaningful way online. And no, the wireless devices the schools handed out did not solve the problem for everyone. They didn't even come close and they cost too much. So we still need public fiber. Please remember, affordable fiber is the critical infrastructure that makes all of the broadband magic happen in the background. There is no getting around the need for it.

I would also like to ask you to consider taking part in the Consumer Reports nationwide broadband study. The link is in this update. It takes most people about 7 minutes to do and will help build a comprehensive nationwide map.

On a side note, I am also still pushing for a network load testing project using RRUL (real-time response under load) testing in the background. Network load testing is the most accurate testing that there is. Stay tuned for updates on that in the near future. Here are some details on RRUL for those who are interested. https://www.bufferbloat.net/projects/codel/wiki/RRUL_test_suite/