CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION establishing the City Council's goal to implement Internet for All Seattle, a vision of enabling all Seattle residents to access and adopt broadband internet service that is reliable and affordable.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (City) and multiple local internet service providers offer various options for residents and non-profit organizations throughout the city such as library access, mobile hotspots, Comcast's Internet Essentials program, but the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the reality of inequitable and detrimental gaps in internet access, adoption, and affordability throughout Seattle; and
WHEREAS, the City has been pursuing strategies to expand access and adoption to broadband internet, including the founding in 1997 of the Technology Matching Fund, the 2011 Great Student Initiative, and the 2016 Digital Equity Initiative; and
WHEREAS, the City's 2018 Technology Access and Adoption Study reported that, while the number of Seattle households reporting access to the internet where they live has increased by ten percent since 2014, people living in low-income and populations who are insecurely-housed are nevertheless five to seven times more likely to lack adequate access to the internet than the average Seattle resident; and
WHEREAS, the 2018 Technology Access and Adoption Study also showed that older residents, those with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residents, and those for whom English is not their primary language are less likely to have access to the internet compared with other groups, and 23 percent of residents reported barriers that limit their internet use, such as lack of affordability and slow or unreliable service; and
WHEREAS, lack of access to the internet and barriers to adoption of internet service were highlighted and exacerbated by temporary closures to combat the spread of COVID-19, including Governor Jay Inslee's emergency order on March...
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