Broadband Access Expands on the Key Peninsula

BEAD grants will fund 73% of the over $1 billion cost of the project in Washington.”

What is it?

Broadband is a term used interchangeably with high-speed internet. It does not describe the specific technology used to deliver the internet to a subscriber.

Locations unserved by broadband are those without access to the internet, or with internet speeds lower than 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.

Underserved locations do have access to the internet, but with speeds lower than the BEAD threshold of 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads

Over 2,800 homes in west Pierce County, including the Key Peninsula, without access to high-speed internet will soon be offered a faster, more reliable connection.

The statewide project to improve broadband access is led by the Washington State Broadband Office and its Internet for All Initiative and will be funded in large part through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

The BEAD program was established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. It will support public-private partnerships aiming to build infrastructure connecting everyone in the country to high-speed internet.

The funding was approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Feb. 26, clearing the way for the state to sign agreements with 25 providers awarded grants.

Under the BEAD program, a high-speed connection is defined as at least 100 megabits per second for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads.

The 2025 Federal Communications Commission broadband data map, created using data provided by internet service providers, showed that approximately 5-6% of all locations nationwide lacked broadband access. A location is defined by the program as “a structure, such as a home, business, or community anchor institution that can be, or currently is, hooked up to broadband internet access, as determined by FCC maps.”

Locations where the speed of available internet service falls below the BEAD threshold are categorized as unserved or underserved, depending on that speed, and are eligible for participation in the program.

In Washington, the WSBO additionally decided to consider all DSL connections unserved and therefore eligible for BEAD funding, regardless of the speed claimed by the internet service provider.

Using those metrics, 166,503 locations in Washington lacked access to broadband at the time the WSBO’s final proposal was submitted in September 2025, a figure that includes 2,667 locations in tribal communities. That represents 5.3% of all locations in the state, close to the national percentage.

BEAD Grants Awarded in Washington

BEAD grants will fund 73% of the over $1 billion cost of the project in Washington. The technologies selected include fiber optic cable (35%), fixed wireless (38%), and low-Earth orbit satellites (27%). Fixed wireless systems use terrestrial towers to deliver internet to a subscriber’s antenna.

Key Peninsula Project Areas

The WSBO divided the state into 238 BEAD project areas. Locally, the part of the county west of the Narrows Bridge is divided into three such areas with a total of 2,804 eligible unserved or underserved locations.

Parts of the Key Peninsula are included in each of the three project areas.

The north project area includes the Key Peninsula north of roughly Vaughn-Key Center and extends to Gig Harbor Peninsula and Fox Island. That area has 742 eligible locations.

The central part of the peninsula, from Vaughn-Key Center to a line from Joemma Beach to Lakebay, is its own project area with 567 eligible locations.

The south end of the peninsula, along with McNeil and Anderson islands, has 1,495 locations. Most are on Anderson Island.

Herron Island Not Included

Herron Island, where almost all 350 locations are unserved, is not included in any of those areas.

According to Jenny Burger, public information specialist at Pierce County Planning & Public Works, at the time BEAD proposals were being submitted last year, the island was already under contract to be served by Astound Broadband.

That project was to be partly funded by a federal ARPA project partnership with Pierce County, so it did not qualify for BEAD funding.

The Herron Island part of the Astound project was canceled in January of this year, too late for the island to be included in the WSBO’s proposal. (See “Herron Island Broadband Project Canceled,” February 2026.)

There are currently no plans in place for expanding broadband access to the island, but Pierce County Councilmember Robyn Denson (D-7th) told KP News that the county still hopes to come up with a solution. That view was echoed by Astound Vice President for Operations Kevin Stamey.

West Pierce County Projects Awarded to SpaceX

Broadband expansion to the Key Peninsula and its neighbors has been awarded to SpaceX and its wholly owned subsidiary, Starlink. SpaceX was the only provider to submit proposals for the region’s northern and southern tiers, and one of only two for the middle tier.

The company will place additional low-Earth orbit satellites in service to improve coverage at the 2,804 unserved and underserved locations, and will offer free routers and dishes to those subscribers.

Devin Proctor, policy and communications manager at the state broadband office, said that providers receiving BEAD grants are also required to offer a low-cost service option to qualifying low-income households.

According to Proctor, the WSBO originally planned to require all providers to offer a low-cost subscription at $30/month or less, but new rules promulgated under the Trump Administration in 2025 now require the state to allow providers to define their own low-cost plan. Starlink’s low-cost broadband plan is $80/month.

SpaceX did not respond to a KP News request for more information.

Checking Location Eligibility

The Washington Commerce Department will be launching a new BEAD project map accessible from a tab on its broadband deployment funding page. Residents will be able to check if they are eligible and will also be able to explore and track those projects in their communities down to individual addresses. The new page is expected to be up by early May.

SpaceX will also be reaching out to eligible locations with offers and project updates.

For more information, go to: broadband-wacommerce.hub.arcgis.com