AUBURN, Wash. — As a result of a $3 million investment over the last two years, an additional 600 homes and businesses around the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s campus now have access to expanded broadband services.
The investments from the tribe and communications provider Comcast Corp. extended Xfinity and Comcast Business services to previously underserved locations on tribal and non-tribal lands in an area of King County about 35 miles south of Seattle. Most of the sites are expected to be fully serviced “in the next few months,” according to a statement.
“This network expansion with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe is the latest example of the investment we’re making to broaden the reach of our broadband service in Washington state,” Rodrigo Lopez, region senior vice president at Comcast Washington, said in a statement.
Over the last six years, the company said it has spent $2 billion to upgrade its network technology and infrastructure, including nearly $989 million in capex, charitable giving and employee wages and benefits. Additionally, Comcast said in February that it would invest $9.4 million to expand offerings to Snohomish and Spokane Counties over the next two years, affecting about 2,100 rural households.
King County Executive Dow Constantine praised the effort to help “close the digital divide in our underserved communities, so students can do their schoolwork, and everyone has access to healthcare and other online services.” The expanded services have taken on a greater importance “now more than ever” as remote learning and telehealth services ramped up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Native communities have made do with inadequate internet access for decades, and this issue has only worsened in the current pandemic. In the digital world we now live in, families everywhere are reliant on a steady internet connection to work from home, attend online classes, or even meet with their doctor,” said U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, M.D., a Democrat representing Washington’s 8th Congressional District.
Schrier called the investment “a great first step” to closing the digital divide for the tribal members and others living in the area.
As well, the effort fulfills a long-term goal for the tribe.
“Bringing expanded and reliable high-speed internet service to the Muckleshoot Community has long been a priority for the Tribal Council and we are pleased that, working with Comcast, we were able to bring this project to a successful conclusion,” Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chair Jaison Elkins said in a statement.
The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s members descend from the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people from the Central Puget Sound area.
