Letters to the Editor

Broadband on the Key Peninsula

To the editor:

Over the past year we have seen many issues which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. One I wish to speak to is the Digital Divide. Reliable high-speed Broadband is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity akin to a utility, it touches all of our lives economically, medically, and in terms of educational opportunity.

I am running to be on the board of Peninsula Light to be an advocate for Peninsula light utilizing it existing infrastructures for public entities to run high speed fiber optic cable as a public option, or a public/private cooperative.

In my thirty-five years in the service district I have seen Peninsula Light improve its reliability, through aggressive maintenance of its right-a-ways, expand its infrastructure through the addition of a new substation, greatly improve its communication and response time during power outages, and expand its service to include services. These are excellent milestones we should foster and maintain.

I believe it is time for an expansion of Pen Light’s mission to play a key support role in the expansion of broadband on the Key Peninsula. I would greatly appreciate your vote as ballots arrive March 29th.

Michael Cobey

Gig Harbor

This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 5:30 AM.