The ACC government is asking Athens residents to participate in a broadband connectivity survey and internet speed test as a way of supporting their goal to bring high-speed internet to all parts of the county.
This survey is the latest step in the broadband connectivity enhancement project included in SPLOST 2020. This $6.5 million project aims to improve internet connectivity in Athens, especially in parts of the county that currently lack broadband access.
The internet has become a necessity for nearly everyone, whether you’re working from home, pursuing an education or just checking your email. But a surprising number of neighborhoods in Athens and many rural areas throughout Georgia lack broadband access. This proved a challenge for the Clarke County School District during the pandemic when all children were expected to attend class virtually.
“The pandemic really shed light on the lack of full, reliable broadband,” SPLOST Project Administrator Derek Doster told APN. “There are dark spots in the county.”
And some residents with broadband access still struggle with outages and slow service. “The federal government defines 25 mbs download and 3 mb upload as [speeds] sufficient [to be considered broadband], but that’s an old metric,” Doster said. Regardless, not everywhere in the county is even up to that low standard. The local government itself has internet problems in some parts of the county. For example, Doster said that connectivity to some of the fire stations is in need of improvement.
Doster hopes that many local residents will respond to the connectivity survey, whether they currently have fast and reliable internet or not. The survey will test respondents’ current internet speed and ask questions about how much they would be willing to pay for internet at different speeds. It will also ask about their satisfaction with their current service.
The purpose of the survey, according to Doster, is to create a database of the broadband gaps that currently exist in the community.
“If we can find out that a certain area has very little broadband capability, and there’s potential customers out there, we can leverage that with internet providers and say hey, they’re willing to pay $50 a month or $100 a month or whatever.” Together with $6.5 million in SPLOST 2020 that’s earmarked for internet connectivity, such a database would help the local government work with internet service providers to help close coverage gaps and increase connectivity to some government buildings at the same time.
The survey will be online through September 30 and will take about 10 minutes to complete. Those without internet access at home are still encouraged to take the survey, whether on their phone or at another location where they can access the internet, such as the ACC Library.
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