Surveys asking internet connectivity in the area are now completed and Connected Nations is compiling the information as one step towards improving broadband availability in Orange County.
Part of the process to qualify for a grant to help extended the areas of availability for internet is to have an action plan, according to Orange County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Director Jessica Hill.
Through funding with South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) the surveys gathered information to create a community specific Technology Action Plan designed to meet the unique needs of the county.
“The plan is in the draft format right now,” Hill said. “Once the plan is finalized it will be posted on the county and the EDC website.”
But there are further steps to get to the Final Plan.
“There will be task forces or action committees to further develop the plan,” Hill said.
Information gathered during the survey will help create a map showing connectivity, or the lack of, scrod the county.
“The map will be interactive so we can ID where there is service and at what level,” Hill said.
All the information will be combined to help assist with qualifying for state and federal funding to improve connectivity in Orange County.
Congress recently created the Affordable Connectivity Program, a new long-term, $14 billion program which will replace the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
Connected Nation’s mission is to improve lives by providing innovative solutions that expand access to and increase the adoption and use of broadband (high-speed internet) and its related technologies for all people, according to its website.
The current FCC definition of broadband is a minimum speed of 25 Mbps (Megabits per second) download and 3 Mbps upload.
During the pandemic, schools relied on internet availability to reach students and to continue classes while the country was in a lockdown state. It also magnified the impact of areas in the county being in a ‘dead zone’ where basic cable or internet was not available requiring students to find a way to access wifi in order to submit assignments or avoiding lagging further behind in class.
-Dawn Burleigh, KOGT-
Social Media