-
Casmira Harrison
I had the opportunity this Thursday to listen in on part of a county broadband committee meeting.
At issue during the meeting, attended by Putnam County commissioners, county officials and chamber of commerce execs among others, was how to get a better understanding of where — specifically — broadband and high-speed internet access was needed across the county.
Back in 2021, Congress passed a massive infrastructure bill, part of which is dedicated to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. That program aims to hand off federal dollars to internet service providers (Note: not local governments) to increase broadband access in rural areas.
Places like Putnam County are the main target. We are über rural out here, so it makes sense that some of those federal funds — a little over $5 million, for now — are expected to help providers prop up access within our territory.
But knowing where the problem areas are is a sticking point.
Between various phone and internet providers, Starlink, mobile hotspots and other possible internet access points, some areas in Putnam County appear to be covered, but don't actually have a solid fiber optic line running down the road. That makes it confusing — not just for the service providers estimating where target areas should be, but especially for residents who may not be familiar with technology or the lingo associated with it.
And if there are no solid target areas to improve, the federal money being handed out to networks may not do what it was intended to do. At least, that seems to be the concern of local officials.
Adding to frustrations, there appears to be some disagreement in coverage areas.
James Ritchie sat at the head of the table at the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. Ritchie is the technology director for the county. He said he has Starlink and a hotspot, but does not have an actual internet cable into his home.
"I wouldn't be considered to have high-speed internet, but I'd really like to get Comcast down my road," said Ritchie.
Ritchie is incredulous of at least some provider maps of the area. The tech expert said he was looking at a map of internet locations, chatting with a service provider, and asked if the company had service at a particular address the map showed was covered. The company said it did, recalled Ritchie, relaying his conversation with the group.
"There is no service at this address," Ritchie told the provider, "Because I know the man who lives there. You're looking at him."
Disagreements about unserved or underserved coverage locations appears to be a sticking point for more folks than just the people of Putnam.
In an article published Thursday by the national business news outlet Bloomberg, reporters Todd Shields and Scott Moritz reported that US regulators are investigating whether broadband-service providers exaggerated their level of coverage to authorities preparing to distribute billions of dollars in subsidies.
The article states the Federal Communications Commission has multiple investigations involving several service providers, but that the agency declined to say which providers it is investigating.
That's not to say there's shenanigans going on. An investigation just means the FCC is looking into it. But with $42.5 billion in funding for better broadband at stake across the US, there is strong incentive to make sure the placement of that funding goes toward the spots where it would be most beneficial.
Right now, the county is in the process of trying to reach out to residents who have no internet service at their homes, but want it. Meeting attendees appear to have settled on the idea of a call center — much like the one used by the Emergency Operations Center during severe weather events — to have folks call in and provide information about their internet coverage, or lack thereof.
The county is early in this process, but are hoping to get it up and running some time in the next few months.
When they do, call the number, so that these funds can benefit the right places.
Casmira Harrison is the editor of the Palatka Daily News. You can reach her at charrison@palatkadailynews.com or, (for those with spotty internet access) via the Daily News mailing address at 1825 St. Johns Ave., Palatka, FL, 32177.