Countywide survey will decide need for broadband
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 8, 2016 1:45 AM
Wayne County residents and businesses can have a say in whether there is a need for increased high-speed broadband Internet access across the county.
And all it takes is responding to 11 survey questions.
The county is partnering with the Broadband Infrastructure Office of the N.C. Office of Technology and Information Technology in an effort determine the need for expanded broadband coverage.
"Commissioners, in an effort to improve broadband access -- high-speed access to the Internet -- have partnered with the state," county Planning Director Chip Crumpler said. "So Wayne county is asking residents and business owners to help show the need, or the lack of, and desire for broadband Internet access by completing the survey."
The survey is online at the county website, waynegov.com.
Paper versions are available at Wayne County Library branches in Goldsboro, Mount Olive, Pikeville and Fremont and at the county Tax Office located on the first floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex and the Planning Department located in the Jeffreys Building, 134 N. John St.
The survey also can be completed by phone by calling 919-731-1650. To have a copy of the survey mailed to you, call 919-731-1650.
Crumpler said the county would prefer having the online version completed since that is easier to process than going through paper copies.
"We have done a lot of work in other counties where it (survey) has proven successful," said Keith Conover, technical analyst with the N.C. Broadband Infrastructure Office. "We bring in providers, show the need and find out how it fits into their plans."
That will include existing as well as new providers, he said.
"What will happen is that Wayne County and the state will seek the support of all Internet service providers (ISPs) in an effort to increase that broadband coverage in the county," Crumpler said. "What we will do is we will take the survey and map the locations of the results of the survey to show a necessity or needs map.
"The state will then take that and negotiate with ISPs to improve service. That is pretty much the county's involvement other than providing maybe some tower locations or possibly water towers that they can add additional antennas tat will boost coverage."
The map is normally ready within about 30 days after the survey wraps up, Conover said. The meeting with ISPs is normally held between 30 and 60 days after the survey to ensure the providers have fresh information, he said.
Also as part of the process, the county's "vertical assets" -- water towers and radio towers -- will be looked, Conover said.
Those are potential sites to mount fixed point-to-point wireless antennas, he said.
The county is trying to get as any people as possible to fill out the survey because the more people who take part, the more need will be shown thereby creating a better possibility of getting results, Conover said.
"We are seeking higher speed access so that you can stream video," Crumpler said. "Students in the school system, if a family has multiple students at home, they are trying to get on the Internet to do homework, do research are having difficulty getting those things completed.
"Students taking college level classes somewhere are having difficulty completing their work. Businesses located out in the county, farms that need Internet access for their business. That is what is driving the need."
Everyone needs to complete the survey, even those who have Internet, Conover said. Those who have Internet should do so to indicate information about Internet speed, availability and affordability, he said.
Some preliminary mapping has been done showing Internet coverage in the county, Crumpler said.
"Grantham and Seven Springs are the weakest-covered areas," he said. "But there is a lack of high-capacity service all over the county, not just in those two areas. Those two areas are the worst.
"The state will negotiate deals for the county, but the county has to gather the information and show the need by doing the survey."
The survey has been open for just over week and will remain open through July 1.
"We want as many responses as we can possibly get because the more we have, the more important we are going to show a need," Crumpler said. "If we don't have any responses then it is hard to show the providers."