Addressing the lack of broadband access and connectivity

Addressing the lack of broadband access and connectivity

2022-07-13T09:30:13-04:00December 22nd, 2021|Economy, Infrastructure, Palm Beach|

Writer: Caty Hirst 

broadband access2 min read December 2021Federal funding for critical infrastructure needs will begin pouring into Florida in the coming months — including about $400 million to close gaps in broadband access for the state’s counties as the region hopes to improve the experience and accessibility of remote work, health and school. 

The funding is part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act passed by the US Congress in November, which will tackle infrastructure needs from clean water and bridge restoration to sustainable energy and broadband access. The massive infrastructure bill represents about $550 billion in new infrastructure spending above baseline levels, with projects rolling out over the next several years, according to the Brookings InstituteFederally, the bill includes about $65 billion to bring broadband connectivity up to speed across the country. 

Raphael Clemente, executive director of the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority, said broadband is one of the most pressing infrastructure needs facing Palm Beach, just behind better transit connections for the rest of the county.

The second pressing need is broadband connectivity, whether it’s 5G or fiber optic. Today, we conduct online meetings so making sure that telecommunications or internet connectivity is as fast and reliable as possible is a key piece to keeping professionals and corporations that have decided to come here,” he said. 

Broadband connectivity has become increasingly important to daily life since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the nation in March 2020, with schools, businesses and even health providers turning to the internet to move forward with work, school and basic healthcare needs. But millions of people are getting left out, especially poorer communities in both urban and rural areas, according to data from Brookings. Data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shows about 19 million households in the United States don’t have access to broadband. 

Data from the FCC shows that currently 0% of the population in Palm Beach County has access to fiber technology. The federal data also shows 50% of the county has access to cable connections, 62% have access to DSL and 4% have access to fixed WL. 

In 2017, Palm Beach conducted a feasibility study with Magellan Advisors to determine the viability of fiber-optic in the community, as well as determine the broadband infrastructure services currently available to its community residents, institutions and businesses. However, fiber projects have yet to move ahead in the community. 

To bridge the current technological infrastructure divide for students now, however, the School District of Palm Beach County took action in November to expand Internet access for over 25,000 students who were at-risk, according to an audit performed by the school district, according to WPTV. Using $16 million in CARES Act funds, $22 million in district funds and through nearly $1 million in donations from the community, the school district installed large radios on county and district buildings to expand internet access; and installed smaller radios on utility poles throughout neighborhoods lacking internet access. The district also bought new devices for students such that they could access remote learning. 

In nearby communities, however, connectivity projects are rolling out up and down the Florida coast. Indiana-based company MetroNet, for example, has announced plans to bring ultra-high-speed, 100% fiber optic infrastructure in a $50 million investment to businesses and residents in the Palm Coast. The company will install 3 million linear feet of fiber beginning in Spring 2022, with customers seeing connections by Fall 2022. The investment, once complete, will allow Palm Coast to become a Certified Gigabit City, joining the country’s internet elite. 

In another project, AT&T has announced plans to install some 23,000 linear feet of fiber optic cable between December 2021 and March 2022 in residential neighborhoods in Flagler Beach, improving both high speed Internet Access and cell phone coverage for AT&T customers in the area. The project is replacing existing copper cable along State Road 100/Moody Boulevard, on streets north of SR100 to North 10th Street, and from Central Avenue to Lehigh Avenue.

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