At the regular meeting on April 12, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously to go forward with the $102,000.00 plan to find out if internet users will be able to choose another high-speed internet service. Currently, the major provider of the internet for the county is Spectrum, a brand of Charter Communications. Another option is Hughes Net, which is a satellite-based option for broadband in areas where Spectrum is not available.
Spectrum provides internet speeds from 200 Mbps (megabits per second) to 1 Gbps (gigabit per second). Hughes Net provides a top speed of 25 Mbps and is not recommended for online gaming, according to a representative.
According to the business side of their website, (https://internet.hughesnet.com/business-plans/#faqs) “Each plan comes with a set amount of Anytime [sic] and Daytime data and has no hard data limits. If you reach your data limit, you can still use the Internet at reduced speeds of 1 to 3 Mbps.”
The study will assess the need for broadband internet county-wide, along with “potential providers, technology options, partnership options, financing/funding options, and legal considerations … If it is determined that the County can feasibly meet the identified need by contracting with fiber vendors, then the County will begin negotiating with providers and seeking funding opportunities and partnerships for the project.”
