Counties seek to expand broadband
A coalition of local officials in Northwest Georgia says coverage gaps are an economic development issue.
A coalition of Northwest Georgia counties is working to expand broadband to underserved parts of the region.
The western half of Floyd County, The Pocket up north and much of Polk and Chattooga counties are areas where highspeed internet service is either spotty, unaffordable or not available at all, according to a Digital Georgia interactive map. Walker, Gordon, Bartow, Paulding and Haralson counties also show significant gaps in coverage.
Officials consider it an economic development issue as well as a necessity for residents.
“We have so many homebased businesses, there’s really a need for this,” said Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Jason Winters. “There’s a joke that people can make it longer without water than without internet, but it’s almost true.”
Haralson County Commission Chairman Allen Poole is heading the newly formed group. Last month they heard from state Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, co-chairman of the Legislature’s joint Study Committee on High Speed Broadband Access for All Georgians.
The committee’s final report acknowledges that the scattered population and rugged terrain offer little incentive for private companies to extend service. Yet the lack of broadband often deters growth.
“Today’s economy no longer requires (just) basic amenities such as power and sewer, but also demands the ability to transmit data and communications at dependable, economical, high rates of speed,” the report states.
The committee came up with a slew of recommendations, from tax incentives to public/private partnerships. Legislation submitted by Gooch and co-chair Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, didn’t make it out of committee this year but can be reactivated in 2018.
Meanwhile, the committee is still collecting information through June on a Georgia Rural Broadband Survey. Winters said residents in the region could help the coalition by taking the online survey, which will be used to assess the state of internet services.
“We’re trying to highlight areas we don’t have service and get the information to the state,” Winters said. “It seems like we’re seeing the state take an interest and we want to be positioned well.”
Efforts got a boost last month when Speaker David Ralston appointed Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, to the House Rural Development Council. Formed to work with rural communities on ways to encourage economic growth, the council is scheduled to hold its first meeting later this month.
“Rural Georgia faces challenges like access to broadband and healthcare,” Lumsden said. “Attracting industry and jobs is important to all of us, but as you get into the rural areas there are problems they don’t have in more urban areas.”
Lumsden said the 15-member committee would likely meet once a month in the summer, then twice monthly into the fall. Plans are to come up with a strategy, and legislation to present next year.
Winters said the coalition is looking forward to working with Lumsden on the issue, and he’s hopeful of legislative assistance in the next session. The Appalachian Valley Fiber Network is a strong high-speed “backbone” in the region, he said, but what’s needed are commercial providers that will link from the network to people’s homes.
“Across Northwest Georgia, we have a lot of problems with what we refer to as last-mile service,” Winter said. “You may have broadband or higher speeds to a certain point, but then there’s no connectivity.”