Internet concerns shared with state
Group urges residents to take surveys
St. Francis County residents had a lot of questions for the AR Broadband Now program organized by the state to address the increasing lack of reliable, affordable Internet services.
Dr. Kristy Carter and Linda Nelson, with AR Broadband Now, spoke about the program briefly at the Forrest City Civic Center Monday evening before taking questions from those in attendance.
Forrest City Mayor Cedric Williams noted that many residents, businesses, county and city entities rely on sustainable broadband in numerous areas.
"Covid really, really brought that to light in many areas," said Williams. "It's very important that this committee put together by the governor's office come out and hear from us about the issues we experience on a daily basis and how important it is for us."
Carter said she was excited to be in Forrest City.
“I’m a social scientist by trade," explained Carter. "We are here strictly for research purposes. We want to hear from you."
Carter explained to the group that they would be taking notes during the meeting and wanted to hear from all residents to gather data to help the state best invest in broadband services.
Nelson, who has a background in telecommunications, explained the committee had been hired by the state to help research the broadband needs in each of the 75 counties.
"I've got about 35 years in that and have done it all," said Nelson of her experience in telecommunication.
Nelson said the state began a project to provide affordable Internet services to everyone prior to the pandemic.
"A lot of money is going into this," said Nelson, who shared that similar projects are taking place across the nation.
She said the goal is to get the necessary infrastructure in the state.
"Who we are really concerned about are the people who have no Internet available," said Nelson. "We also have ones that have fiber they cannot access. And, we are very interested in the people who cannot afford Internet."
Nelson said the statewide initiative’s goal is to make Internet available.
"There is no need for our children to be going without the Internet," said Nelson. "Our libraries are covered up and we need to take care of this problem."
Nelson said the Arkansas Broadband group developed a master plan to help the governor decide how broadband funds should be spent across the state. She said the group is still looking at the technical aspects with available technology and finances.
"The commercial side of the plan is to make sure it is sustainable for years," added Nelson.
Nelson said that with the way technology has advanced over the last five years, there isn’t much anymore that does not involve the Internet in some way.
"What we want to do is hear from everybody in the state," she said.
She also stressed the importance of the surveys from the AR Broadband Now for residents to voice their concerns and needs when it comes to broadband. She said that out of the “seven layers of the internet" the group is primarily focusing on the bottom layer.
"Your Netflix and all of that is the top layer," Nelson said of the application layer. "What we are working on is the bottom layer."
A slide shared by Nelson showed the bottom layer is called physical and included physical structures that help provide Internet services such as coax cables, fiber, wireless, hubs and repeaters.
Nelson said the group is open to any group wanting to help get surveys out and spread the word. She also praised the Forrest City Public Library for hosting Monday’s event.
"This is great," said Nelson. "We can make this a very good project."
Nelson said she is commonly asked about the time frame for the group and said the longest amount of time will be spent gathering information and data.
"We are hoping to have this all complete by March," said Nelson, adding that the data would be turned over to a team of engineers. "They should have their report completed by the end of March."
From there, the reports will be turned over to the governor's office and legislators.
"I believe there will be options for them to pick and choose," said Nelson.
Nelson asked for questions from the audience.
Williams asked Nelson what the group considered affordable Internet and what that data is based on.
"The money the federal government and state are putting into this, that money should cover the infrastructure," replied Nelson. “The providers are not having to recoup their money for the cost to build the project. We should be able to have a discounted rate on that."
Nelson said there could also be subsidies available as well. "But, we should not be paying top dollar or what we are paying today,” she said.
Williams followed up by asking if the state would be requiring providers to not exceed a certain rate to which Nelson replied the way the state would be doing it would be based on income.
"The whole point of this is our children are going to have Internet service, we are going to have Internet service," said Nelson.
Glynis Lynch asked what the group considered good Internet, due to getting conflicting reports on what is classified as broadband.
"I've not been told a specific speed," Nelson responded.
She did, however, provide cards with two QR codes on them. One is to test Internet speeds and one is to report them.
"Because we want to know that, too," said Nelson. "We want to know what they are getting and if they are getting what they paid for and what those weak areas are."
Lynch also asked if there was a way to get information from speed tests residents had done earlier.
"We never got any update on if the speed test changed," said Lynch. "We looked back on the maps and the maps never changed."
Nelson said the current speed tests are not the same as previous ones but recommended anybody who conducts the speed tests and finds they are not getting what they are paying for should contact their Internet service provider to complain.
“The more feedback we get on those issues, the more points we'll have when it comes to negotiating with everybody," explained Nelson. "There will be a lot of different providers involved in this, but it isn't a situation where they can cherry pick. This program is for the people who do not have it, who cannot afford it and we want everyone in the state to have the Internet.”
The programs previously focused on heavily-populated areas and now the programs are trying to reach the most rural places in the state.
Lynch asked how often the state website would update the maps with data collected.
"I do not have an answer to that but we have access to all the different carrier maps and supplier maps," said Nelson.
The group has an idea of what each area is providing, according to Nelson, but that doesn't mean the data from each carrier is accurate.
"We'll get told they have an entire area covered, but when we go and look at it, they have one customer in that area," explained Nelson. "So, no, they don't have that entire area covered. This even goes into the cell services."
She said that during visits to each county they would bring phones from different providers to check service in each county and that some counties had zero coverage despite what coverage maps showed.
“We really need people to do the tests and do the surveys so we have that feedback," stressed Nelson.
Residents are asked to scan the QR codes with their phones to take the surveys.
Lynch asked how the public could get access to prior surveys, to which Nelson said their group obtained access from certain judges but would not name the judges.
Other audience concerns came from a Palestine resident who said recent coverage for the Palestine area didn't extend at all to the rural areas.
"My family has three to four JetPacks that do not work at this time of day. Nothing is offered here,” explained the resident who said she also had to work from home during Covid and would have to travel to Forrest City to get work and school work done for their family. She explained she was having to pay around $300 a month, and from the hours of 4 until 10 p.m., they would have connectivity issues. "You can't even open a Google doc and definitely can't Zoom, and those are all the things you need for their education."
Nelson implored her to include her story on her survey.
"Every one of those situations we want to know about," said Nelson, then said the problem is a common infrastructure one they had found. "AT&T will tell you that you have service going down any highway and 70 miles later you still don't have it. We need to hear from you. It's exactly why we want to hear from you. We want to know every weak spot."
Lynch also asked about several pop-up Internet service providers the area has seen recently. "Who are they?"
"I don't know, but part of what our program is is to provide service to everybody," explained Nelson.
Carter told residents that the Federal Communications Commission knows the coverage maps are unreliable.
"But, if you arm yourselves with your own information and know what your speeds are, then you should be able to communicate one on one with your provider and let them know what your expectations are and at least that you know. So make sure to run that test when you get home,” said Carter.
Nelson said most providers stated that everyone gets a gig. "But, when you are testing, you'll find you might not have that. So do the test and find out if you got it."
She also recommended residents run several tests, one in the down time and one during peak hours with multiple devices being operated at the same time. "And do it throughout the day," said Nelson. "Because different things pull it down."
Jimmy Gaines also complained about weak signals in the Forrest Hills and Brookside Drive areas of the city.
Nelson said the survey is important for that as well.
"The only personal information we ask is your address," explained Nelson. "But, that is so we can inform the state where the lack of service is. We will not sell your information or anything like that."
Another audience member asked how the public will know who to trust and choose for service providers due to the unreliable contracts in the area.
"This is going to be monitored," explained Nelson. "We are not handing over billions of dollars and walking away for people to do whatever they want. There will be checks and balances. Once completed, the whole state will know when it is completed and you'll know it's not just somebody trying to sell you something."
Residents may test their speeds by visiting broadband test.us then report their findings and file complaints and feedback a t surveymonkey.com/r/speedtest.
For more information, email ARBroadbandNow@bdg.link