Want a better, faster, more reliable internet option near where you live?
If you’re most people these days, the internet is a huge part of your work and personal life. The problem is that some areas of Colorado, especially mountainous rural areas, do not have the necessary infrastructure to provide reliable connectivity due to the cost. Laying fiber optic cable costs about $50 per foot, but estimates for Clear Creek County spots (because of the potential for digging rocks or lots of uphills and downhills) range from $75 per foot. Like $100. He is out of county and has an extensive background in IT.
CBS
“Having Internet access changed my life dramatically,” says Bottomley. “If I hadn’t had the opportunity to grow up in a metropolitan area where my parents were already in the computer industry…I would have been shoveling snow for a living. I am not qualified to do anything else.”
Now the FCC needs your help to show which internet options are available, how reliable and how fast they are.
Link to survey:
https://www.fcc.gov/national-broadband-map-outreach-toolkit
https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home
https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData
https://broadband.colorado.gov/
https://gis.colorado.gov/speedtest/
The FCC is urging people to get themselves tested, and if the need is great enough in a particular area, they can opt for more reliable fiber optic technology rather than relying on wireless technologies such as cell towers or satellite connections. It may provide funds for laying cables.
Clear Creek County IT’s Patrick O’Fallon told CBS News Colorado: “The advantage compared to wireless is that you don’t have to travel through the air to an antenna or cellular service or wireless provider, you’re on the ground and traveling at the speed of light.”
CBS
The rocky landscape makes the reception of wireless transmissions across mountain corridors spotty, only making the (expensive) dream of a day with fiber optic all the more important. Counties and states should now click the link above to explain their Internet service options and indicate areas for improvement.
“Participating in the survey is huge. The challenge of deploying the internet by any mechanism in this part of the country or anywhere like that is very uneconomical,” said Bottomley. . “There is no other organization better prepared to meet these economic challenges than the federal and state governments.”
Clear Creek County is also concerned about Internet connectivity issues from its residents. They asked us to share their email address “[email protected]” to talk about connectivity issues.
