Survey shows need for increased internet reliability

KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A survey designed to gauge broadband access, identify demand and test internet speeds in Knox County has yielded interesting results. The survey, conducted by the Purdue University Center for Regional Development, shows nearly 90% of the more than 1,000 respondents had internet access at home, even in rural areas, but reliability and technology remain a challenge. Chris Pfaff, chief executive officer of the Knox County Development Corp., says the county wanted to get an idea of its broadband situation from users.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Pfaff said the survey wasn’t just about where broadband exists.

“We asked a number of questions about affordability, for example, and learned some things there,” said Pfaff. “But really, the underlying motivation is to make sure that we have ground truth in where our broadband providers are, where the gaps lie and then, we feel like that will help us go after some additional federal and potentially state dollars to help with broadband deployment throughout Knox County.”

The study was conducted for the Knox Broadband Task Force. Of the 90% of respondents who said they had internet access, nearly half were not satisfied because it was either too slow or unreliable. 

“But that could be people using their cell phone data plan, for example, satellite or DSL and what we learned is that if those are the three technologies that you’re relying on for home internet usage, it’s typically unreliable,” Pfaff said. “It’s typically slower and dissatisfaction rates among those technologies were the highest.”

The survey shows half of seniors and 44% of elementary age children had no home internet or were using satellite, DSL or cellular connections. Additionally, 53% of speed tests for those with internet failed to meet the broadband threshold established by the Federal Communications Commission.

The Knox Broadband Task Force includes several internet service providers, which Pfaff says has been helpful by collaborating to find solutions to bring more reliable broadband to residents, while also bringing a return on investment for providers.

“The return on investment for an internet service provider in a rural area is a very thin margin,” he said. “One of the things that we’re working toward is a personal property tax on internet equipment. That little gesture can sometimes make the difference in a company being able to deploy fiber into the most rural parts of the county, whereas they may not have seen an ROI without that.”

Pfaff says the task force will use the results of the survey continue to identify additional funding opportunities both on the state and federal levels. Additionally, he says the county will also look at the use of more fixed wireless service.

“We’re a relatively large county…and over the next two to six years, as some of the federal funding comes through, we don’t want to wait that long for fiber to get to every home, if we can achieve that. So, we believe that fixed wireless may be a good interim solution for us while those folks with federal funding make their way across the state and the region with additional investments in the region.”

You can view the full results of the survey by clicking here.