Slow internet? Tell me about it! No really, the county wants you to take a survey about your internet speeds so it can work on getting faster internet throughout the county.
Clear Creek County is in the process of challenging the Federal Communications Commission map that shows where internet service is and isn't.
Right now, the county suspects the map isn’t all that accurate for Clear Creek County. David Prows, systems administrator for Clear Creek County IT, said he thinks some details are being skipped over.
“We feel that it’s kinda inaccurate, in that the speeds are not accurate in what people actually get,” he said. “They don’t care what speeds actually are, it’s more of a roof count.”
He said very few of the addresses are listing low connectivity for their broadband, but based on what he knows about the community, that’s not accurate. The map also shows which broadband companies addresses could get service from, but many of those aren’t accurate either.
“These numbers, going up St. Mary’s, if you zoom in on an actual house and choose the address it will show you three companies,” Prow said. He explained that there aren’t three companies providing service, though.
Should the FCC realize the mistake and correct the map, Clear Creek could be eligible for funds from Colorado’s share of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which could mean better internet for areas that need it.
Lauren Francis is the broadband communications and marketing manager for the state. She explained how the process of getting funding will look.
“If Clear Creek County can successfully show there is a lot of need for broadband then their chances of receiving funding is increased,” she said. “The parts of Colorado with the highest number of unserved or underserved residents will receive funding to connect those residents.”
To get accurate information into the hands of the FCC, the county is urging residents to take this survey to test their internet speeds.
The current FCC map can be viewed here, just put in an address to search.
