Data Will Be Critical in Pursuing Grants, Funding for County Broadband
RISON – The Accelerate Cleveland County broadband committee is launching a countywide online survey this week to get a true reading of broadband speeds in the county. The data collected will be used to seek grants and other investments to improve service throughout the entire county.
The survey is being coordinated through the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the Accelerate Arkansas program. Surveys will continue to be accepted through the month of September. Organizers hope to get several hundred surveys, if possible, to provide a true sampling of the internet speeds in the county.
While high-speed fiber optic cable is currently being installed in Rison and Kingsland, the Accelerate Cleveland County committee is looking to extend fiber optic service beyond those city limits and into the entire county.
Accelerate Cleveland County is part of the Accelerate Arkansas Project, which is an initiative started by the Arkansas Connectivity Coalition, a group of more than 15 organizations in the state committed to expanding internet access. The group was created to help support the state and local communities plan and secure the federal dollars needed to expand access and ensure high-speed internet is more accessible and affordable.
Those taking the survey are asked to use the device they normally use to access the internet (laptop or desktop computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) and also use the connection they normally use to get on the internet(telephone company, satellite, hot spot, cellular signal, etc.). The survey is to get accurately document how people are accessing the internet in Cleveland County and what kind of speeds they are getting.
To take the survey, go online to https://uark.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2fvt7RZACFlW4WG
Accelerate Cleveland County has also launched a Facebook page where residents can access the survey.
There is also a QR code found on an ad in this issue of the Herald that will allow people to access the survey through a smart phone or other device capable of reading QR codes.
One of the issues the Cleveland County committee noticed early on was that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) map being used by government and granting agencies to determine where high speed internet is available did not provide an accurate picture of the true speeds inside county. Talent said the map shows most of the county having download internet speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), which he noted is not accurate based on speed tests taken within those areas.
Currently, the FCC’s fixed broadband speed benchmark is 25 Mbps for downloading and 3 Mbps for uploading. However, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel suggested in July that the new minimum should be raised to 100 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload to increasing use of the internet in the future.
Nicolas Aguelakakis, senior economic adviser for the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office, said the FCC maps are being challenged for their accuracy, and an effort is underway now to make the maps more accurate.
He explained that the map is based on information provided to the FCC by the internet service provider. If just one location within a “census block” (a geographic region within the county or city) receives 100 Mbps service, then the entire census block is labeled as having 100 Mbps service.
During the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Arkansas Broadband Service Office conducted a voluntary survey to test internet speeds across the state. According to a map published on the agency’s website, 81 locations in Cleveland County responded to the survey. Of those respondents, 55 (68 percent) had speeds of less than 10 Mbps; 21 (26 percent) had 10-20 Mbps; four (4 percent) had 20-25 Mbps; and two (2 percent) had 50-85 Mbps
The two locations reporting the highest speeds (50-85 Mbps) appeared to be from businesses based on their location on the map.
The Accelerate Cleveland County broadband committee has been meeting on a weekly basis for the past five weeks developing a strategy to improve broadband service throughout all of Cleveland County.
Justice of the Peace Donnie Herring of the Pleasant Ridge community and Herald editor/publisher Britt Talent of the Rison area serve as co-chairs of the committee. Other committee members include Justice Bruce Brown of the Pansy area, Countuy Judge Melody Spears of New Edinburg, County Clerk Jimmy Cummings of the Mt. Carmel community, John Appleget and Stephen McClellan of the Rison area, and subdivision developer Bracy Young of Rye.
Bruce Grubb of Cleveland County Telephone, a local internet service provider, is also on the Accelerate Cleveland County committee.
Talent said the mission of the Accelerate Arkansas program is to provide fast, reliable internet service at an affordable cost in areas of the state that currently do have access to high speed broadband. Cleveland County was one of five communities statewide selected for the initiative.
One of the Accelerate Arkansas training sessions focused on crafting a vision for each of the communities participating in the program. The Cleveland County committee came up with the following vision statement: “Establish fiber optic broadband service providing a minimum of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload to every household and business in Cleveland County at an affordable price to enhance commerce, entrepreneurship, education, healthcare, communication, recreation and other opportunities.”
After learning that the new standards could be raised to 100 Mbps download, Talent said the committee decided to include those speeds in the vision statement to match the possible new federal standard. He said the committee also consulted with the local internet service provider to verify those speeds would be possible if fiber optic cable is installed throughout the county.
Convened by Heartland Forward, the Arkansas Connectivity Coalition behind the Accelerate Arkansas program is made up of nonprofits, advocacy organizations, thought leaders and philanthropies, including the Arkansas Black Mayors Association, Arkansas Community Foundation, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc., Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Impact Philanthropy, Communities Unlimited, Diamond State Networks, Forward Arkansas, Holman Strategies, Runway Group, University of Arkansas-Department of Communication, Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Winrock International and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
