Over the last decade, states and communities across the country have been engaged in the process of actively seeking solutions to help bring broadband (high speed internet) to unserved and underserved neighborhoods and communities within their jurisdictions.
Columbia County was recently awarded an Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD) grant, funded in part by the Oregon State Lottery, for Broadband Planning. The grant project looked at the current availability and need for high-speed internet access across the county, determined where there were gaps, and made recommendations for possible solutions to bridge those gaps.
A significant portion of the project was collecting information and input from businesses and residents. The county worked with a consultant to conduct information gathering and outreach activities, including a survey of randomly selected Columbia County households, a series of special focus group meetings with business, government, and educational entities, and two public town hall events.
Today broadband is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is part of the economic engine of any locality. Residents, businesses, tourists and others need broadband in order to perform basic functions such as:
Municipalities recognize that broadband is key to the livability and continued vitality of their jurisdictions, and gaps in service need to be addressed.
The Broadband Study results were provided in three milestone reports and a final summary. Highlights of the reports, along with links to the documents, are provided on the Project Results page.
In addition to assisting in identifying service gaps, Vantage Point Solutions, the consulting firm that worked with County staff to complete this project, provided a series of recommendations for next steps. A summary of these recommendations can be found on the Next Steps page.
For links to additional information on broadband in general, municipal broadband implementations, and broadband technologies, see the More Info page.