In 2014, Houston County’s broadband coverage was 69 percent (broadband was defined at a slower speed); currently they have 72 percent coverage for speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 65 percent coverage for speeds of 100/20. So it seems that there is a provider in Houston County that is providing high speed broadband. To increase coverage Houston needs to expand the service they currently have.
Houston has been strong with online K12 education; perhaps that can be a hook to encourage more work in the county to promote better broadband.
Houston County is also in line to receive $137,605 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 178 locations. Unfortunately CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.
Numbers:
The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Houston County ranked:
- Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 72.23
- Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 65.08
Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Houston ranked:
DDI score of 37.76 out of 100.
More info:
- Find more articles on broadband in Houston County. (http://tinyurl.com/zst4kf5)
- Districts: CD 1
Senate: 28
House: 28B
I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!