As we have conversations about internet access, it’s important to note that current accessibility data is simply incomplete.    

Imagine you’re out enjoying the beautiful scenery in our area. You snap a pic and want to share it with your friends on Instagram. When you open the app, it doesn’t load, and you realize you don’t have the internet. We’ve all been there, and, for many, it’s to connect with way more important things than social media, such as homework or job application portals. Truthfully, many of us in greater Chattanooga live without the internet, trying to work and learn each day without reliable internet connectivity. 

What might surprise you is that often, these areas are listed by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) as served with broadband. But how does that make sense?

The FCC came up with a broadband mapping model to show broadband availability across the country. This model is built from census block data reported by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) twice a year via the FCC’s Form 477.  That means that if broadband service is reported as available to ONE location within a census block, residential or commercial, the census block as a whole is listed as served. So, Rhea County might appear to have broadband in census reports, but more than likely, many residents can’t get online. You can see how internet access reporting can get a little fuzzy.

However, we are noticing a few groups across the country taking this complex challenge into their own hands. The Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative  (GBDI) displays a very different model. Their model is location-based, which means that broadband must be available to more than 80% of the location, within the census block, to qualify as served. 

Data geeks rejoice! GBDI has even built a slider map that compares their model with the FCC’s. As you explore the interactive map, you can see that GBDI’s model shows that 507,000 homes and businesses lack access to reliable broadband internet service, 70% of these are in rural areas of Georgia.

Last month, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the map by the GBDI would be available to help clarify this data discrepancy. Families, students, businesses, and communities have struggled for years to bridge the digital divide. Now, COVID-19 has brought this major problem into focus.

Bottom line? High-speed internet is essential. A Stanford survey conducted in June 2020, found that 42% of Americans are working from home right now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has added importance to high-speed internet access. Countless school systems are conducting remote learning that relies on broadband. Not to mention the increased trend toward telehealth.

With all of these various needs in our communities, the GBDI said in a recent press release that more than one million people in the state of Georgia lack access to broadband. According to Governor Kemp, the hope behind the announcement of the GBDI map is that it will “enable the private sector to better see where Georgians lack access to high-speed internet, improve open-market competition, and help providers explore partnerships to address the connectivity of our state.”

At Thrive Regional Partnership, we understand the importance of internet connectivity to our communities.

Our Regional Broadband Alliance firmly believes that information is the foundation for solving these challenges, and acknowledges data and its reporting are often complex. Currently, we are developing relationships with other organizations that are addressing the data problem across the country, to learn and build solutions here at home.

In the meantime, we’re working with the data available, providing tools like a Broadband Connectivity map for the Greater Chattanooga area and a map of public WiFi hotspots in the Greater Chattanooga area to help our partners and communities understand broadband access in our region.