Erica Barker, Staff Writer, Greene County Daily World
Greene County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Brianne Jerrels shed light on broadband coverage across the county at the Greene County Commissioners' regular meeting on Sept. 19.
Jerrels spoke on collaborating with an expert in order to navigate creating a new list of addresses and information from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Next Level Connections Broadband grant program.
Reflecting on a prior conversation she had with Indiana Broadband Deputy Director Earnie Holtrey, Jerrels agreed “It’s a lot to put on the county to figure out how to find the gaps: What addresses are missing? What ones are unserved or underserved? It’s a huge undertaking.”
Having an area expert will help navigate the difficult process, as mentioned by Jerrels.
She acknowledged the importance of broadband availability, whether it be for students in our local schools or community members who work from home.
As a result of GCEDC’s focus on retention in terms of businesses, youth and population, broadband access is crucial in order to attract citizens from other areas, as well as to maintain the satisfaction of ones already here.
Commissioner President Nate Abrams recognized the difficulty of the project with “My thoughts are that people don’t really understand how big and troublesome this broadband situation is until they get into it.”
Education about the subject, according to Jerrels, is important in order for members of the community to realize the importance of density and expenses as two factors in the equation. Density is not readily available within certain regions of the county, as analogized by the example of disconnected phone calls while traveling.
Commissioner Vice President Edward Michael presented a question commonly asked by prospective home buyers that is “Do they have broadband available there?”, thus reflecting the economic development piece previously mentioned by Jerrels.
Nonetheless, the expert’s aid is projected to allow the address collection process to run more smoothly.