(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
2020 proved that anything and everything could change, and 2021 is trying to shift that change in a positive direction–at least in the eyes of the Beaver County Office of Planning & Redevelopment.
The BCOPR, in conjunction with Michael Baker International, will begin a public survey of fixed and mobile broadband availability throughout Beaver County on May 10. Their goal is to provide access and effective use of technology for residents and businesses alike, and to bridge any gaps between high-speed and low-speed usage.
One of the biggest pushers of the new survey is County Commissioner Jack Manning, who spoke to Beaver County Radio about the importance on improving the amount of technology throughout the county in lieu of last year’s chaos.
“We certainly saw during COVID,” said Manning, “the impact it had on education and the impact it had on working from home. Broadband is an eligible infrastructure expenditure, and that’s what we hope to do–to find out what the need is, what the different solutions are, and be able to apply that money to make this thing much better for Beaver County.”
Michael Baker International will perform tasks including (but not limited to): taking photographs of utility poles and associated infrastructure, performing mobile internet tests for upload and download speed, placing door hangers at the entry ways of businesses being surveyed, and communicating with the owners of those businesses and residents.
The online survey can also be done by the general public on their internet-use devices (laptop, phone, tablet, etc.) by going to the link on the Beaver County home page, or by going to connectbeavercounty.com to find the speed of their internet. “We ask people to do it as many times as they can,” Manning suggested, “so that we get better data points—cause sometimes the signal is a lot stronger at some points in the day as opposed to others of peak demand.”
For questions and more info, contact BCOPR director Lance Grable at 724-770-4422 or email at lgrable@beavercountypa.gov.