FAYETTEVILLE -- Residents and businesses have limited options when it comes to Internet service, and some can't afford it, city administrators say.
They hope to change that with a digital inclusion and equity plan.
Goals
Fayetteville’s Digital Inclusion Task Force outlined the plan’s framework to involve:
• Access to affordable and adequate broadband internet for homes and businesses.
• Technology, including refurbishing and technical support for computing hardware.
• Digital literacy education opportunities contributing to digital resident participation, privacy and cybersecurity skills.
• Policy supporting economic opportunity and innovation, robust and resilient communications systems for public safety and cybersecurity, appropriate management of public rights of way, land use and zoning, development of municipal fiber infrastructure, and partnership with state and national broadband advocates for digital equity.
• Opportunity for all residents to participate and contribute to civic life as set forth in the city’s plans for workforce development, economic development, City Plan 2040 and the Energy Action Plan.
Source: Staff report
The City Council on Tuesday gave the green light to develop the plan. Its stated purpose is to ensure access to affordable and adequate broadband service for all residents.
For more than a year, a task force of primarily city, university, and public library officials has held meetings and public events to gauge the digital landscape of the city and research what other cities have done.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan created the task force to close the so-called homework gap, referring to students in the city who can't complete assignments at home because of a lack of access to the Internet or a proper device.
A survey trying to catalog the type of access residents have has been distributed digitally and by mail. The university's Communications Department took lead on the survey, sending 1,000 in the mail to each ward, a total of 4,000 surveys. The online survey has been on the city's website since January and will close Friday.
Part of the plan will entail low-hanging fruit -- meaning measures the city can accomplish relatively soon and easily, said Susan Norton, the city's communications director. Other aspects will have long-ranging implications, she said.
For instance, expanding programs about digital literacy at the city's schools, public library and university can have an impact without great expense, Norton said. The city would like to outline new parameters for courses and workshops to be more appealing to specific age groups trying to accomplish specific tasks, she said.
"We don't want to just teach Word 101 or browsing the Internet," Norton said. "We want to really try to get some meat on the bones of a curriculum that helps people really engage with the things they need to do."
Education will also play a part in bringing more competition in Internet service providers. Now, most residents and businesses have the options of Cox, AT&T or OzarksGo, depending on where they are located.
Letting residents know what other service providers are out there will dispel the idea what they get is what they get, Norton said. Bringing other service providers to the city will have to happen organically, just like with any supply-and-demand scenario, she said. More competition will provide more options and, therefore, lower prices, she said.
Rigging the city with more fiber optic lines will increase the options available now, said Keith Macedo, the city's information technologies director. For instance, some homes, especially some apartments, are wired for only one of the three providers in the city. OzarksGo in particular only serves certain areas and is working on expanding its coverage.
The idea is a "dig once" approach, Macedo said. When the city digs to put in a trail or road or sidewalk, crews can also put in the raw cable providers use for their service. The city could talk with service providers about the placement of the lines and where they would best serve residents, he said.
Another scenario is laying the lines and leasing them to service providers, Norton said. In that instance, the city could issue requests for proposals, which could garner a farther reach of responses, she said.
The city at the moment isn't talking about creating a city-owned internet service. Arkansas law says only cities providing electricity service can provide an internet service, Macedo said. Or, underserved cities that also apply for grants could be eligible to have their own internet service. Fayetteville doesn't qualify under either of those stipulations.
However, it might be possible for the city to provide computers or tablets to low-income families with children who need them to do homework, Council Member Kyle Smith said. Smith serves on the task force.
Schools, the university, hospitals and other entities all run pretty robust information technology departments, Smith said. The city could start a program for devices those entities don't need anymore that could be passed along to students for homework, he said.
The city could also try to foster a dialogue between the Fayetteville Housing Authority and internet service providers to come up with some sort of subsidized plan for low-income residents, or at least help them know about the low-cost plans those providers already have, Smith said.
The first step, Smith said, is to assess the coverage capacity in the city and what residents need.
Information from the surveys and from internet service providers will help paint a picture of what kind of service residents have and where. From there, the task force can get to work on prioritizing solutions, Smith said.
"It's critical to make sure that every citizen has digital access now," he said.
NW News on 05/27/2019