OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County invites residents to submit feedback about their internet service to help direct investments in broadband infrastructure to where they’re most needed.
People can test the speed of their internet and share information about their service through the New York State Broadband Challenge Portal until Thursday, April 11. Residents can also provide comments to the Oswego County Office of Strategic Initiatives until Thursday, April 18.
“As we move forward in our efforts to bring broadband access to Oswego County, we encourage residents to submit feedback on the status of their internet service,” said Dave Turner, director of the Oswego County Office of Strategic Initiatives. “We recently sent out informational mailers to areas in the county that we believe may have questionable service, so residents should begin receiving those this week.
“This public comment step is crucial in identifying which homes and businesses will be eligible for new federal broadband grants,” he continued. “The more addresses that we can identify as unserved or underserved, the more money we may be able to receive to better address these issues.”
Unserved addresses are those that do not have access to the internet, while underserved addresses do have internet access, but speeds and service are unreliable. Only hard-wired connections with reliable speeds are considered as served; wireless or dish services are not counted as served.
“This public comment process comes ahead of the formal state challenge process, which will be the final chance to identify addresses eligible for the federal grants,” Turner added. “Residents who are interested in submitting feedback but have questions or need help can contact our office for assistance. Those lacking a reliable internet connection to complete the process can visit any public library throughout the county which has devices connected to the internet available for their use.”
To get started, visit https://register.broadband.ny.gov/, select “submit public comment” and follow five simple steps. Residents should note that if their location is already eligible for new federal broadband grants, it will not be selectable on the map and public comment cannot be submitted.
For questions or more information, contact the Oswego County Office of Strategic Initiatives at [email protected] or 315-349-8225.
missing or outdated ad config