In the spring of 2017 we worked with the City to jointly conduct downtown listening sessions to better guide some of our work in the downtown area, and what we heard from a number of businesses and community members was the need for better broadband infrastructure. We didn't quite know at the time what that meant, or what form it would take, but began working more diligently to develop broadband efforts in the community. 
As these efforts continue, the broadband issue has been raised more prominently on both a statewide and national scale as well. As part of our work with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and in conjunction with Poweshiek Iowa Development, we are excited to participate in the Central Iowa Broadband Internet Survey. The survey covers 11 counties in the central Iowa region and the purpose of the survey is to measure broadband internet availability (as it stands today), and identify areas that do not currently meet consumer needs and expectations. Historically, much of our information has been anecdotal; however, this study will allow us to plot specific address points in the future to help ensure broader, and better, access to broadband for not only our area businesses but residents as well.
The survey is open now through April 27 - it should only take a few minutes and will provide critical information to further drive the development of high-speed internet services in our area. There are two surveys: one for residential and one for businesses.
Important to note: all surveys and speed tests should be taken from a computer as opposed to a cell phone, if possible, to ensure the data collected is reflective of each address and the service available to it.
A special thanks goes to Poweshiek Iowa Development for recognizing the importance of this issue to our area businesses and residents across the county, and for their help in making it available for all in Poweshiek County to participate.
Thank you all, in advance, for your help to ensure Poweshiek County is well-represented in this survey data. Don't live in Poweshiek County? No problem as 11 central Iowa counties are represented in the survey data including Jasper, Marshall & Polk. Please feel free to share these links with your own networks to ensure we collect as much data as possible.
--Rachael Kinnick
Add a comment
