Mar 29, 2022 3 min read

An online survey testing the internet speeds at homes and businesses across Washington County is helping officials determine the areas that are most in need of high-speed broadband expansion.

The survey, which has already received more than 600 submissions since it launched March 10, is designed to create an overall picture of internet services in the county.

John Timney, executive director of the Washington County Authority, which is leading the county’s broadband expansion effort, said the Federal Communications Commission is able to break down internet service maps down to each Census block, but they’re often misleading because they don’t show the full picture of coverage.

“The best maps available from the FCC database have a faulty premise,” Timney said. “I can’t look out and say Bentleyville is covered because it’s green. I have to go further and ask, ‘What is your service like?’ I can’t just go and say service is good or bad.”

When Timney looks at service maps, he said it’s clear that a place like West Finley Township is mostly unserved, which means download speeds are below 25 megabits per second. But other places, like Cecil Township, have great service, although there are still pockets where some streets are not connected to high-speed broadband.

“The whole point of (the survey) is I can’t rely on the data that is supplied to me,” Timney said. “It’s generally, directionally correct. But for us to try to cover the county the best we can, we really have to take the temperature.”

Timney is overseeing the county’s Rural Broadband Initiative program that is utilizing about $30 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act stimulus money to partner with internet providers to expand service. The program earlier this year paid $179,700 to Hickory Telephone to extend broadband internet to 50 homes and Meadowcroft near Avella, which was a pilot initiative to see if could be scaled up elsewhere.

With the data Timney has already received from the survey, county officials are now preparing to put out requests for proposals beginning next week to expand services in locations that have been determined to be unserved or underserved. About three-quarters of all who responded are considered underserved, meaning their internet speed is less than 50 Mbps.

He acknowledged some places, such as West Finely and Hanover townships, might be “swinging for the fence” to get completed, but they want to at least examine the feasibility and cost. Timney said the program will have to eventually make difficult decisions on where to offer broadband, but in some areas he’s hopeful telecommunications will expand on their own in areas that might only have pockets that are underserved.

“You’re 300 feet off (the line),” Timney said. “How do we entice the (telecommunications company) to do that?

Meanwhile, the survey isn’t just for people without broadband internet service. Timney wants as many participants as possible to “triangulate the data” to find out where the county should focus its resources on broadband installation. The process takes less than 10 minutes and asks residents to fill out basic information before performing a speed test to determine download and upload speeds.

“That helps validate the database and it helps me to put a beginning and end (to the project),” Timney said of the survey. “It has gone pretty crazy. People are pretty engaged.”

To take the survey, visit Washington County’s official website at www.co.washington.pa.us and click the “Broadband Internet Survey” link. The survey is expected to be active through the end of April.