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High-speed, reliable broadband at home is critical for work, healthcare, and education with more than half of surveyed respondents needing internet access at home for their jobs.
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The County has two commercial broadband providers and most of the County is served, except 2,800 homes and businesses in rural areas of northwest and east County.
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Cable is the most-used internet technology, but fiber performs the best. Cable modem (56 percent) is the leading internet service used, while 17 percent of households have fiber and 17 percent have DSL.
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Six in 10 respondents said government should work to ensure access.
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Support for a government-owned fiber network is strong, (though lower in Eastside cities) but drops as the price of switching to a new provider increases beyond $50 a month.
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Building a county-wide, fiber-to-premises network would cost an estimated $1 billion and require that at least 36 percent of customers switch to the County service.
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A public-private partnership (as adopted by other cities in other locations) may allow local governments to more affordably own the long-term infrastructure and secure their policy objectives of increasing access.
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While fiber-to-the-premises represents the best technical solutions to improving access, the study found that government could also provide basic connectivity to lower-income residents by:
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Expanding Wi-FI hotspots at any or all of the more than 600 government, schools, and library locations in the County or nonprofit locations.
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Create a fixed-wireless network to serve lower-income neighborhoods
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Support direct subsidies for low-income residents pay for existing service.
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The county and five cities are excited about the completion of this study and are thankful for the partnership among the municipalities. “All Multnomah County residents should have access to the internet, just like gas, water, or electricity,” said Commissioner Lori Stegmann, whose district encompasses the five cities involved with the study. “Multnomah County is thrilled to work with its partners on closing the digital equity gap.”
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