Joplin city officials seek to extend broadband
Aug. 17—Joplin city officials have issued a request for information from broadband providers interested in the potential of bringing more fiber-optic broadband service here.
City officials have been exploring the need for more internet access since 2018 as tornado recovery efforts were being finished. At that time, city staff brought the idea of trying to become a Smart City — a technology-driven community. Not only does that mean access to internet service by residents but also for technological uses by business and industry.
In 2020, the Joplin City Council appointed a steering committee of community leaders to work on what was called a Smart City Road Map for Joplin. Internet access was at the top of a list of priorities established by the committee. That resulted in the city commissioning a broadband analysis study that was completed last year.
The COVID-19 pandemic showed the weaknesses in local internet service as people experienced difficulties in accessing online doctor visits and in working from home, and as students had to take classes and turn in schoolwork online, city staff said.
A broadband analysis report developed by CCG Consulting of Ashville, North Carolina, and Finley Engineering of Lamar identified gaps in service that the consultants and city staff say must be resolved to keep Joplin competitive. There are business needs for broadband service as well as for residents.
While there are a number of internet service providers in Joplin, service is spotty in some areas and the costs shut many users out of the service, the study concluded.
A lot of residents use their cellphones for access to the internet instead of having internet connections.
In gathering information for the study, the consultant conducted a survey of local residents. Those surveyed cited several reasons for not having an internet connection. One reason so many do not have broadband service is because of an "affordability gap." That comes from the 13% of surveyed residents who said they could not afford the current internet products that would connect to their homes.
"We did find that the broadband in Joplin is expensive, so there's a good reason why they couldn't afford it," said consultant Doug Dawson of CCG.
Reliability is another problem for Joplin broadband users. Those who have fiber-optic service were satisfied, but those without it have complaints that upload speeds are a problem and that there are frequent outages, even for a few minutes a day, the survey found.
Andy Hines, of Finley Engineering, said a citywide wireless network would not work in Joplin because of interference from trees and other obstacles. That's why the consultants concluded that a fiber-optic network would provide the most reliable service, such as that provided by cable services.
The city's recently issued request states that Joplin is seeking to bring fiber-optic broadband to every home and business. The intention of the request is to connect with service providers interested in providing fiber-optic service.
Information on how to fund the service also are sought.
Interested providers may go to a city webpage at www.joplinmo.org/broadband for more information. Responses to the request should be emailed to Johan Bullington at jbulling@joplinmo.org no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, according to a city statement.
