Hundreds of homes in urban and rural Seminole lack broadband, study says
Along a short cul-de-sac off U.S. Highway 17-92, near one of the busiest traffic intersections in Seminole County, about half a dozen homes do not have reliable high-speed access to the internet simply because of the lack of fiber optic lines and other communications infrastructure in the area.
In the historic Black community of Midway, just east of Sanford, nearly a dozen homes also cannot reliably access the internet at high speeds for the same reason.
Those are among the findings of a recently completed study commissioned by Seminole, which looked at internet connectivity across the county and presented recommendations on how to provide or improve broadband services to deficient areas.
Seminole has dedicated $4.7 million toward the project from the $92 million it is scheduled to receive through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Seminole Commissioner Jay Zembower, whose district includes the county’s rural areas where scores of homes struggle with slow internet speeds, said it’s becoming increasingly necessary in today’s world to access and navigate the internet.
“More and more businesses and services are moving towards being online,” he said. “School children are doing work online. Many government forms are now done online. Not to mention the email aspect of it.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, schoolchildren could only attend classes remotely through internet-connected computers. Frustrated parents, most of them residents of the rural Geneva community, called Zembower’s office to say their homes lacked high-speed connectivity to the internet.
The Seminole school district provided laptops and other computer equipment, but students without broadband struggled with excruciatingly slow downloads of websites, frozen screens, or online lessons that moved at a snail’s pace.
Broadband has download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second, or Mbps, according to the Federal Communications Commission. That’s just enough to watch a movie, live stream a meeting or call up most websites.
In Seminole, about 92% of households in 2020 had access to broadband, according to the Florida Department of Health. That’s greater than the state average of roughly 85%.
According to the Seminole study conducted by Denver-based Magellan Advisors, 96% of households with broadband use the internet to conduct personal research on a daily basis, 67% use it for school work, and 61% use it for telecommuting, such as talking to a medical professional or taking part in work meetings.
The average monthly cost for broadband ranges between $72 and $88 a month, depending on download speeds, according to the study. The study’s survey shows that of 1,789 participants, 72% subscribe to Spectrum for broadband access to the internet. Others said they use AT&T, CenturyLink or Verizon.
But as residents seek higher speeds, the areas of coverage across the county diminished greatly. For example, the report called pockets of Sanford, Longwood and Altamonte — Seminole’s more populated urban areas — along with rural spots near Geneva and southeast Seminole, as “areas of concern” because of the lack of wiring and other communications infrastructure for broadband access.
Many residents in those areas said they experienced slowdowns or outages several times a month, according to the study. A lack of providers in many areas means residents have one option.
“There is an increasing demand for bandwidth (faster download speeds) specifically for citizens’ personal development, telehealth, school and telecommuting uses,” the report said. “There are plenty of resources and even devices that are available for the county citizens to use, such as laptops, Chromebooks, distributed to students in need, and other mobile devices, but cannot be utilized or maximized due to the lack of connectivity. This leads to the waste of resources and lost opportunities.”
About 780 households in Casselberry, Winter Springs, Geneva, west Sanford, and Midway are not served with broadband access. Of those, 752 homes are in the Geneva and rural east Seminole area, according to the study.
The report estimates it would cost up to $17 million to provide as much as 60 miles of wiring and other communications infrastructure to service those households.
Slow internet speed is a frustration that Geneva resident Amber Honnagondanahalli deals with almost every day. She and her husband set up a satellite dish to access the internet because a cable line providing broadband does not run to their 10-acre property near the Black Hammock.
“We need a cable connection,” she said. “Satellite internet is not realistic for Florida because there is so much inclement weather. ... I do a lot of online meetings. My doctor’s visits are online. And it’s difficult for me to do a video call online.”
Honnagondanahalli questioned why homes connected with electricity and water services are not tapped with a broadband connection, as a basic utility.
“Why is this still an issue? Why are we not coming into the modern world?” she said.
In an email to the county, Oviedo residents Tom and Yasmin Chiodini said they work from home and have a disabled 23-year-old daughter who needs access to the internet for rehabilitation and to study.
They are frustrated by the lack of fast internet access.
“When important conference calls come up (via Zoom or other means), we have to take turns and prioritize work,” said the email. “Often, this means the other persons will need to work offline, until the conference call is finished, or reschedule their work. Also, others may at times be forced to leave our home to find alternative connectivity if our broadband demands overlap.”
Meloney Koontz, Seminole’s assistant county manager, said Seminole could apply for additional state and federal funding to help pay to fill in the gaps of the county without broadband.
Seminole commissioners are scheduled to hear a presentation on the Magellan report at their public on Tuesday. Afterward, they will likely discuss how to move forward with filling in the underserved pockets of Seminole.
County officials noted that many households lack broadband access because of affordability. That’s why in May, the federal government announced that low-income households can get a $30 discount on their internet bill as part of an effort by the Biden administration to close the digital divide.
County officials noted that there are some residents who simply do not care to have their homes connected to the internet. But improving connectivity also means future owners of the property would be able to access broadband if they desire.
“To give them access doesn’t mean that they are going to have to pick it up or pay for it,” Koontz said.
