Latah County launching broadband coalition
Jun. 25—Government, school and hospital representatives in Latah County have launched a broadband coalition to address internet infrastructure needs throughout the county.
"The coalition's aim is to find local, state and federal funding to build future-proof broadband infrastructure throughout Latah County," a Latah County news release stated Friday.
According to the Latah County Broadband Coalition's website, 20% of households in rural Latah County have no internet access at all and the rest have service at levels less than 10 megabits per second download speed and 3 megabits per second upload speed
The coalition intends to use a broadband utility assessment report to plan construction that will allow minimum speeds of 100/20 and 100/100 mbps for households and 1/1 gbps for schools.
In the coming months, the coalition will be launching a speed test campaign to gather data on broadband availability in the county as well as to strengthen grant applications.
Latah County has partnered with the Port of Lewiston and Imagine Idaho Foundation to make these efforts possible.
Members of the coalition include Potlatch, Bovill, Genesee, Kendrick, Juliaetta, Troy, Moscow, Latah County Library District, local school districts, University of Idaho, Gritman Medical Center and District 5 Sen. David Nelson.
