The People of the Suwannee Valley Need High-Speed Internet
- Target:
- Florida's Suwannee Valley
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- svec-coop.com
Reliable and affordable high-speed internet service is essential for fostering a quality of life characterized by a robust workforce, business growth, educational opportunities, and quality healthcare.
Unfortunately, the residents and businesses of Florida’s Suwannee Valley have long suffered from a lack of access to internet service with the same speeds and capabilities as those in more populated areas.
In 4,964 speed tests sanctioned by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Office of Broadband, download speeds of less than 25 Mbps were measured at 64% of the test locations in SVEC’s service territory. Download speeds of less than 100 Mbps were measured at 95% of the locations. The average upload speed for all locations was 6.3 Mbps.
Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) plans to build a 100% fiber high-speed internet network throughout its service territory which includes the rural areas of Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, and northern Columbia counties. That network will offer consumers symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second, providing numerous benefits such as:
Access to invaluable educational resources and opportunities for students of all ages,
The ability for communities to maintain and expand business opportunities and stimulate job growth,
Work-from-home interoffice connectivity and videoconferencing capabilities,
Access to telemedicine, which can provide high-quality healthcare and treatment without the added cost and inconvenience of transportation,
Enhanced experiences with online entertainment,
SVEC is a consumer-owned, community-focused organization created by residents and community leaders in 1937 to bring reliable and affordable electricity to the Suwannee Valley when existing utilities would not. In the same spirit, SVEC once again endeavors to provide for a vital unmet need in our community.
I strongly urge you to do everything you can to support SVEC’s efforts to bring access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet to the homes, farms, and business of the Suwannee Valley.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it