The Hermiston City Council took a deep dive Monday into the results of a community survey that sought to assess the needs of broadband capabilities within the city.
What the data showed was a need for improved internet speed with a vast majority of respondents placing reliability of service as a top priority.
More than 800 households and nearly 70 businesses took part in the survey earlier this year.
“It was a real challenge to get the businesses to engage, but we were really happy with the number of households who participated,” said Nate Rivera, general manager of Hermiston Energy Services who has been working with City Manager Byron Smith to determine where Hermiston is currently and where it needs to be to meet the city’s future needs.
Rivera said the survey showed that both households and businesses place reliability, connectivity speed and affordability as the top priorities when it comes to internet service.
Rivera said that 85 percent of households and 78 percent of businesses want something better or would consider other options when choosing a provider.
“That’s a key driver for an internet provider to come in and meet that need,” he said. The survey also showed that 74.5 percent of households and 65.6 percent of businesses are very likely to change providers if better options were available. Specifically, said Rivera, people with fiber are very happy with their service while those with DSL or satellite want something better.
“During the pandemic, we heard so much about the challenges that the schools and students had getting connected, especially with multiple children in the house,” said Rivera.
Other statistics from the survey showed:
- 40 percent of businesses consider the reliability of service when selecting a location
- 40 percent of local businesses have less than optimum download speed
- More than 50 percent are neutral or unsatisfied with their speed of connection
- 54 percent have occasional or frequent connection issues
“Most businesses are less than satisfied with their current connectivity,” said Rivera.
Rivera said the next step in the community assessment process is to share the survey data with internet providers in hopes of finding partners to improve the community’s broadband capabilities.
Mayor Dave Drotzmann said the city should move forward to improve broadband services.
“We made a commitment to provide service to our facilities at a higher rate so we can stay a 21st Century city and continue to provide the services our constituents expect,” he said. “If we can bring partners along in that process, that’s a bonus to our constituent members, as well. I think we should share this data and see if there are people out there willing to partner with us.”
