Livingston County is encouraging residents to take its quick, easy, and secure Broadband Survey. The response period for the survey is quickly coming to an end and all those who are interested in helping the county plan for a better-connected future are asked to participate.
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners knows that many residents experience frustrating barriers when it comes to Internet connectivity. In an effort to better understand Internet connectivity within the community and to explore broadband expansion options, the county has partnered with Merit Network to conduct a survey of residents.
“Our broadband survey is still open and we continue to receive helpful planning responses from our residents and businesses,” said Kristoffer Tobbe, chief information officer for Livingston County. “We have been very successful so far, but the more responses we get, the greater the accuracy for future planning phases.
“(We) hope to receive as many resident responses as possible to ensure we have a clear picture of service in our area. Some areas that would benefit from additional resident responses include Cohoctah, Deerfield, Conway, Putnam, Marion, and Hamburg Townships. Residents in these areas can make a large impact by completing the survey and asking their neighbors to do so as well.
To date, the County’s response rate for the survey is setting records: Over 4,500 households in our community have taken the survey, which made the responses the County received statistically significant earlier on in the survey timeline than expected.
“We have been so impressed by the citizen engagement in Livingston County. Granular, accurate and unbiased data is fundamental to national broadband expansion and local community engagement, said Charlotte Bewersdorff of Merit Network. “The combination of citizen driven data and empowered local decision makers is essential to sound decision making for the federal investment in infrastructure having a sound impact. The County and its leaders recognize that and have been working hard to contribute”
The survey is open until Jan. 1, 2022, and available at https://www.merit.edu/livgov/. To learn more about the survey, residents can visit the County’s website at https://www.livgov.com/communications/Pages/Resident-Broadband-Survey.aspx.
“Please take five minutes to fill out the survey and take the speed test between now and Jan. 1, 2022. Your response is important for the future of connectivity in our County,” Tobbe said. “A big ‘thank you’ goes out to all those who ready have taken the survey. Your help is deeply appreciated!”
