The campaign consists of a five-minute online survey and speed test. BAAT will target both residential and commercial addresses. You can CLICK HERE and go directly to the survey. Hard copies are available at Town Halls, Libraries and the County Human Resource Center (425 Pennsylvania Ave, Elmira). Even people without Internet access at home can take the survey. They can log on at their local library, enter in their home address, and skip the bandwidth test completely.
The broadband survey utilizes an online portal called CrowdFiber, which verifies the availability of current broadband services by address, identifies actual speeds available through its speed test, and then collects information on demand for services from residents and businesses. Officials are hoping to receive input from every municipality.
Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange is encouraging residents in his legislative district to fill out the survey so it can be used to let state leaders know that much of the rural parts of his district have limited or no dependable access to the internet. “I hope all district residents complete this survey and let their voices be heard on this subject,” Strange said. “I have been working for years trying to get more companies to bring better internet to my district, especially for those residents in the outlying areas. This study can provide the proof we need to show the state and internet providers that broadband is needed in the rural areas of the county.”
Anyone who needs a hard copy of the survey can contact Legislator Strange by CLICKING HERE and going to his contact page. He will arrange to get one to you.
“We’re hoping that if we can get the word out to the public about this campaign more people will access our online survey to report on the current services available to them, test their Internet speeds, and report on their interest in having other service options,” said Chemung County Deputy Executive and Southern Tier Economic Growth President Michael Krusen. “If we can show enough of a need and desire for bringing additional providers into the area, it will open up the possibility for us to contact carriers and increase their interest in expanding their services to under served areas, potentially bringing badly needed competition to our region.”
Residents have until March 2018 to complete the survey.