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Federal, State Program Bringing Broadband To Rural Lake County

    The State of Florida’s rural broadband program has reached Lake County, with Spectrum Internet busy in recent weeks installing lines throughout the area as part of the state’s $223 million commitment toward increased internet connectivity in rural areas.
    The current project, which locally has seen Spectrum installing lines throughout rural North Lake County as well as in the immediate Umatilla area, involving providing access to a potential 11,000 sites, or ‘passings’, including in the Astor area, where a 700-foot span over the St. Johns River provided the technical highlight of the project so far.
    “We’re excited as a company to be doing this,” said Geoff Banning, Spectrum Regional V.P. for the Southeast.  “And I’m excited for our customers.”
    Banning, with ties to Lake County, said he knows well the challenges associated with strong internet accessibility in rural area.
    “It’s hard for people, with more and more people working or schooling from home.”    
    The project is part of a nationwide campaign, with the state’s funding including a large pass-through of federal grant dollars.  In all, Spectrum won a portion of a  $7 billion contract for work throughout the country, with the Lake County project expected to be substantially wrapped up by June.
    “The Florida State Broadband Office identified homes that didn’t have broadband speed levels,” Banning said, describing a process where Spectrum bid on portions of the potential projects.  After installation is complete, the company can apply to the state for partial reimbursement of its costs of installation.
    The expansion has been visible for several months, first along SR 19 in Umatilla where large, orange cables and green boxes about two feet high along roadsides have become common sights.
    More recently work has spread to more outlying areas, including into rural Marion County. 
    Additionally, the project arrived in Astor via a large span over the St. Johns River just north of the Astor bridge.  The Army Corps of Engineers assisted with designing the 711-foot span, which was designed to be unobtrusive to residents in the area.
    “The river,” said Banning, “was cool.  The aerial crossing, that is what we wanted to do, but in some cases have gone underground.”
    As areas become fully activated, customers are able to contact Spectrum and learn of a variety of products and services the company has available, including its ‘Invincible WiFi’ that offers up to eight hours of battery backup power to reduce productivity loss in times of power outages.