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When I get to the Chronicle office each morning, I start my computer up and access my email seamlessly. As I click the web browser to search for a business, address, phone number or to read this morning's news, I do not think at all about how all of these simple things could not be accessed without the internet. At least not this easily.
It may seem crazy to think in this day and age that some are without internet in Iowa County, but it is true. And it is more true than you can even imagine.
Just a mile outside of the City of Dodgeville, there are residents in the hills that can only get internet through satellite. One told of how a family finally got satellite internet to their home, only to have visiting family eat up all the data alloted for that first month. Options are scarce, and often times, unaffordable.
This is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to take Iowa County's Broadband Survey, accessible online at iowacounty.org.
Anyone in Iowa County can take the survey, and if you don't want to answer all the questions, you don't have to. The questions are not evasive, but more geared toward collecting data - ever impressive data to show to our legislators, broadband providers and other businesses that we need help out here!
For those without internet access, the public library is a great place to use the internet to complete the survey - and it's free of charge! The Iowa County Courthouse also has computers that can be used to complete the broadband survey.
Paul Ohlrogge with UW Extension recently presented the current statistics for those who have completed the survey already to the Iowa County Board. The results indicated what the county has come to realize - nearly half of those who took the survey are unhappy with their internet service.
So I'll ask a few final questions. Are you unhappy with your internet service? Do you live in a rural area with little options for internet? Do you want your voice to be heard? Please, please take time to complete the survey! Just a few minutes of your time could help move the county forward in more ways than one.