- 1,383 neighbors in rural Northeast Leon County could be getting better internet access.
- The state awarded more than $6 million to add broadband internet to rural areas across Leon County.
- Watch the video to hear from one neighbor who says he is excited for better connectivity.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors living in my area tell me it’s hard to connect using the internet in their part of town.
More than 1,300 neighbors living in rural Northeast Leon County will be getting access to broadband internet. It's one area of many getting the service in rural areas of the Capitol County.
"Whether it's Zoom calls, uploading larger files or streaming it can get hairy with slower internet," said neighbor Benjamin Voran.
He describes the internet service he started receiving 8 years ago in Chemonie Crossing as slow.
"We were used to speeds of a gig and coming here the fastest we got was like 20 megabits," Voran said.
He and his family moved from an area in Kansas City with a broadband network.
"It was a big difference, very noticeable," Voran said.
It's something he deals with every day working from home.
After 8 years, he said he's excited to hear about new broadband funding for his neighborhood.
"We've tried to petition multiple companies to try and upgrade," Voran said. "He kind of got shut down at every turn so something finally happening is very exciting."
The state is awarding $6 million to add Comcast broadband internet in areas of rural Leon County, including here in the Miccosukee area and Centerville Corridor.
Commissioner Brian Welch said me connectivity has been an ongoing issue for neighbors.
"We have very low levels of service in some of these areas," Welch said. "People don't even have good wifi in their homes and it creates all kinds of issues with communication and staying in the loop."
He said out of the 3,000 homes that will be getting the broadband service in rural parts of Leon County, 46% of those will be in this area.
He said Comcast has yet to announce which neighborhoods specifically will receive it.
"We'd have to assume those are in the Miccosukee and near Chemonie Crossing and neighborhoods like that, those are really the only population centers in that area," Welch said.
That's news that Voran said he and other neighbors welcome.
"We've been waiting a long time," Voran said.
Neighbors can expect the broadband to start going in as early as this summer.
