Reliable, high-speed, broadband access is woefully inadequate throughout much of Edgar County.

That can change, but it requires overcoming a built-in lethargic acceptance of this is the best to be expected and pushing back against those who do not see the importance of being connected with quality service.

Approximately 30 Edgar County people attended a meeting Thursday, March 16, at the Edgar County Farm Bureau with Bill Coleman of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. Each person had their reason for wanting to learn more about the issue.

Bob Colvin, PEDCO, “If you don’t have broadband, you don’t have economic development.”

Nick Barrett, Metcalf Fire Department, wants to prevent the area from falling further behind in technology and have services available that will encourage young people to stay in Edgar County.

Jonathan Burns, executive director Human Resources Center of Edgar and Clark Counties, “It is easier to reach people with telehealth, but it is wildly hit or miss here.”

Clint Ormiston, Grandview Township, depends on using cellphones as hotspots for home internet access, and it is not always reliable.

Scott Ingrum, President, Paris Community Fire Protection District, said none of the district’s four stations have good internet service and some cannot get a cell signal. “It’s something that needs addressed.”

Rick Eastham, Fire Chief, Paris Community Fire Protection District, “We are limited on the technology we can use with no internet, and our radio service is limited.”

Terry Rogers, Paris Police Chief, said the police department was recently forced to upgrade its internet service when all officers started wearing body cameras. The .03 megabits per second upload available was far too slow to upload the data recorded by the cameras.

Kyra Graham and Samantha McCarty of Horizon Health spoke of the difficulty of providing telehealth to patients who have limited mobility and for whom coming to the doctor is a hard task. They added connectivity between Horizon Health’s satellite operations is a problem in areas like monitoring refrigerator temperatures for storing medicine and sometimes basic communication.

Adam Webb, head of Horizon Health’s EMS ambulance service, said first responder equipment for the ambulances is coming with wi-fi enabled features that cannot be used in many areas of Edgar County because of the lack of a broadband wireless signal.

Lisa Ellis, Prairie Township resident and Edgar County Board member, reported she has lost remote work jobs when the employer found out her home internet was fixed wireless and not a fiber optic connection.