Broadband tour slated for Sallisaw

The Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) is hosting a statewide broadband listening tour, and is scheduled to stop in Sallisaw on June 6.

The “Let’s Get Digital: Oklahoma Broadband Tour” is making stops throughout the state to gather public input on local internet needs. This feedback will be used to develop a five-year plan for Oklahoma to better connect the entire state.

Two major programs are available to help people get access to broadband — Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Act (DEA).

“The BEAD program is actually putting the infrastructure and broadband in the ground,” says Edyn Rolls, Oklahoma Broadband Office director of broadband strategy. “We’ll receive anywhere from $750 million to $1.2 billion. We’re anticipating those allocations will be announced by NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) on June 30. With this particular program, it prioritizes the unserved and underserved.

“The requirement for this speed of this particular program is 100/20 mbs (megabytes per second), but it’s the desire to have that scalable to 100/100,” Rolls says. “For schools and libraries, the requirement is 1 gigabyte. We are currently in the process of developing our five-year plan. We’re getting out to communities around the state to hear thoughts and comments for broad banding your community.”

For the DEA program, it’s focused on teaching people and giving hem the skills, tools, resources and affordability component, “and actually teach them how to use a device and to use the infrastructure we put into the ground,” Rolls says.

“It provides funding for free grant programs working on skills and technology. We are currently in the process of developing our digital equity plan, and that’s due Nov. 30. We want to know what your community needs in order to be able to use the broadband that we’re putting in the ground.”

A statewide map is being developed which will be more comprehensible, targeting and understanding what the broadband spectrum is like in the state. Rolls says it will be used to see where grants are going as well as allowing people to see all the services coming to an area.

Rolls says there are about 830,000 Oklahomans with either slow or inefficient internet. Oklahoma Broadband District 9 Director Jim Meek says Oklahoma Broadband is seeking grants to get fiber optical lines, which are the most reliable. He also says certain discounts are available for households that qualify.

“For rural Oklahoma to survive, we have to get on the broadband wagon,” Meek says. “We want to make rural people feel comfortable and safe from things like scams.”

For more information, call Meek at 918-759-8872, Rolls at 405-269-4052 or M.J. Barton, Oklahoma Broadband Tribal and Programs outreach manager, at 405-408-9890.

For online information, visit www. affordableconnectivity.gov or www.okalhoma.gov/brdoadband/office/about.html.