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Broadband, device access to see statewide upgrade

April 22, 2024 |By Jennifer Antonik

Roddy Flynn is ready to bring Delaware up to speed with better connectivity./PHOTO COURTESY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE. DOVER — Millions of federal dollars are headed straight to Delaware to help improve broadband access for residents and business owners. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) will bring $107

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Roddy Flynn is ready to bring Delaware up to speed with better connectivity./PHOTO COURTESY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE.[/caption] DOVER — Millions of federal dollars are headed straight to Delaware to help improve broadband access for residents and business owners. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) will bring $107 million of the federal government’s $42 billion pot of money to Delaware. It’s a move that Roddy Flynn says is crucial to continued economic development. Flynn is the executive director of the Delaware Broadband Office (DBO), a post that started just over a year ago to help the state manage federal funding for digitally-based initiatives and Governor John Carney’s effort to become the first state in the country with universal access to high-speed internet. Flynn is confident that the BEAD funding, along with other opportunities, will help Delaware stay on track toward full connectivity. BEAD funding will help bring the internet to about 6,500 addresses in Delaware that cannot be supported under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and American Rescue Plan Act. “It costs about $10,000 to $15,000 to address each address,” he told the Delaware Business Times, explaining that many of those locations are in very rural areas or have long driveways which hampers digital accessibility. “We do two things, really. On one hand, there’s the billing work we do for homes that don’t have internet access. That’s where most of our funding goes right now,” he continued. On the other hand, the DBO has also been hard at work developing a 250-page digital equity plan, now complete thanks to a $516,096 grant from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant program made available through the Digital Equity Act. Delaware was the second state to have its plan approved by the federal government. “We expect to receive, in total, about $12 million for that program [digital equity]. Right now, we’ve received authorization for $4.8 million for the first phase. We’ll get more over time,” Flynn told DBT. Crafting the plan helped officials explore the different needs of residents, business leaders, organizations and others across the state when it comes to the digital landscape. It also helped the DBO identify key community players that actively work to eliminate digital equity problems, such as public libraries, who will receive some of the funding to continue their work. “The number one biggest need that we heard repeatedly was device access,” Flynn said. He added that device access has become crucial for a variety of needs such as social services, English as a second language courses, health care options and workforce training opportunities. Improved device access in Delaware could also positively impact seniors, low-income residents and deaf or hard of hearing community members, to name a few groups. Community organizations identified in the digital equity plan often help disadvantaged community members access the internet for any number of these needs, which he said requires a unique skillset. “I think we have the best libraries in the country and they’re on the front lines of digital equity work,” Flynn said. “They have digital navigators, although they need more. It’s a real skill. . . When you’re talking about helping someone navigate these issues, it really takes a specific skill set, especially if they’re in a particular emotional state. It can get pretty intense.” With the approved digital equity plan in hand, identifying areas of opportunities for the state to focus on in the near future, Flynn’s office can start to move forward with plans to tie together the needs for better connectivity with improved access to digitally-friendly devices to make the largest impact possible for Delaware residents and business leaders, especially those from disadvantaged communities. Small business owner, Relay Outreach Manager and Delaware Association of the Deaf President Feta Fernsler said the additional grant funding headed to Delaware for the various accessibility projects is “wonderful” and needed. “From a deaf person’s perspective, it’s about greater access, making calls, helpful services through Relay. . . I understand that the Broadband spectrum is really important, especially for lower Delaware. [We get] what we call lag, it’s like there’s not a clear picture. . . it gets jumbled a bit. It’s hard to process what’s being communicated. So broadband is really important for that connection,” he signed to DBT. As a Relay Outreach Manager for the state of Delaware and coach for the deaf and hard of hearing community, Fernsler helps people from all over the state communicate with others. The Delaware Relay Service offers a variety of communication services for those who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind or have a speech disability, according to its website, including conference captioning, text to telephone/teletypewriter relay service allowing the user to type their message which is then verbalized to the other caller and vice versa, and a plethora of other opportunities for the community. Many of these options, however, desperately need upgrades from their outdated analog processes to newer, faster and more efficient digital technology, Fernsler signed to DBT. “Deaf business owners need to have a good, smooth picture for great communication, too” he continued. “[It’s] less of a headache. [Broadband is] important for us for not only working on the computer, but also so it doesn’t eat up too much of the bandwidth. For me, myself, I own my own business, as well. I’m constantly on the go and relying on my mobile phone is really important and having that connectivity there,” he signed. In his year with the new broadband office, Flynn says they’ve held 20 town halls and more than 100 small group meetings, giving him a chance to hear many of the same problems Fernsler expressed such as spotty internet service and connectivity concerns in Sussex County, high pricing structures, cybersecurity fears and business needs. “Workforce development, digital skill building and device access - those were the three biggest needs,” he told DBT. “There’s work happening. We will do whatever we can and use federal grant programs we can access until we reach a point where there’s no one in Delaware without access.”