TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The lack of high-speed internet services in many rural areas is one of the challenges hindering Florida's efforts to increase college degrees and spur economic development, a new report shows.
Some 680,000 Floridians do not have access to a broadband internet service that would allow information to be downloaded at minimum speed of 25 megabits per second, according to the report presented Monday to the state Higher Education Coordinating Council.
Ed Moore, president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida who compiled the report, said the data should prompt a “hard look at what access there is to digital learning and digital infrastructure across our state.”
“You cannot get ahead if you cannot get online,” Moore said.
Expanding broadband access and online education opportunities could help the state meet the Higher Education Coordinating Council's goal of having 55 percent of Florida's working-age population obtain either a college degree or professional certificate by 2025. Less than 47 percent have reached that level.
Moore said the 30 private colleges and universities in his organization now offer 592 degrees and certificates through online courses.
“That's a whole new world of higher education and creating access,” Moore said. “If you can't get it in your house, if you can't get it in your local school, your library or some other facility, it doesn't mean anything to you.”
Moore's report, based on Federal Communications Commission data, showed high-speed broadband service was consistently available in Florida's urban counties, which also correlated with higher income levels, more college degrees and more job growth among the residents.
But his report also identified 13 small, rural counties that were “trailing” in broadband access, ranging from Madison County, with 41 percent of its residents not having access, to Dixie County, with 99 percent without access.
Among those counties, residents with college degrees or certificates ranged from 27 percent in Jefferson County to 12 percent in DeSoto County.
Another 16 counties were designated as “underserved,” ranging from Marion County, with 11 percent without broadband access, to Taylor County, with 37 percent without access.
In addition to providing more educational opportunities, Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said expanding high-speed internet access would help economic development in rural communities.
An analysis from the chamber has shown that while 31 Florida counties have gained jobs since the Great Recession, 36 largely rural counties have lagged behind.
“It happens to overlay that map you talked about almost exactly,” Wilson told Moore.
Wilson said it could result in a “home run” if the education advocates and the rural economic development advocates united behind the effort to improve broadband services.
“This creates an equal opportunity for success for everybody,” he said.
Marshall Criser, chancellor of the state university system, said education leaders should work “collaboratively” with the business community in developing policy recommendations on expanding broadband services.
Criser, a former president of AT&T in Florida, said the state has made efforts to expand internet access and that there were sound reasons for broadband development to follow population densities.
“It's kind of the chicken or the egg, because there were a lot of people there it made sense to make those investments historically,” Criser said.
And while noting he likes to work almost exclusively on his smart phone, Criser said the development of any recommendations on expanding broadband should take into account “some of the new technology,” which could include wireless and satellite services in addition to broadband delivered over phone lines or fiber optic cable.
He noted the state just enacted a new law that is expected to expand faster wireless services by allowing telecommunications companies to install “small cell” devices on public rights-of-way.
Moore said advancements in technology will be considered as the higher-education council develops its recommendations.
Alan Levine, chairman of the higher-education council, said the council may invite the companies that provide broadband access and infrastructure to talk about the issue.