“There are places in South Walton where you can’t get a connection,” said County Commissioner Sara Comander.
The District 4 representative is part of a team of officials studying the gaps in digital coverage across the county.
“As more and more people move into the county and want to work out of their homes, it’s very important that we try to get as much connectivity as we can,” Comander said.
Broadband access is both an economic development and quality-of-life issue, she added.
As the team of officials gathers its research, they are focusing primarily on wireless options.
“The county doesn’t have the millions of dollars it takes to build a fiber-based technology system,” said Louis E. Svehla, public information manager for Walton County.
Svehla, who is part of the team, said the county is looking at using its own radio towers to expand wireless service and partnering with new and existing wireless providers. Members of the team are exploring methods being used in other counties and also traveled to Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Wednesday to learn more about a wireless network there.
One of the team’s first ideas is to expand broadband access to some of Walton County’s publicly-used government buildings that are underserved and have poor Internet connections.
After the government buildings, the county could look at rolling out more broadband to residents.
“What we’re doing is sitting down and seeing what’s out there,” Svehla said. “We’re really in the research phase.”
©2014 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)
