According to a news release, the new Purdue Broadband Team will serve as a collaborative effort between Purdue, the Indiana Broadband Office and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to educate the public about the importance of broadband in their local communities, as well as tools available to residents for speed tests and verifying service to give officials a better idea of where to devote digital equity resources.
The team’s goal will be improve the accuracy of data about broadband access across all 92 Indiana counties on the Federal Communications Commission map, which will help the state deploy $868 million in federal funding and other state resources for high-speed Internet improvements, the announcement said. The team will be led by Roberto Gallardo, Purdue’s vice president for engagement and director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development, and will involve Purdue Extension personnel, students, 4-H members and alumni.
“Accurate and up-to-date information is a critical piece of the puzzle. Local broadband groups and the state can run into challenges with the data that is needed to support grant applications,” Gallardo said in a statement. “For broadband funding to be allocated to Hoosier communities needing it the most, data must accurately reflect gaps in broadband connectivity.”
Gallardo said that improving data accuracy about broadband access and informing residents of digital literacy-building resources will be crucial to digital equity efforts in Indiana.
“The key thing is to make sure that map is as accurate as possible because then in turn, we’ll hopefully be able to dictate where funds can go,” he said. “Broadband is a very complex issue, and so we’re going to require all hands on deck … .”
Gallardo said that while Purdue’s broadband team will not be playing a direct role in broadband infrastructure construction projects or programs that work to connect residents to Internet services, the team’s work will provide federal and state officials with more actionable information for ongoing and future broadband projects.
“We’re just spreading the word and increasing awareness of these resources,” he noted. “We don’t know if the FCC will change the map at the end of the day and we don’t know if the speed tests are going to make any impact regarding [policy and project] decisions.”
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, said in a statement that she hopes the broadband team will play a key role in efforts to get more Indianans connected to high-speed Internet, adding that access to reliable Internet is “one of the great equalizers in today’s society,” where telework and digital education have become a new norm.
“I applaud Purdue’s commitment to investing in broadband by educating Hoosiers on tools to improve their own broadband access. As a state, we have seen a direct connection between the number of people requesting broadband services in a certain area and the areas providers are most likely to invest in. I am confident that this partnership with Purdue will accelerate state efforts to ensure that all Hoosiers, in every community, will have broadband access,” Crouch said.
