Banding Together for Digital Equity

Banding Together for Digital Equity

By DeAnna Thomas

State-of-the-art internet access is vital to the growth and progress of agriculture throughout the state. With Project Broadband Breakthrough, five Illinois counties are paving the way for rural broadband access across the state. The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) is piloting the program with the Benton Institute, the University of Illinois Extension, and the University of Illinois Extension Broadband Lab teams to collaborate with community team members in Schuyler, Edgar, Ogle, Hancock, and McLean Counties.

“Broadband access in our great state's rural and remote areas opens up a world of opportunity,” said Todd Main, ISA Director of Market Development. “It connects local businesses to global markets, provides educational op- portunities, and connects patients to healthcare while also allowing for population growth, higher rates of new business formation and home values, and lower unemployment rates. Broadband access is crucial to the revitalization and preservation of rural communities.”

Project Broadband Breakthrough kicked off in January of 2023. During the 16-week program, the five-county teams will work together to develop their grant applications to receive funding from the state and federal broadband programs.

“Working with this cohort of five counties to accelerate and streamline their rural broadband access funding application allows us all to learn how to replicate this process for other counties and their leaders successfully,” Main said. “ISA is proud to be a part of this project as we work together to break through the broadband barrier.”

Through developing and sending out county-wide surveys, meeting with community leaders and stakeholders, identifying viable broadband anchors through mapping, conducting feasibility studies, interviewing potential internet service providers and more, these teams will lay the gridwork and build the foundation to provide the citizens of their counties with reliable, affordable rural broadband access.

“Many homes in our rural communities don't have reliable access to high-speed internet,” Main said. “By taking these surveys, residents can help their community broadband leaders identify gaps in the county. The leaders will use this information to help plan for broadband access expansion.”

Accompanying each survey is the request for county residents to conduct an internet speed test and share the results so the committees can better understand connectivity issues they can help solve through the next phase of the project: mapping.

While the team leaders have been busy developing and deploying their surveys, they also have learned from leading broadband experts across the state, like Illinois Farm Bureau’s Bill Bodine, as he presented to the cohort about how to work with Illinois farmers and county farm bureaus to get them involved in rural broadband efforts.

“From working with farmers and landowners on the challenges of rural broadband access, to learning about the right of ways and easements to understanding the importance and value of broadband when it comes to precision ag and the location of vertical assets in the county, it is imperative to get those in agriculture involved in early phases of rural broadband planning,” Main said.

Shubhika Agarwal of the Illinois Broadband Lab has also taught the teams how to use the available and efficient Illinois broadband mapping tools results to help make a case for broadband infrastructure investments by utilizing various forms of secondary data that speak to demographic and broadband-related information.

Cohort leaders have benefited from the teachings of Illinois State University’s Dr. John Kostelnick and Dr. Jonathan Thayne who presented a map book for counties that covers the economic potential and agricultural gain that can be realized with robust broadband infrastructure, particularly in corn and soybean production.

“These five county teams and other counties interested in participating in our Broadband Breakthrough program are fortunate to have these resources and experts available to them,” Main said. “Nowhere else in the country has this high a level of mapping capability, professional assistance, and resources available for counties to design successful broadband infrastructure plans.”

Champaign County Connect

The five teams have also learned the importance of informing, educating, and communicating their mission, vision, and goals to community leaders and stakeholders. Benton Institute’s Adrianne Furniss shared how impactful messaging and outreach can make all the difference in projects like these. Participants learned firsthand from Champaign County Farm Bureau Manager, Bailey Conrady, as she shared Champaign County’s experience in improving broadband access and affordability.

“The Champaign County Farm Bureau’s (CCFB) mission to improve the quality of farm family life has taken a high-tech turn in the past several years,” Conrady said.

“Champaign County Farm Bureau members raised concerns over the connectivity gap between urban and rural Champaign County even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since early 2019, the CCFB has been working diligently with local stakeholders to increase investment in broadband infrastructure in the rural areas of Champaign County through a broadband survey and efforts to engage with broadband providers on the issue.”

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) boosted this effort. In response, the CCFB mobilized members and other local stakeholders early to convince the Champaign County Board to set aside a significant portion of the allotted ARPA funds for rural broadband infrastructure projects.

“The CCFB has a long history of successfully working with politicians from both sides of the aisle on issues important to our members and agriculture and collaborating with community stakeholders to improve the quality of farm family life,” Conrady said.

Champaign County Farm Bureau members provided written comments to the county board, which proved incredibly convincing. The CCFB was prepared to ask for funding early in the ARPA allotment process and was organized and timely with comments and attendance at county board meetings and other stakeholder engagements, which helped secure the campaign’s success.

“It was readily apparent to all involved that the CCFB had our members’ support and that we would be incredibly engaged in the ARPA funding process,” Conrady said.

The CCFB was heavily involved with the Champaign County Broadband Task Force, chaired by then-CCFB Manager Brad Uken, and with selecting two “preferred providers” who were chosen to lead the broadband infrastructure installation in rural Champaign County.

“Throughout this process, one of our top priorities was protecting landowner rights,” Conrady said. “As a pillar of Farm Bureau policy, the CCFB ensures landowner rights are respected throughout the fiber installation process.”

During this process, CCFB members provided feedback on another broadband survey conducted by the University of Illinois Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. This survey provided overwhelming evidence of the disparity between the urban and rural parts of Champaign County in internet access, reliability, and affordability.

Champaign County Farm Bureau staff and leadership testified multiple times in front of the Champaign County Board and were engaged in several other stakeholder meetings and engagements.

“Through the extraordinary efforts of CCFB Directors and members, $10 million of the $40.8 million in ARPA funds allotted to Champaign County were set aside for broadband infrastructure projects,” Conrady said. “Despite this funding, the CCFB is not slowing down in our effort to improve our members’ lives. The CCFB is committed to completing this project.”

The Champaign County Farm Bureau also is working with the CONNECT Champaign County initiative, which has been developed to continue pushing rural broadband forward.

Champaign County Farm Bureau volunteers also will gather letters of support for the two preferred providers, which the Champaign County Broadband Taskforce chose. These letters of support are a vital part of federal and state grant applications.

“There is no doubt that this is a complex, ambitious, multi-year plan, which, when completed, will make Champaign County an example of how communities and rural areas can come together to better the livelihood of all residents,” Conrady said.

Collaboration and cooperation are the foundation of CONNECT Champaign County, and the CCFB is committed to working with all community stakeholders to see this project through. Rural Champaign County will bridge the rural-urban connectivity gap and have fast reliable internet.

“Broadband access in rural areas is challenging to solve,” Conrady added. “We will not be able to provide fast, reliable, and affordable broadband to everyone in the county tomorrow, but we believe that progress is being and will continue to be made in this important area.”

Live in Champaign County?

The CCFB is committed to working with all possible stakeholders regarding the funding and completion of these projects. If you are a civic group, community organization, or elected board member, please get in touch with the CCFB office at 217-352-5235 or visit https://www.connectchampaigncounty.com/ to schedule a CONNECT Champaign County volunteer to present to your organization.

Looking to get broadband in your rural community?

As ISA Market Development Committee Chair, Scott Gaffner, mentioned in his column, ISA will soon distribute a statewide survey asking residents, farmers, and industry stakeholders about their internet access and speed to gain critical information for Illinois counties to identify broadband needs, viable broadband anchors in their area, and more. In many instances, neighboring counties can work together in this initiative, from identifying mutually-beneficial anchors to working with the same internet service provider (ISP). This survey will enable the experts at the Benton Institute to connect those dots and streamline the broadband application process.

For more information on Project Broadband Breakthrough or to start a pilot project in your county, contact ISA’s Director of Market Development, Todd Main, at broadband@ilsoy.org.