Staying at home more difficult for Pierce County residents with substandard or no internet
Slow internet for those on Key Peninsula and in remote areas east of Puyallup has made staying home during the coronavirus outbreak all that more difficult.
Some of Pierce County’s rural areas do not have the infrastructure for internet other than dial-up. In heavily wooded areas with a sparse population, the cost to add the necessary cable and cell towers can be too much for residents to take on.
With schools closed and businesses shut down, those working from home, students, teachers and folks just trying to wait out the pandemic are stuck with limited — and in some cases no — internet access.
No help is immediately on the way, but Pierce County government is moving ahead with plans to expand internet services into some areas next year.
WiFi Woes
Pierce County commissioned an audit last year that showed internet speeds are about a third of what service providers said they would deliver in many areas, meaning consumers are getting much less than they’re paying for.
Bandwidth on Key Peninsula and in Frederickson can drop to as low as 1.5 megabytes per second, much lower than the national standard of 25 mbps.
Residents have seen the internet slow down even further in recent weeks.
Erin Stevens in Gig Harbor said she and her husband have had to work from home while competing with their children, who need bandwidth for online school resources. They have had to schedule when the kids can stream videos. If Stevens is on the phone, no one else can use the internet.
“I tell my coworkers (that) Third World countries have better internet than I do, and I wish I was joking,” Erin Stevens said on Facebook.
She has worked from home for years but sharing the limited internet access has been a challenge.
“We don’t even try to stream Netflix anymore, as someone always needs the internet to do something more important,” Stevens said.
Longbranch resident Angela Ostrom has five in her household. The internet isn’t a problem, until multiple people want to use it.
“Our internet has been slow, especially when we are all home: running Zoom meetings for work and kids’ school classes, etc. I have had to restart and reboot our internet many times these past two weeks,” she told The News Tribune. “(We’re) trying to adapt to our family’s new normal.”
Kyle Walter, who lives in Lakebay, said it’s been really hard to work from home. His internet cuts in and out, and Walter has had to work from his phone at times, because his computer is so slow. When the internet was slow, Walter used to run out to a cafe. Now, with cafes being closed by the governor’s orders, he has to endure what he has.
Some communities have created public internet access to help those without. Key Peninsula Parks converted Volunteer Park into a free Wi-Fi area for those who have limited or no access to the internet. The Wi-Fi (KeyPenn Parks Guest) needs no password and is available for public use from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Virtual Teaching
Lori Curtis, White River School District’s director of digital learning and services, said it was challenging to come up with a plan in 24 hours for 4,000 students to learn at home.
The day Gov. Jay Inslee announced that schools would close across the state, White River teachers surveyed their students on who had internet access and informed the IT department.
The district has a one-to-one program, meaning every student from second to 12th grade already had an assigned Chromebook.
“It was extremely helpful to already have them,” Curtis said.
Since the order, teachers have used Google Classroom and Zoom to teach units online. They attach student resources as links and videos. If a student has not been in class for a few days, the teacher will call to check in, and those without internet access are mailed homework packets.
When there isn’t internet, students have had to go over to friend’s, relative’s or neighbor’s to get to class, Curtis said. She said she doesn’t know what kids are doing now that the stay-at-home order has been issued.
“It breaks my heart,” she said.
The school district has bought 200 hot spots for students with limited access or no internet at home.
The district spans across rural parts of east Pierce County. The hot spots will cost the district nearly $50,000, but it’s important to make sure kids can have class, Curtis said.
“We just don’t know how long this is going to last,” she said.
The hot spot pairs with the Chromebooks and only provides internet for the district laptops. There is a curfew, 10 p.m. for second to eighth graders and midnight for older students.
County action
On March 17, Pierce County Council prioritized a study on expanding broadband access in an emergency funding bill.
Council member Derek Young, who has worked on broadband legislation for more than a year, said things are moving forward.
The county is crafting a plan for a public-private partnership. The county would like to build the infrastructure if needed and partner with utility companies who have existing utility poles, towers and buildings. The county would string the fiber optic cables and lease the lines to internet providers.
Pierce County hired two consulting firms for a total of $146,925.
CTC Technology & Energy was contracted to hand an infrastructure plan to the county in six months, and CBG Communications was hired to create code and policy for the new branch of Pierce County.
Young said the county will begin looking for partnerships and funding at the beginning of next year.
