BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Comcast is expanding the reach of high-speed internet in Bradford County thanks to the assistance of government grants.
Jen Boyett works for Comcast in government outreach and told county commissioners Aug. 15 that internet coverage is coming in the Starke, Lawtey and Hampton areas.
Federal grant dollars were offered to internet service providers willing to expand into more rural areas because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought attention to the digital divide as many tried to work or attend school at home.
Comcast received a Broadband Opportunity Grant to build out its infrastructure to serve more than 3,000 additional homes in Bradford County.
Boyette said the work would begin later this fall.
She also said lower-cost options will be available for those who qualify.
“A lot of people say Comcast is too expensive, but I want to point out that that’s not necessarily the case all the time,” she said. “We have different levels of service, so there’s hopefully something for everybody.”
One option is known as Internet Essentials, a program Boyette said Comcast began offering in 2011 to bridge the digital divide.
“It’s $9.95 a month for Internet service. We’ve never changed that price. It’s been the same for 13 years. There’s no installation fee, there’s no contract, none of that. But it is for income-constrained people,” she said.
Signup will require the customer to show they already receive some kind of assistance for low-income households, including food or energy assistance.
Internet Essentials provides a 50 megabyte-per-second download speed and 10 Mbps uploads. There is also an option to purchase a Dell laptop with software for $150.
For $29.95 a month, a qualified customer could purchase Internet Essentials Plus, which is a faster option providing 100 Mbps downloads and 20 Mbps uploads. This matches the new federal definition for broadband internet.
The school district or other third-party organizations can also purchase internet access through the Internet Essentials Partner Program on behalf of those they serve at a reduced cost. The households would receive the service with the bill going to the organization.
For $30 a month, Comcast also launched a post-Covid service called Now which is available to anyone in the service area. The customer tailors the service to their needs based on the available options. Again, no contract or connection fees are involved.
The design phase of the Bradford expansion is still ongoing, but construction is scheduled to begin later in the fall. That’s 750 new households by the end of the year and the remainder by the end of 2025.
Commissioner Diane Andrews pointed out the Brooker area’s absence from the discussion, but Boyette said this was just one of multiple funding opportunities that ISPs have been bidding for to help build out their services.
“There’s possibilities that we will expand further out, or another provider expand further out, so there’s more opportunity coming,” she said. Initial designs are based on what is easiest to get started, she said, but from their further expansion becomes possible.
“We’re always looking to expand, especially now, when we have the help,” she said.
Comcast has a been in Starke for years, first as a cable TV provider and then internet. After years of promised upgrades, Comcast began rolling out Xfinity within the city, a package that included digital television and broadband internet in 2019.
