How’s your internet? What you can do to increase the speed in your community
(WXYZ) — How’s your internet service? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said nearly half a million people in Michigan do not have access to high-speed Internet.
Some believe that the number, provided by Internet providers, may actually be low.
That’s why Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist asks you to check the FCC map showing who has slow service. This will allow the state to get as much funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to improve your internet.
Related: How to Check Your Internet Speed and Submit a Challenge
Detroit’s Hope Village is a neighborhood that the FCC map says has high-speed internet, but as people have shown us, it doesn’t.
Ask people in Hope Village about their internet and they’ll tell you it’s slow. And, they can prove it.
“Roughly about one third of what I pay for. As you can see your internet connection is very slow,” said Jeffrey Jones.
Jones ran an internet speed test on his computer three times. Each time it came back below the speed he was paying for, and below the FCC threshold of high-speed internet, which is at least 25 Mbps for download and 3 Mbps for upload.
“Poorer communities get second-class service. First-class bills, but second-class service,” he said.
Jones said the impact of slow and unreliable internet is real. During the pandemic shutdowns, his neighbor had to take her children to the McDonald’s parking lot for school. He also said that at times his doctor cannot monitor his health.
“My doctor was scrambling to me — you’re not using your CPAP machine,” he said. “Yes I am, it’s just the machine can’t communicate with you to let you know if I’m breathing properly or not.”
Art Thompson is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Detroit. He said the mayor’s office is requesting tenders for a project to install community-owned fiber lines to Hope Village to fix what private companies don’t have. This is just a start.
“About 1/3 of the city is underserved. If you look at no connection, it’s maybe 5%,” Thompson said.
“Half a million people don’t have internet in Michigan. And that’s what we know about. That’s what we know about. And we might learn more from this mapping service,” Gilchrist said.
He said rural and poor communities in particular are being hit hard. It’s an issue he’s passionate about. At university he researched how some communities simply did not have internet service.
“The fact that 21 years later we still have gaps in Michigan and anywhere in this country, I think it’s terrible, it’s a failure. This could be the generation that connects our people,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor we need more funding to do more projects like the one Detroit is planning for Hope Village.
Right now, everyone in Michigan can help make it happen.
Here’s how:
Run an internet speed test between now and January 13th. Then compare what you’re getting to what the online FCC chart says you’re getting. It has information address by address.
If the FCC thinks you have high-speed Internet and it’s slow, upload proof like a screenshot. Your information may be used to justify investment in internet infrastructure in your area.
“Michigan can be the state that gets people online and connects them to the economic opportunities that come from it. The health benefits. The education benefits,” he said.
Here’s how you can check your internet and submit a challenge.
- Go to broadbandmap.fcc.gov
- Enter an address and see if the reported coverage is accurate
- Run a test of your internet speed at https://www.speedtest.net/ or https://fast.com/
- If your internet doesn’t match, submit a challenge by clicking “Location challenge” if the location is missing or “availability challenge” if the internet service information is incorrect
