Council approves outreach for citywide broadband survey tied to public‑access network project
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Summary
The city announced an upcoming broadband experience survey to support a public‑access broadband network project being planned with the city of Hermiston; staff urged residents to respond to correct federal mapping inaccuracies.
City legal counsel announced at the Aug. 19 Umatilla City Council meeting that a broadband survey will be sent to every residence and business to gather real‑world internet availability and performance data to support the city’s public‑access broadband planning work with Hermiston.
“We talked about work on a public access broadband network…a survey will be going out in about 3 or 4 weeks,” David, the city’s general counsel, said. He said the primary objective is to collect resident and business reports of actual broadband performance because “the federal maps are notoriously wrong.”
David asked councilors and staff to help publicize the survey through newsletters, social media and other city communications once the final survey logistics are resolved. He said the survey format — whether mailed, emailed or a web link — had not yet been finalized, but the city would distribute details to the public when available.
No council vote was required at the meeting; staff framed the survey as a necessary step to secure accurate coverage data for grant applications and project planning.
City staff said they would follow up with timing and distribution details once the survey instrument is finalized.