Many of us have been frustrated by slow Internet connections, and in Frederick County, the issue is becoming a problem as more businesses and families move to the area.
County leaders are meeting with the public and Internet providers. They're talking about increasing Internet speeds, especially in the western part of the county. For those dealing with the slow connections, it's a problem well-worth solving.
Maura Lonas explained, "My house, personally, it lags. It's very slow. It takes a lot longer, so I try to come here and get all my work done before going home."
Lonas is a student at Lord Fairfax Community College. She spends her summer days in the student lounge of the college taking advantage of the broadband Internet.
"It's high-speed. You're able to get your work done when you need to. It's fast and convenient," she continued.
Despite the summer lull at LFCC, she's not alone in her web surfing needs.
Student, Matt Keller, added, "Well, my WiFi at home, sometimes you'll have to shut your WiFi off for a few minutes and turn it back on. Downloading things takes a lot longer."
Both students are from rural areas of the valley where Internet needs are under served, and tech experts with Frederick County have taken notice.
Walter Banks, the Frederick County IT Director, said, "According to some of the maps we've received there is some discrepancy in what the actual coverage is."
Using mapping technology to determine which areas of the county need the most broadband, the county was able to determine places like Star Tannery and Gore are in desperate need of these new connections. Hence the broadband project.
"What we're looking to do is to not call out any names, but just see what we can do to make sure our community gets the service that it needs," continued Banks.
Adding coverage to rural areas and beefing up mobile broadband is something students say they look forward to.
"For an improvement, it would be trying to have some kind of high-speed Internet like this, at the college, at home," concluded Lonas.
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