QUINCY — The Gadsden County Public Library is used for more than just books. Many people in the county drive miles to use the Library for WIFI due to no internet access at home or poor service at their businesses.
“I’ve waited years for the broadband project,” said Wayne Whiddon.
Whiddon is one of many in Gadsden County who do not have reliable internet access. Some have no internet at all.
“People live on the internet,” Whiddon said.
Whiddon owns a feed store in Havana. He said the lack of good signal is interfering with his business operations.
"We have to input our orders on portals. A lot of times we cannot get them to go through or we can’t get the emails to go through," said Whiddon. "A lot of our orders are delayed or we miss trucks that we really need if we cant get them in the system.”
A potential solution is in the works. Charter Communications is working to add 130 miles of connections across the county. These new connections will help serve more than 3,000 locations.
Gadsden County Public Service Officer Leslie Steele sees this being the future of the county.
“I think it opens up the possibilities of the great things we are trying to do in Gadsden County in terms of economic development bringing in new companies and having the ability to have access to internet" Steele said.
According to the United States Census Bureau's most recent 2022, about a third of the county's residents do not have a broadband internet connection.
Due to this issue many people go to public places like the Gadsden County Public Library to access internet. Library leaders said they see about 50 people a day using the computers.
Gadsden County Public Library's Tabitha Washington said once the new project is set, the library is open to help those who need assistance on how to use the internet.
“We will be able to help as far as education on how to use a computer how to create things such as email accounts how to search for job" Washington said.
With new opportunities on the rise, Whiddon said this could lead to new business in his community.
“Will get young families that will bring more workers to this part of the county, and families who can come and support businesses like myself because if they don’t move here and live here, they are not supporting our business" Whiddon said.
According to Gadsden County and Charter Communications, the project is estimated to be done by December 2023. The project will cost $1.8 million for the infrastructure for Gadsden County and will be funded by the state.
