Letter: County broadband should reach all, be done right the first time

From: Clarence Gates

Columbus

No half-baked internet in this county, no excuses, if it’s going to be done, do it right. Internet must be provided to 100% of county residents, not some lower percentage. Take high-speed fiber to every single road and house in this county for possible new homes being built.

Some people in the country now have internet service, but it’s hit-and-miss, with the possibilty of not being available in the future. A good system would include every single household in this county. It should be a public utility, much like the original telephone companies started telephones in the early years.

The modern way of doing things now is mostly internet and cellphone-based systems, with fiber and old used wire line that is old and worn-out and not good to pass digital signals very far.

Bringing Bartholomew County into the digital age in a common system will be expensive, but to compatible in the modern era, it must be done in the right manner, not pieced together in a half-baked system with problems down the road.