SPRING HILL, Kan. — The state of Kansas is asking residents to participate in a survey about their broadband internet.
The Department of Commerce’s Office of Broadband Development is creating a strategic plan to expand the infrastructure necessary for high-speed, broadband internet.
To help it prioritize problem areas, it is asking Kansans to participate in an online survey and speed test.
The survey asks residents to answer a few questions and upload results of several speed tests. The more people who participate, the more accurate data the state will collect, which then will be used for grant applications to help providers bolster the broadband infrastructure in Kansas.
“You want people to come to a community, but if they can’t work and have internet, it kind of kills that,” Spring Hill resident Chase Ashurst said. “It’s a big utility that people need.”
Spring Hill residents have been plagued by slow internet speeds. The city once ranked as having the third slowest internet speed across rural America.
Since that ranking in 2019, the city has partnered with internet providers like Comcast to offer much faster internet.
Noel Shinkle upgraded her home internet in January.
Since getting the new, fiber internet service, Shinkle said she no longer has to drive to a family’s home in Olathe to participate in video chats for her remote job.
“I can just sit in my office and be able to have those video calls," she said. "(The new internet) made working from home a lot better. Being able to stream our Netflix or Disney+ it’s just been really great to watch TV without it freezing.”
The state’s survey is part of the Office of Broadband Development’s goal to connect all Kansans to high-speed internet by 2026.
