Guest column: Broadband needs to be part of the city’s infrastructure
Your turn
Infrastructure projects are immensely popular with the American people. In March, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law with $343 million earmarked for Jacksonville/Duval infrastructure projects. And a substantially larger federal infrastructure-targeted bill is making its way through Congress now.
So why are our City leaders considering a $1 billion 30-year gas tax bill for infrastructure when the federal money is already starting to flow to Jacksonville, signaling that we have entered a new FDR-like era?
And why didn’t the $343 million in federal money available to Jacksonville show up on the City Council radar long before last week?
Guest column: JEA positioned to offer high-speed fiber Internet
Your turn
Could JEA provide low-cost high-speed internet over fiber to every household and business in Jacksonville? The short answer is yes. And the timing for such a welcome project couldn’t be better.
When Covid-19 hit, households quickly became extensions of schools and businesses. Internet access was now mandatory, but with no effective answer for those on the wrong side of the digital divide. It wasn’t long before a photo went viral of two little girls doing their homework sitting outside on a curb using Taco Bell’s Wi-Fi.