Arkansas State Broadband Office encourages Arkansans to participate in a survey
The Arkansas State Broadband Office is reaching out to Arkansans to take part in a recently-launched survey aimed at addressing a lack of digital literacy in an ever-growing technological world.
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Congress passed in 2021, Arkansas received more than $840,000 to study the state’s digital divide, create a plan to address its digital skills gap, and learn more about the unique challenges that stand in the way of various segments of the state’s population affording and using high-speed internet.
This funding comes on top of an additional $5 million investment to create a five-year action plan for internet access.
Glen Howie, director of the Arkansas State Broadband Office, estimates 274,000 Arkansans in the traditional working age range of 18-64 lack basic digital skills. It’s a gap Howie said must be bridged for the state to compete effectively in a global environment increasingly dependent on internet and technological knowledge.
Arkansas is slated to receive over $1 billion for broadband infrastructure improvements as well as digital skills training programs. Howie said it’s critical Arkansans complete the new survey to ensure the state’s broadband needs are identified and then met through federally-funded resources.
Howie stresses that it’s vital Arkansans have both reliable and efficient internet service while also possessing the ability to use it to their advantage – whether that’s for economic purposes, healthcare, education or any other facet of a person’s life. Howie hopes his office’s effort will close the state’s digital divide within five years and help make the state an even better environment in which to live and do business.
The survey, which takes just 10-15 minutes to complete, can be found online at www.uark.qualtrics.com. Listeners can also find more information on the Arkansas State Broadband Office and a direct link to the survey at www.broadband.arkansas.gov.
