Whiteside officials remind residents to take broadband survey for improved internet service

Whiteside County internet survey

MORRISON – More than 300 Whiteside County residents so far have taken a survey to help officials assess the state of local internet services as they prepare to map out a plan for countywide broadband coverage.

That’s a great start, but more participation is needed to determine what the internet speeds are at various locations throughout the county, and to define what it is residents want their service to be able to do.

The survey, available in Spanish and English, takes less than 5 minutes, and its results will provide direction to ConnectWhiteside.org, the county’s 17-member planning committee.

It is available in English at connectwhiteside.org/survey and in Spanish at conecterwhiteside.org/encuesta, and on paper in both languages for those with no internet or poor internet service.

People who work and live in Whiteside County can take the survey twice, once at each location. The more data the county has on the quality of internet service at various locations, the better.

The deadline to complete the survey has been extended to the end of the business day on May 15.

It will ask you to test your computer’s speed, and provide a link to do so, and also will ask things such as who is your internet provider, what do you pay for internet and what do you use the internet for the most (streaming movies or music, schoolwork, attending virtual events, etc.).

Paper surveys are available:

At Fulton City Hall, 415 11th Ave.

At Henry C. Adams Memorial Library, 209W Third St., Prophetstown.

In Morrison at Odell Library, 307 S Madison St; St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 601 N. Jackson St; and at the Whiteside County Courthouse, 200E Knox St. (use the Cherry Street entrance).

In Rock Falls at the Rock Falls Library, 1007 Seventh Ave.; Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce, 601 W. 10th St.; Whiteside Area Housing Authority, 401 W. 18th St.; Tri-County Opportunities Council, 405 Emmons Ave.; Blackhawk Hills Regional Council, 309 First Ave.; and the Whiteside County Community Health Clinic, 1300 W. Second St.

In Sterling at the Whiteside County Senior Center, 1207 W Ninth St; Illinois Extension Office, 12923 Lawrence Road; La Laguna, 301 Ave. G; El Vaquero, 1219 W. Fourth St.; Sterling Public Library, 102 W. Third St.; Whiteside County Courthouse, 101 E. Third St.; Whiteside Area Career Center, 1608 Fifth Ave.; and Sterling Rock Falls YMCA, 2505 Ave. E.

At Sauk Valley Community College, 173 state Route 2.

You must be 18 or older or have the permission of your legal guardian to participate.

Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.