Signing Up for High Speed Internet Access

As a vacation getaway, Lake Tahoe is practically flawless. Its picturesque views, ski resorts and water activities attract millions of visitors. But permanent residents of the region have found at least one serious problem: a lack of high speed internet access.

Due to the low population density and high proportion of second homes in the area, service providers don’t see enough profit potential to invest in the infrastructure needed to provide universal high speed internet access. Local residents think that assumption is wrong, and they're taking matters into their own hands to prove it.

Hundreds of residents have signed a petition aimed at convincing telecom companies like AT&T and Charter Communications that there is sufficient demand to justify building out high speed internet infrastructure in the Lake Tahoe region. They are tired of missing out on all the benefits – economic, civic, and social – that residents of the nearby Bay Area enjoy.

Residents are also concerned about the effects the lack of high speed internet access is having on the local real estate market.

“It’s starting to affect the values of the properties of the areas that are not serviced by high-speed,” said Williams. “If you are trying to fill a rental property, two that are similar, one with high-speed and one without, its difficult to lease the second property. You have high-tech people who are looking to lease a property for four to five months for a ski lease, and can’t telecommute.”

While local residents are organizing the petition drive at the grassroots level, officials from Placer County, California, are simultaneously working to expand high speed internet access. They are asking service providers to explain their future plans for internet service in the region, and they’re lobbying them to include in those plans more high speed infrastructure underserved areas.

County officials are also applying for grants from the Emerging Technologies Fund, which was created with mandatory contributions after major telecom companies recently merged.

The people of the Lake Tahoe region are working on all fronts to get plugged into the 21st Century. Their persistence is a testament to the importance of high speed internet access in today's society.

Signing up to get wired (Nevada Appeal)