As we have all experienced over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted significant gaps in internet accessibility across the country. The Delta, especially rural areas, has been shown to lack adequate digital infrastructure to support access to critical services such as healthcare, distance learning, and remote work. In response to these challenges, the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has announced the Delta Broadband Mapping Project, and NPSB is proud to support the DRA on this initiative.
Through an innovative crowd-sourcing platform, DRA is undertaking a regional internet speed testing initiative to support data-driven policy and decision making. The goal of this project is to create a regional map of internet availability and speeds.
We’ve been relying on incomplete data to make big decisions on broadband infrastructure for years. Most broadband maps don’t measure access on a house-by-house basis. The Delta Speed Test will give us granular data that isn’t available anywhere else, which will help provide funding opportunities for our community.
The test takes less than one minute to complete and can be taken on any internet-connected device.
To learn more and to take the test, visit dra.gov/speedtest.
