Residents only have until Friday, June 30 to take a state survey that will determine how hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent to enable fast internet access for all Californians.
There is no fast internet in many rural areas and tribal lands. But there are also communities in the city of San Diego, like Logan Heights, where it exists but it’s unaffordable. One in five homes don’t have it there.
“I think that's probably one of our highest needs in our community,” said Kathryn Johnson, branch manager of the Logan Heights Library.
She sees patrons regularly come in to use the internet for basic needs like applying for jobs, completing homework and submitting paperwork for assistance programs and medical appointments.
They can also borrow Wi-Fi hotspots to bring home — but there’s a waitlist.
“They are so popular,” Johnson said. “We have 99 hotspots at our location, and we probably get, I would say, maybe six, seven calls a day asking if we have them available.”
Of the more than 3,000 hotspots in circulation in the city library system, only 25 are currently listed as available on the library website. Half of those were recently returned. And the few that have been available extended periods are at branches in wealthier neighborhoods like Carmel Valley and Rancho Bernardo. All of the county library’s 7,000 hotspots are checked out on long-term loans.
More than 100,000 people in San Diego County lack fast, reliable internet. That’s according to a county analysis of census data.
Most zip codes only have one or two fast internet providers. Not a lot of competition means higher prices, which bars many low-income residents from what has become a basic necessity of daily life.
People can get financial help from the federal government for internet service — up to $30 a month, and more on tribal lands — but most eligible households in San Diego County haven’t applied.
The survey, which is meant to help officials target barriers that underserved residents face to accessing the internet, is online.
