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To the Editor:

Charlotte County is slated to receive $2.3 million from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan possibly within the next 60 days.

One of the stipulations of the plan is to make necessary investments in broadband infrastructure. According to broadbandnow.com, two-thirds of Charlotte County households do not have broadband internet. Affordable access to broadband is extremely critical so that our school-age children can thrive, whether in a pandemic or not. 

Every school-age child should have high speed internet accessible to them in their home. It is unacceptable to force families to hunt for a hot spot and sit for hours to do their work.

Further, businesses have begun to realize that “working from home” is more profitable. Providing affordable access to broadband to as many homes as possible can make the county more attractive to  companies wanting to relocate to lower operating costs.

I urge the Board of Supervisors to increase access to broadband to more families by allocating American Rescue Plan funding and to make it their top priority.

Vanessa Scott

Saxe