A $60,000 broadband feasibility study in Carbon County is underway and officials are asking the public to help when they receive surveys in the coming weeks.

On Thursday, Commissioner Chris Lukasevich announced that the commissioners had a kickoff meeting with Design Nine Inc. of Blackburg, Virginia, to begin the rural broadband coverage study.

It will look at all areas of the county to see what parts are underserved by broadband and provide a better picture on how to enhance the services to those underserved populations.

Lukasevich said that approximately 20 percent of the county is either “unserved or underserved” in regards to internet service.

The study will take place over the next four to five months and will look at “connectivity, the gaps and ways that we can enhance and invest in ensuring our citizens and businesses can telework, conduct telemedicine and our school districts and students can teleeducate,” he said.

Lukasevich added that in the next two weeks, county residents should receive a survey in the mail requesting information on their current level of service and what their expectations are for the service in the future.

The county asks residents fill out the survey and return it by March 12.

Carbon County has been looking at ways to enhance broadband access to all of the county since 2020, when it earmarked $500,000 from the COVID-19 Relief Block Grant.

But at that time, the commissioners rejected the two proposals that came in because they didn’t meet the needs of the county.

In December, the commissioners hired Design Nine for the feasibility study at a cost of $61,250, with a completion date of approximately April 30.

During that meeting, the board explained that the scope of work for the study is to inventory the existing fiber networks; provide an analysis of the current broadband providers’ services, pricing strategies and coverage areas; map the locations of existing fiber and broadband related electronics and broadband speed by provider; and provide an assessment of the services available to existing and prospective businesses and how that impacts economic development efforts.

It will also look at identifying groups that can help the county achieve its broadband goals, identify possible grant or financing opportunities and provide a financial projection and costs of building a network.