North Florida Rural Counties Struggle with Internet Service

Several North Florida rural counties are struggling with high-speed Internet service.

Local officials tell The Gainesville Sun that a service funded in 2009 from a grant by the North Florida Economic Development Partnership has become unreliable and some customers have moved on to other sources for Internet service.

The North Florida Broadband Authority was formed to provide fast Internet access to residential and business customers. With a $30 million grant, the authority built a network that includes antennas on over 90 towers.

Customer shortage forced the authority to find a private owner to take over the network when the grant expired in 2013. Affiniti of Austin, Texas, signed on to run the network, but pulled out within a year.

The agency's acting general manager Kirk Reams didn't return the newspaper's requests for comment.