Internet customers have been experiencing hardships in rural Clark County recently, but the county is not alone. Internet outages are a common issue across the rural regions of the United States.
A post in the Battle Ground, WA Facebook group asked the community what struggles they’ve experienced with internet access and how outages affect their daily lives. In just over 24 hours, 126 comments and 15 emails were sent in response as the community surrounding Battle Ground shared their rural internet struggles. From working at home, seeking at-home medical appointments, making emergency calls and more, area residents are struggling with consistent internet struggles.
Washington state Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, has been working in Congress to assist with rural internet struggles.
She has her own experiences with the issue.
“I know the urgency of this,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “I think I’m likely the only member of Congress that gets my internet from a radio tower, you know. Like, in the Gorge, we have a lot of struggles (with) topography.”
A lot of community members commented on their struggles with running a business from home or in a rural community. Gluesenkamp Perez said there needs to be a level playing field for all businesses when it comes to internet access.
Rob Sutton, a resident in the Venersborg area, shared in an email that initially his only option was CenturyLink. Sutton added he paid roughly $35 to $50 per month plus the cost of rental equipment.
“While it was reasonably priced, we had frequent outages and their customer service was horrible,” he stated.
Sutton said the poor connection and customer service was a problem as he ran his business out of a home office. He found his solution with Starlink, a satellite internet provider. Numerous community members said Starlink has been a solution, but the monthly cost reaches $120.
Susan Mattson, of Meadow Glade, is another at-home business owner who has been experiencing major internet struggles, she commented on Facebook. On Aug. 14, she said the soonest a technician can examine the issue in the line won’t be until Aug. 22, adding that she has already been without WiFi for an entire week.
Rob Townsen, a resident of the Dole Valley area south of Yacolt, commented on his struggles with CenturyLink that have lasted for over 20 years.
“It has been a nightmare most of the time,” Townsen commented, adding that he pays $80 per month. “When it is working it has a lot of lag. It will go down multiple times a day, pretty much every day. When you need repairs done, it is a nightmare. We have been without service for over a week multiple times over the years.”
Not only are residents having internet access issues, but they are also experiencing issues with customer service. One Battle Ground resident shared her recent experience from Monday, Aug. 12.
“Our internet provider, CenturyLink, is less than ideal,” Shelley Long said in an email. “We have had them for years, and we have off and on problems, the worst being this past Monday when I had a five-hour online training to do for work. I was on hold with both chat and phone through CenturyLink for over three hours total. It’s obvious to me they were having some kind of outage, but they wouldn’t admit to it. I was never given an actual solution.”
Not only is the internet issues impacting businesses, but education is also impacted. One resident shared that their son was finishing up his summer school class to take a necessary test when the internet went out. She said her son had to travel to a library in order to take the test.
“This is the kind of infrastructure that is foundational for people to be able to access education, access medical care, run a business. Like, this is not about watching cat videos online,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “This is about being able to have a stable economy and get the tools we need.”
Gluesenkamp Perez added that she worked with fellow lawmakers to reconsider what is sufficient internet access through the Rural Internet Improvement Act. Currently, sufficient internet access is labeled at 10 megabits per second (mbps) and is being moved up to 25 mbps.
Dollars Corner resident, Whitney Quealy, commented the only internet she has access to is CenturyLink with 10 mbps.
“We oftentimes have trouble streaming shows, especially if our phones are connected to the WiFi,” Quealy commented.
Nicole Kurkowski, a resident of Battle Ground for 11 years, stated in an email that she does not receive what she pays for.
“We did not find out until last year when attempting to get another line installed that we are actually grandfathered in and they no longer offer new service out here, which sounds to me (that) means they are also no longer upgrading or maintaining,” Kurkowski stated. “I pay for up to 15 mbps and, as I’m typing to you, I ran a speed test to see a download speed of 1.04 mbps and upload speed of 0.58 mbps.”
While some customers are limited to just one provider, Rick and Pat Brown, of the Venersborg area, stated in an email that they will be without a provider.
“CenturyLink is dropping a lot of customers in this area, including us, on or after Sept. 10,” they stated. “The options to replace them are very limited, only three to be exact for my address. What a hassle being dropped by a business that you have paid bills loyally to for over 24 years. Going to be purchasing Starlink.”
Gluesenkamp Perez believes there needs to be competition in the internet provider market for rural Americans.
“Rural Americans are at a distinct disadvantage in having competition in the marketplace for internet providers,” she said. “I think it’s only like 20 percent of rural Americans have access to more than one provider and that puts us in a very difficult position.”
