SUBLETTE COUNTY – At the end of March, the Sublette County Board of Commissioners contracted an Internet consultant to assess the state of broadband in the county and provide potential options moving forward to improve the connectivity of residents.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners heard from consultant Joe Sharkey on the progress he’s making in that endeavor, which has included meetings with current providers, tours of county roads, a preliminary Internet infrastructure map, and research into available funding.

Sharkey said that he discovered “three potential sources of funding,” but the most promising is from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC has monies solely devoted to Internet connectivity called the Connect America Fund (CAF).

According to Sharkey, there is $2.99 million a year that the FCC has allocated to Sublette County “for vendors to be awarded to improve services in Sublette County.”

The downside to this funding, however, is that the Internet service provider (ISP) would have to “be able to provide the service they’re committed to to every single unit in Sublette County,” Sharkey said.

What’s more, they would have to do it in six years, while the FCC would stretch out its payments to the ISP over 10 years.

“There’s going to be a period they’re going to be putting out more money than they’re receiving,” Sharkey explained.

First dibs on CAF funding is offered to the primary providers in any given area, which, in Sublette County, is CenturyLink.

But according to Sharkey, CenturyLink turned down the CAF funding since the company “felt their estimated cost was way higher than the funding was going to provide.”

In that case, the FCC is now able to hold an auction of the CAF funding to ISPs who are willing to bid on it.

“Right now, we’re aware of five or six service companies in the area, other than CenturyLink, that have already been making investments in (Sublette County),” Sharkey said. “And all of those companies are eligible to apply for (CAF) funding.”

Ultimately, however, it would be awarded to a single ISP per “census block group,” of which Sublette County has three.

Speed tests

The next step in the process is a speed test Sharkey is hoping to conduct with the voluntary assistance of county residents.

“We hope to have at least 100 residents to perform speed tests,” Sharkey told the commissioners, with a “simultaneous test with as many people as possible at about 5:30 p.m. … on the 17^th of May.”

The simultaneous test will be used to “see what the impact is on the (broadband) backbone,” according to Sharkey.

In addition to the simultaneous test, Sharkey is hoping residents can also conduct up to five random speed tests.

The tests will be used to determine if people are getting what they’re paying for, since Sharkey has been hearing plenty of complaints since he came to the county.

He’s heard “a lot of discussion about the contract speeds people are paying for in Sublette County and not getting them. The speed test is designed so we will be able to determine whether or not the provider has speeds being delivered they are contracted with.”

The county clerk agreed to solicit participants from county employees and chamber director Rachel Grimes said she would send the testing forms to the chamber’s email list, which numbers about 400.

“The more we can help (Sharkey) get this out, the better our return will be,” commissioner Tom Noble said.

For those residents interested in participating in the speed tests, check in with PinedaleOnline.com and/or the county’s website – sublettewyo.com – where the needed forms are expected to be available to take the tests.

Completed test forms can be returned via email to joe.sharkey@sublettewyo.com or in person to the Sublette County Chamber of Commerce in Pinedale, the Big Piney Town Hall or the Marbleton Town Hall.