Southwestern Commission (Region A) Broadband Assessment Prepared by ECC Technologies, Inc. February 2018 Southwestern Commission Broadband Assessment Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... pg. 4 1.1 Broadband Assessment Overview and Methodology .......................................... pg. 4 1.2 Results of Broadband Assessment ...................................................................... pg. 6 1.3 Next Steps – Further Analysis and Incorporation ................................................ pg. 7 2. Regional County Data ................................................................................. pg. 9 2.1 Residential Survey Questions and Responses ..................................................... pg. 9 2.2 Commercial Survey Questions and Responses .................................................. pg. 18 2.3 Respondent Map ............................................................................................. pg. 23 2.4 Speed Test Results ........................................................................................... pg. 23 3. Cherokee County Data .............................................................................. pg. 25 3.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 25 3.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 32 3.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ....................................... pg. 36 4. Clay County Data ...................................................................................... pg. 38 4.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 38 4.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 45 4.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ....................................... pg. 49 5. Graham County Data ................................................................................ pg. 51 5.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 51 5.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 58 5.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ....................................... pg. 62 6. Haywood County Data .............................................................................. pg. 64 6.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 64 6.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 71 6.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ....................................... pg. 75 Southwestern Commission Broadband Assessment 1 7. Jackson County Data ................................................................................. pg. 77 7.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 77 7.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 84 7.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ....................................... pg. 88 8. Macon County Data .................................................................................. pg. 90 8.1 Residential Responses ...................................................................................... pg. 90 8.2 Commercial Responses .................................................................................... pg. 97 8.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ......................................pg. 101 9. Swain County Data ................................................................................. pg. 103 9.1 Residential Responses .....................................................................................pg. 103 9.2 Commercial Responses ...................................................................................pg. 110 9.3 Provider Reported Availability vs. Speed Test Results ......................................pg. 114 10. Respondent Write-in Comments ............................................................. pg. 116 10.1 Residential Comments .................................................................................... pg. 116 Cherokee ........................................................................................................ pg. 116 Clay ................................................................................................................ pg. 159 Graham........................................................................................................... pg. 171 Haywood ........................................................................................................ pg. 186 Jackson ........................................................................................................... pg. 197 Macon ............................................................................................................ pg. 244 Swain .............................................................................................................. pg. 296 10.2 Commercial Comments ...................................................................................pg. 305 Cherokee ........................................................................................................ pg. 305 Clay ................................................................................................................ pg. 306 Graham........................................................................................................... pg. 307 Haywood ........................................................................................................ pg. 308 Jackson ........................................................................................................... pg. 309 Macon ............................................................................................................ pg. 311 Swain .............................................................................................................. pg. 313 Southwestern Commission Broadband Assessment 2 Maps and Images Survey Landing Page .............................................................................................................. pg. 4 Survey Zones ........................................................................................................................ pg. 5 Speed Test ............................................................................................................................ pg. 6 Southwestern Commission, NC – Survey Response Locations ............................................... pg. 23 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results .................................................... pg. 24 BAAT Respondents Data – Commercial Speed Test Results ................................................... pg. 24 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Cherokee) ............. pg. 36 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Cherokee) .................................. pg. 37 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Clay) ..................... pg. 49 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Clay) .......................................... pg. 50 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Graham) ............... pg. 62 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Graham) .................................... pg. 63 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Haywood) ............. pg. 75 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Haywood) .................................. pg. 76 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Jackson) ................ pg. 88 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Jackson) ..................................... pg. 89 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Macon) ................pg. 101 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Macon) .....................................pg. 102 FCC Reported ( by Providers ) – Advertised Available Download Speeds (Swain) .................pg. 114 BAAT Respondents Data – Residential Speed Test Results (Swain) ......................................pg. 115 Southwestern Commission Broadband Assessment 3 1. Introduction In summer of 2017 the Southwestern Commission released a Request for Proposals seeking a broadband assessment and training for Region A. The purpose of this RFP was to “develop a plan to advance broadband infrastructure investment in the region by training local officials on pertinent issues and conducting community assessments/profiles.”1 The Southwestern Commission is one of the sixteen regional councils of government for North Carolina and works in conjunction with seven of NC’s southwestern-most counties including Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain, as well as the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI). This region as a whole comprises Region A. MountainWest is the Economic Development Partnership for the southwestern region. ECC Technologies, Inc. (ECC)