PROVIDING NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Forum Review: Discussing Internet Access, Affordability and Equity Forum with Representative Pam Marsh, Oregon House District 5; Seth Kaplan, Executive Director, A Greater Applegate; Kari May, Library Director, Jackson County Library Services; Carey Carill, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Hunter Communications Sponsored by: Hunter Communications C ommunication is a vital part of our lives, and it changes as our society and the world evolves. From chatting with neighbors, to letter writing, to the early
days of text messages, and now high speed internet, commu- nication is always shifting. And to have a fair and equitable society, we must change with it. In the March Forum, Carey Carill, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hunter Communications, moderated a panel discussion which centered around internet access, afford- ability and equity. The panelists included Representative Pam Marsh, Oregon House District 5; Seth Kaplan, Executive Director, A Greater Applegate; and Kari May, Library Direc- tor, Jackson County Library Services. The discussion opened by noting how the pandemic highlight- ed the importance of reliable internet access, and how it has become like other basic utilities, such as electricity. It is central to our ability to work, live and learn in the modern world. “The pandemic showed how important the internet is to our daily lives,” said May. “When everything shut down, kids were doing their online schoolwork while their mom also worked from home. So multiple people were trying to use the internet simultaneously.”
Representative Pam Marsh fields a question at the March Chamber of Medford & Jackson County Forum.
She said this caused more people to come to the library. Because while they had internet access at home, it was not strong enough to handle all of their online tasks successfully. Additionally, there are many rural areas in Southern Oregon — and elsewhere — which have had even more struggles with internet access and equity. According to Kaplan, the state of the internet in the Apple- gate Valley is very localized. He said if you’re driving along Highway 238 you will pass businesses or residences with decent internet, but it’s not that way everywhere.
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The Business Review | March 2022
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