the highway, and then people have to wait for someone to drive by, see the accident, find a connection, and call for help. “When the pandemic hit, that’s when we started to under- stand the inequities,” Kaplan added. According to March, this issue is getting more attention from the government in the form of the new infrastructure bill. “Oregon will get $250 million to spend as a baseline, and then have the chance to compete for more depending on the need that is shown. We have to make sure we are getting money and services to places that really need it,” said Marsh. However, there are still more issues to overcome. “We had to spend a lot of time getting people to see us and understand we have a problem,” said Kaplan. “We started to do our own surveying and mapping and ask people who had the internet if they were satisfied with it.” Additionally, May believes one of the challenges to achieving digital equity is creating awareness of how big the divide is. “If you don’t know what you’re missing, you don’t know how to get it. Part of the solution is helping people who aren’t connected understand how to get connected,” said May. “None of us can solve the problem individually. It takes a community to bridge the digital divide.” n
The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport (MFR) does more than fly people from place to place; MFR is a prime location for transporting cargo as well. Airport Director Jerry Brienza stated, “MFR’s location proximate to the interstate and rail lines makes it an ideal hub for our shipping partners. Additionally, Medford is the largest city centrally located between Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR, and MFR’s air freight operations serve all of Southern Oregon, Northern California, and the respective West Coastlines.” In 2021, air cargo at MFR totaled more than 9,303,300 tons. MFR hasn’t seen a number like this since 2000 when the year closed out with 9,492,401 tons. Air Freight Growth at MFR the Highest in Over a Decade! “It varies quite a bit from area to area. There are at least eight internet companies in the Applegate. A lot of people switch from company to company, but cannot find a suitable solu - tion,” he said. May agreed. “It’s not just speed that’s important, but the quality of the connection.” Carill then asked the panelists to address how much of the state is underserved and unserved with reliable internet. “For many people who have lived in Ashland for a long time, we’ve had good internet,” said Marsh. But she added that there are gaps across the state which have not been well addressed. She said about 40% of Oregonians in rural areas have poor or no internet. Next, the panel was asked to explain how the pandemic illustrated the discrepancies in reliable internet access. May said many people could not work remotely or attend online school during the pandemic because of their poor in- ternet access. And others couldn’t apply for unemployment in a timely or effective manner. “This has been an issue in the Applegate for years,” said Kaplan. He explained one challenge that results from a lack of inter- net access is related to emergency services and situations. There have been numerous times when there is a collision on
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March 2022 | The Business Review
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