The Westport Island Broadband and Cable Committee will hold a community forum on Tuesday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. In light of the current COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, following the stay at home guidelines, the forum will be held via Zoom video conference.

The committee is encouraging attendance by all residents interested in Westport Island’s options for internet service, especially at the broadband level, 25MB download and 10 MB upload, which is considered the current minimum for effective internet use. Attendance is possible both for people calling in on their phones or connecting over the internet. The information on how to attend is on the official Westport Island website, on the meeting notice under the NEWS tab: www.westportisland.us/news. Scroll down through the news until you come to the meeting posting.

The Covid-19 crisis has made it very clear how important effective internet connectivity has become in our lives. Before the crisis many Islanders were able to work from home, connecting over the internet to remote offices. Many others who would have liked to do so were not able to get enough bandwidth with the internet services available to them, often deciding to not live on Westport. The picture accompanying this press release shows roughly where broadband internet service is available to Islanders.

Today almost most our neighbors are forced to try to work remotely, where they can still work at all. And the Island’s school children must use the internet to continue their education and connect with teachers and classmates. Many services, from visits to the doctor or applying for a Small Business Administration loan, are now almost exclusively done via the internet. This state of affairs is not going to go away when the crisis is past. Therefore, the Committee believes Westport Island needs effective Broadband internet services for all Island residents.

For more information, please contact Jason Kates, chair of the Committee, at 660-960-0070 or jason@kates.org, or contact other members. Go to www/westportisland.us/news, to get the information you’ll need to attend.