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By press time Friday, 571 households in Washington County had reported their internet service, or lack thereof, in a free, anonymous study to fact-check federal coverage claims.
A minimum participation of 3,000 of the county's estimated 28,367 households is needed to reach statistic validation.
In the Wednesday edition of the Times, the study was announced in "Speed Test: Group pushes for data to provide better broadband" informing readers that the residents of Washington County could contest the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and corporate internet providers' data by taking a five-minute online speed test or documenting addresses without internet access.
In response to reader queries of participation when no internet is available in the hills of rural parts of the county, another solution was created for access Friday.
David Brown, founding member of the Southeast Ohio Broadband Cooperative sponsoring the study in partnership with GEO Partners LLC, added a phone option for residents without internet access.
"That way you can leave a message with your full address, and say I don't have internet service, and we will enter it for you," said Brown.
The address, according to Glenn Fishbine of GEO Partners, remains confidential but affords the software used in the study to add accurate area markers to the growing validation map for the study.
"So we can see it on the backside, but that's not creating a map for someone to show up at your house," he explained Tuesday.
How to participate:
¯ By Oct. 23, use your home computer, tablet or other internet-connected devices to go to: https://www.seobc.us/
¯ Identify the address where you access the internet or have no service.
¯ Invite neighbors to do the same.
¯ If you do not have internet access at home:
¯ Call 740-538-0084 and leave a message with the following information:
¯ Identify your address.
¯ Say that you do not have internet access.
¯ Optional: Share your name if you would like to be contacted with more information about the cooperative.
¯ Visit http://bit.ly/SpeedTestWashOH to track the participation of Washington County in this study.