Introduction

Thank you for participating in the St. Mary’s County Broadband Assessment. This Employer Survey will help county officials better understand the strengths and weaknesses of commercial broadband access to improve the regional telecommunications infrastructure. Your participation will provide important data that will be analyzed and presented as part of a public report later this year.

At all times, your individual responses will remain confidential. Only aggregated results will be shared in the final report. Contact information will be used to communicate progress during the project. If you have any questions, please email Kelly Lewis at Kelly@LewisStrategic.com or call 570.510.7745.

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* 1. Contact Information

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* 2. What best describes your industry?

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* 3. How many employees does your organization have in St. Mary's County?

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* 4. How many office locations does your organization have in St. Mary's County?

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* 5. What type of service does your organization use to deliver Internet access to its office locations? Choose all that apply:

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* 6. For your organization's primary Internet connection (the most capable service to your largest office), what type of service does does it use? Choose only one:

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* 7. Who is the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for that primary connection?

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* 8. How long has your employer been their customer?

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* 9. When does your contract expire with the ISP?

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* 10. What is the maximum download speed of your organization's primary Internet connection? If you know the actual Megabits per second (Mbps) input it here:

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* 11. Otherwise, choose from the following estimates:

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* 12. Please choose the best statement to describe your level of satisfaction with the speed of your primary Internet connection:

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* 13. Besides just speed, how would you rate the reliability of your organization's primary Internet connection?

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* 14. How much does your organization's primary Internet connection cost per month? If you know the actual amount, input it here in dollars:

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* 15. Otherwise, choose from the following estimates:

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* 16. Choose the best statement to describe your organization’s level of satisfaction with the cost of its primary Internet connection:

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* 17. What is keeping your employer from upgrading to a faster Internet connection now?

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* 18. What is the likelihood that your organization will upgrade its primary Internet connection to a faster service in the next two years?

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* 19. St. Mary’s County is preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to help upgrade Internet access for employers across the region. Would your organization like to participate in this effort?

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* 20. Do you have employees in St. Mary's County who work from home due to Covid-19 requirements?

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* 21. St. Mary’s County is exploring options to assist local employers with securing at-home broadband for employees during the Covid-19 crisis. Would this be valuable to your organization?

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* 22. How would you describe the cellphone coverage throughout St. Mary’s County?

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* 23. Where are the locations of the worst cellphone "dead zones" in St. Mary's County. Please be specific:

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* 24. Carriers are rolling out super fast 5G wireless coverage over the next few years nationwide, but small town deployment is lagging big cities. If St. Mary’s County could help you get 5G coverage sooner, would you be interested in that effort?

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* 25. Do you have any other comments or helpful advice about improving Internet access in St. Mary’s County?

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