IT director: BEAD challenge expands Jackson County’s grant-eligible locations to about 13,000

Jackson County IT staff told the General Government Committee the county’s challenge to a BEAD grant mapping determination succeeded, increasing the number of grant-eligible locations in the county by about 70 to just under 13,000.

The presenter said Mercury Wireless had claimed broad coverage across the county; county staff found the company’s coverage was overstated in many places and the challenge increased the number of addresses eligible for federal grant funding. The presenter said vendors have expressed renewed interest in applying for BEAD funds in Jackson County and the county will coordinate letters of support and stakeholder communications; the county itself will not be the grant recipient.

IT staff also updated the committee on a multi-block fiber project to connect a tower to the fairgrounds that is awaiting one remaining railroad permit item, a push to expand multifactor authentication after state audit recommendations, and a reduction in outward-facing critical vulnerabilities to none, with a single remaining high vulnerability being worked with the state. The presenter noted ongoing cost pressures for core software and that BoardDocs will be replaced with Diligent Community over a deliberate rollout.

Commissioners asked about satellite internet providers and whether the company that claimed coverage was a real provider; IT staff said Mercury is a real company with service in other states but that the county’s testing showed they overstated service availability in many places.

Ending: Staff will continue BEAD coordination with prospective vendors and move forward on remediation of the remaining IT vulnerabilities and planned multifactor authentication rollout.