St. Helens Explores High-Speed Internet, Launches Community Survey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2021

St. Helens, Ore. – The City of St. Helens has partnered with Strategic Networks Group to explore the options to bring a high-quality, low-cost internet service to the St. Helens community as a public-private partnership. The fiber optic network would provide end-to-end residential and business coverage to everyone in St. Helens.

The City of St. Helens recognizes that state-of-the-art fiber optic internet is modern-day essential infrastructure, important for learning, teaching, accessing information, creating jobs, and diversifying the economy. The goal of a public-private partnership network is to connect residents, businesses, and community organizations, encourage healthy competition for private internet service providers, and improve service levels and lower costs for residents and businesses.

Community feedback is an important part of the research process. The City of St. Helens is asking residents, businesses, and organizations to participate in online questionnaires called the St. Helens eHousehold Checkup and the St. Helens eBusiness Checkup. Your input will provide essential information, ensuring that any digital infrastructure that is created will benefit residents, businesses, and the entire community.

The City of St. Helens is working with Strategic Networks Group to conduct the survey. Each response is important in helping to shape the project. To encourage additional participation, the City of St. Helens is offering a drawing for a $100 credit toward your City of St. Helens utility bill to individuals who complete the survey. One winner will be selected for the eHousehold Checkup and one winner for the eBusiness Checkup questionnaires.

Community members can visit the City’s website to take the questionnaire and learn more about the project at www.sthelensoregon.gov/administration/page/digital-infrastructure-market.... The survey will remain open until Friday, December 3, 2021.

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For further information regarding this press release, please contact Communications Officer Crystal King at cking@sthelensoregon.gov.