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Executive Summary <br />The future of our communities lies in their ability to participate in the digital <br />economy. Fast, economical and always on broadband will support the ability of <br />communities across the globe to keep government functioning efficiently, support <br />the connectivity needed for a Smart County and allow citizens to access online <br />education, telehealth, buy and sell goods online, utilize online banking, and access <br />government services. Every year our lives increasingly move online and depend <br />more and more on broadband access and connectivity. Communities that remain <br />underserved or unserved by world class fiber and wireless connections will fall <br />behind. The Indian River County's leadership recognizes that its current broadband <br />connectivity is lacking the infrastructure and access needed to support a thriving <br />community and citizenry. Leadership has a goal of ensuring all their citizens can <br />access and connect to affordable state of the art broadband. <br />In late Fall 2021, Indian River County commissioned Magellan to enter into an <br />agreement to provide the county with a broadband feasibility study. The study's <br />goals were to understand any gaps in infrastructure and access to the community <br />members, anchors, and businesses in Indian River County, and define solutions to <br />solve those gaps. In addition, Magellan assessed and analyzed the County's current <br />network assets and recommend improvements to the network that will lead the <br />Indian River County community well into its technology future. Magellan employed <br />considerable resources and can provide a complete and detailed Feasibility Study <br />before February 28, 2022. For several years residents of Indian River County have <br />complained about both the access and cost for quality broadband, and some areas, <br />mainly in the far eastern and far western parts of the county, have little or no true <br />broadband connectivity. <br />As part of the of the Feasibility Study, a detailed and comprehensive resident <br />survey was conducted and confirmed that parts of the County are truly <br />underserved. The Feasibility Study outlines the state of broadband in Indian River <br />County, recommendations, and an informal plan to propel the County forward in <br />helping to solve the unserved and underserved broadband problems within the <br />county and make the County's own internal needs for connectivity world class, <br />reliable, redundant, and cost effective. <br />2 <br />WWW.MAGELLAN-ADVISORS.CoM 181 <br />