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20 <br /> Laura Evans said she represented her neighbors in Marion's Ford Road, Foxwood Farm <br /> Road, and Brights Way. She urged the commissioners to keep the 600 addresses in the Lumos <br /> contract and extend service to them. She described the location of the neighborhood, and asked <br /> what other providers would step in to save Brights Way. She said due to poor cell phone reception <br /> they cannot use their phones to provide internet. She said the existing service from AT&T's <br /> megabyte DSL plan does not support essential activities like video appointments, online <br /> schoolwork, downloading work files, and video calls with family and friends. She said the county <br /> has not applied for BEAD funding, and why should Brights Way be optimistic that the county will <br /> get those funds. She asked for the county to honor their commitment and keep the 600 homes on <br /> the list. <br /> Dan Eddleman said DSL has worked for some in southwestern Orange County, but has <br /> failed for others due to getting water in the lines, which AT&T has refused to fix. He said the area <br /> of Morrow Mill and White Cross has poor radio system signals, which affects the VIPER service, <br /> fire, and EMS. He said that if he has an emergency, he may not be able to call for help. He said <br /> Area 3 in the proposed amendment, that is the worst area due to the terrain and the failed DSL <br /> service. He said that Area 3 is the last to be talked about for fixing, and he is concerned that the <br /> work will not be done. <br /> Joy Mercer said she was disappointed that the county was proposing eliminating her home <br /> from the contract with Lumos. She said that none of the remaining $6 million should be paid to <br /> Lumos unless they complete the contract of 6,370 homes. She said that Lumos chose to provide <br /> service to dense, already served areas, rather than unserved areas. She said T-Mobile is worth <br /> $267 billion, and she doesn't understand their rationale for getting out of the contract. She said <br /> that as a beneficiary of the contract, they may have standing to sue. She said she has spoken to <br /> many county representatives and was promised that she would get service. She said the <br /> amendment is inadequate and has no targets for completion. She said fiber should be placed in <br /> any conduit that has already been installed. She wants Lumos to abandon the conduits that they <br /> have already laid, so she and her neighbor can negotiate with another provider to use the conduit <br /> that is already on her property. <br /> Paul Mercer said that he has experience in telecommunications. He said the most difficult <br /> part is the deployment of the conduit that holds the fiber and junction boxes where <br /> interconnections are made. He said he did not understand why they would allow the contract to <br /> not finish the job in neighborhoods where the bulk of the work is done. He said to do so is poor <br /> contract management. He said he did not see a way of monitoring the contractor other than the <br /> number of homes passed. He said the county needs a more robust method of demanding <br /> performance from contractors going forward. <br /> Susan Walser brought a handout of FCC maps showing broadband availability. She noted <br /> that there are areas on the maps that show broadband availability, but those addresses do not <br /> have them, they only have conduits. She said Lumos laid fiber on her road which already has <br /> AT&T fiber and high-speed Spectrum service. She said they did not need the service, while a <br /> neighborhood two roads down is underserved. She said that when T-Mobile took over Lumos, <br /> she must pay$80 a month, while others have a $50 a month rate. She said the customer service <br /> with T-Mobile is poor. <br /> Robin Mulkey asked the Board where they stand and asked them to support residents in <br /> Orange County. She said that the project problems are not the county's problem. She said it is <br /> poor planning on their part. She said if there is a contract that isn't enforced, why do they bother <br /> having a contract. She asked the Board to show they support rural residents and vote against <br /> the proposed amendment. <br /> Patrick Mulkey said in Bingham Township they always get the unwanted county projects, <br /> like landfills or airports or OWASA. He said now that the county has a chance to step up, they <br /> forget about the rural people. He said with their current service, if it rains, there's no service. He <br />