Executive Summary
Demand Model
As part of the planning project, a spatial model was developed to project broadband demand in the year 2020
by producing a weighted broadband demand score for the county. The model produces a relative broadband
demand score at the parcel level based on Future Land Use, projections of population and employment, and
estimates of current broadband penetration. The purpose of the model is to identify geographic areas of relatively
high broadband demand across all sectors. The results are shown in Figure 4. Areas of particularly high future
demand can be observed in the far eastern part of the county, along the US Highway 27 corridor, and along the
Polk Parkway (State Route 570).
Figure 4. Broadband Demand Model
Goals, Strategies, and Action Items
The goals, strategies, and action items for the Polk County Broadband Plan were developed with input from Polk
Vision and its Infrastructure Task Force, the Broadband Polk Advisory Committee, and Polk County citizens and
businesses.
The following are the Plan’s goals for the year 2020, listed in order of priority:
1. Anchor Institutions such as schools, hospitals, libraries, and government buildings will have affordable
access to a minimum of 1 gigabit per second broadband services.
2. Every resident of Polk County will have access to affordable high-speed internet services and the skills
to utilize it, if they choose.
3. Anchor Institutions (including energy providers) will maximize utilization of broadband services and
technologies in order to increase efficiency, maximize resources, and provide the best services possible
to the businesses and residents of Polk County.
4. Every business and non-profit in Polk County will have access to affordable high-speed internet services
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