POLK COUNTY BROADBAND PLAN
Healthcare
Figure 34 shows the locations of hospitals, doctors’ offices, and state laboratories and clinics in Polk County.
Broadband is important in the healthcare industry for applications such as telemedicine, remote diagnosis, and
the transfer of medical records (especially when records include detailed images, such as MRI scans).
Figure 34. Healthcare Facilities
Data source: Florida Geographic Data Library
Broadband Utilization Survey Results
To gather data regarding broadband usage and needs in Polk County, two surveys were conducted. First, a
telephone survey was conducted by a consulting firm in May 2012, in which 248 complete responses were
obtained from businesses in Polk County and 249 from residents.34 Second, two online surveys – one for
businesses and one for residents – were made available through an online polling site. The online surveys were
widely advertised throughout the public outreach stage of the planning process. From June 2012 to January
2013, 453 residential online surveys and 127 business surveys were completed. This section contains an analysis
of the survey results, combining the results of the telephone and online surveys. The complete surveys are
shown in Appendix B.
Businesses
Of 375 businesses surveyed, 94.4 percent had internet connections and 5.6 percent did not.
Among 354 businesses with internet connections:
• The average number of employees was 110.
• On average, 79.1 percent of employees at each business use the internet.
34 The telephone survey covered 10 counties in central and southwest Florida. This section analyzes the results for respondents in Polk County
only.
53