Internet Freedom for McHenry County

We tried to bring cheaper, faster Internet.

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  • About Us
    • Media Kit
    • Partners and Supporters
    • Recent Posts
    • Contact us
  • Join us!
  • Events
  • Speed Test
  • Learn More
    • How can you help?
    • FAQs
    • Videos
    • Fact Sheets, Reports, and Books
    • McHenry County Maps & Data
    • Net Neutrality
    • Our Posts
  • Take the Survey
    • Survey Results

Category: IFMC-Org-Related

News, Updates Image

Jan. 2023 Updates

January 31, 2023February 27, 2023IFMC-Org-Related, News

There is a new County Board, which means there is an opportunity for everyone to contact them and get to know them. In this kind of advocacy, infrastructure is something where we need regularly contact our elected officials to inform them that the issue persists and that we want them to take action. McHenry County has new districts; you can view them by clicking this link. We recommend you contact your county board member and tell them about your Internet woes; they need to hear from you. Our long-term plan continues to be to get a high-speed network started here in McHenry County, but that is proving to be more difficult than initially anticipated.

Instead, the near-term goals are to encourage McHenry County (taken directly from our presentation to the County Board back in June 2022) to:

  1. Gather Community Input
  2. Hire Expert Consultants
  3. Define the Problem and Define Goals
  4. Determine your Assets and Map It
  5. Establish Policies and Procedures to Support Investment
  6. Explore Financing Options
  7. Be a Clear Collaborator and a Leader
  8. Establish A Clear Vision

We encourage you to contact your county board member and tell them they must do these things. After all, how can you accomplish anything if you don’t have a plan? Additionally, it is never too early to start planning.

A man thinking about Internet Freedom

​What is the ​Internet Freedom Project?

January 19, 2020May 22, 2021IFMC-Org-Related, Survey

What is the Internet Freedom Project?

How can our communities benefit from powerful connectivity at home, school, and work?

McHenry County does not have real competition and coverage when it comes to our Internet service.
We have many problems:
  • No competition
  • Services are un-affordable and slow
  • Coverage and access is not universal
  • The cost goes up year after year, and adds on many fees
  • Customer service is awful
  • The incumbents stifle our ability for innovation and economic growth

The lack of competition, cost-effective, high-speed Internet connectivity negatively impacts many aspects of our community.

How do you feel about your Internet service?

Take the Survey

Does cheaper, faster Internet with more competition interest you?

Completing the survey is the first step.

The Internet Freedom Idea

Internet Freedom Idea Photo
Internet Freedom Illustrated
  • Fiber-optics to everyone. The best there is. Instant uploads and downloads.
  • Competition on that line. Multiple providers fighting for your business.
  • Designed to keep costs low by being owned by you, like an Electric Cooperative. No government controlled Internet. No private business.

What about 5G?

ifmc5g

5G is not going to measure up to the hype and will not answer our lack of competition, innovation, high-speed, reliable, and cost-effective broadband options due to a number of limitations.

Those limitations range from lack of fiber-optics everywhere, interference and distance issues, profitability, spectrum ownership, and more.

Alternatively 5G will, very likely, be a continuation of the current status-quo. Without implementing forward-thinking strategy and infrastructure that is focused on the needs of the community, arguably, nothing is going to change.

We cover 5G more in-depth with our 5G Deep Dive article. 

Community-Owned Networks Save Money

Community-owned networks vs incumbents graph

More is better. More cost-effective bandwidth for your dollar.

Community-owned networks vs incumbents graph

More is better. More cost-effective bandwidth for your dollar.

Community-owned offerings and their prices

What other communities are paying, some include property taxes, and some do not.

Incumbent offerings and their prices

Local Imcumbent costs

What Are Your Neighbors Saying?

Laura B.

Crystal Lake, IL

"We have had ATT here at least 12 times in the 3 yrs we lived here. Horrible internet connection. NO phone signal. Have to search for bars. Games take hours to download. Wifi tv freezes up all the time. "

Wes R.

McHenry, IL

"Comcast has a Stranglehold on the local area and we are entitled to having OPTIONS, whats the point of an open market if there's only one option in town because they bully out the competition?"

"I find this concept very interesting. I have struggled as a small business owner for the last 10 years with the cost of internet access climbing along with everything else here in McHenry County. It would be great to have another option that was much less expensive. I truly hope this will be a viable option in the future."

Michelle B.

Woodstock, IL

Many Communities Around The Country Have Built Their Own Network

Over 900 communities have made a decision to build a high-speed Internet network that they control. Some of those communities are from Illinois. Such Illinois communities include Rock Falls, Champaign-Urbana, and Highland.

Community-Owned Network Map

Over 400 communities have made a decision to build a high-speed Internet network that they control.

Benefits of Community Fiber-Optic Network

Jobs Ahead Sign

Job Creation: Attract new businesses and enable further growth of our current small businesses. Fiber networks draw in new companies and accelerate entrepreneurial activity.

Many other communities, like Greensboro, NC, Lafayette, LA, and Chattanooga, TN experienced revitalization. 

Senior Woman and Her Computer

Better Healthcare: Tele-medicine removes distance barriers to cutting-edge medical technology for those that cannot travel safely or are in an emergency situation. Elderly, military veterans, and other patients can be diagnosed, treated and monitored from home. Elderly can live at home longer, reducing the cost of eldercare and improving quality of life in later years/

Photo of Children Cheering

Education: Fast Internet and video services enhance educational efforts at all levels. This is particularly important for adult learners who are utilizing online learning to retrain for new jobs. Children can get their homework done. Parents can register their child without leaving home.

Enhanced Lifestyle: Instant downloads and uploads of media sharing like videos. Buffer-free Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and more. Work from home is seamless and productive. Provide much faster, cost-effective, reliable internet service to all McHenry County residents and businesses.

a man staring at his field

Local Control: Provide a locally controlled resource that will benefit residents and businesses, not corrupt Illinois politicians or far away corporations. Protected for the ages to protect our investment.

Multiple choices of ISPs

Free Market Choices: Dislike your Internet Provider? We will have more choices to choose from. True free-market principles in action in McHenry County leading to lower costs and innovation.

Internet Freedom for McHenry County, a non-profit organization consisting of community volunteers. We meet on a monthly basis in Woodstock. Check out our website for more information.

How do you feel about your Internet service?

Take the Survey

Does cheaper, faster Internet with more competition interest you?

Completing the survey is the first step.

Results of Woodstock Chamber Survey

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019Broadband, IFMC-Org-Related

IFMC has been coordinating with the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Industry to gather marketing data to assess the need for community-fiber. On an annual basis, the Woodstock Chamber conducts a membership survey to gather a variety of data on how the chamber is doing. IFMC was able to insert five questions as part of that survey.

The survey was advertised by e-mail and during the month of January 2019. For the questions below, there was 21 respondents out of 273 members.

While the survey is not perfect, it does give us some insights into what the business community wants, which is more reliable, high quality, and cost-effective broadband. This definitely leads to more questions, which we’ll be following up with a broadband survey to dig deeper.

Question: Do you think having reliable, high quality and cost-effective broadband internet service is essential for your business and a factor in fostering economic development in our community?
Question: How satisfied are you with your current internet service at your business?
Which of the following issues do you experience with your business internet service? (Choose one)
Approximately how much do you pay per month for Internet service at your business?
Would you like to see the Chamber advocate for reliable, high quality and cost effective broadband Internet in our community?

IFMC’s Current Coverage

March 18, 2019July 15, 2019IFMC-Org-Related

The photos below are to display our current coverage of McHenry County. To have complete coverage, we need your help to do that. IFMC is a volunteer run organization and we cannot do this without people, like yourself.

If you are interested in becoming a Local Champion, please reach out to us by checking out our organization events or contacting us.

IFMC Township Coverage Map
IFMC Municipal Coverage

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