Over Half of Arkansas in Danger of Not Being Able to Watch Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Over the past couple of years people have asked why I bounce back and forth between Fayetteville and the Dallas-Fort Worth area regularly since it sounds like it would be too much of a hassle.
It's a somewhat complex answer. One part is simple. My daughter graduates this spring and we didn't want to pull her out of the school system and friend circle she has known her whole life when allHogs.com got off the ground a couple of years ago. There's also the doctors who saved my life and continue to make sure I have a chance to live a full life practicing in DFW.
However, from a pure work perspective, being in Northwest Arkansas on a more permanent basis would be ideal. Unfortunately, the biggest reason this probably won't happen in the next year or so is the underdeveloped fiber internet infrastructure in Arkansas. What we do requires non-stop access to high speed fiber internet. It requires a lot of video upload and running close to 70 tabs, many running social media and video sites, while also running various Adobe programs that also require internet.
I have to be very selective with where I work when in Arkansas because many areas have internet that is so slow that it essentially shuts down our work flow. When either I or Andy Hodges return to Warren to visit friends and family, we know the weight of the job will fall on the other because it's borderline impossible to do anything there. Covering games in Little Rock require special occasions because even at Verizon Arena, a place where one would expect quality internet given its name, it's a frustrating fight to get anything accomplished.
Even at the Razorback facilities in Arkansas, it's faster for Hodges to shoot a press conference and drive home to upload it than it is try attempt to upload it on site. Internet speed is truly a problem throughout most of the state. At the moment, according to broadbandsearch.net, only 2.3% of residents in Arkansas have access to fiber internet.
It's a statistic that is going to have to change quickly and soon. Not only does it make it difficult for tech companies and remote workers to move to Arkansas, hurting the local economy, it soon may make it difficult to watch Razorback games.
In the midst of the turmoil going on at Disney, one thing has become certain. Much like the majority of entertainment services, the Mouse is looking to bring ESPN fully into streaming. It's already partially there with the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ service. However, the push appears to be moving ESPN to a full stand-alone streaming service sooner than later. There just aren't enough people still using cable and satellite providers in the United States to avoid losing tons of money. Considering ESPN is the golden goose that funds college athletics, that's not a good thing.
Now, for the people of DFW, the question is "Wait, ESPN wasn't already full streaming?" Fed up with the constant fight between networks and cable companies, along with the massive cost, the infrastructure in North Texas made cutting the cord the norm a decade ago when early streaming providers like Sling began offering better solutions. It's been so long since the transition was made that seeing traditional TV run on old school cable or satellite service is jarring. Yet, much like DSL internet service, traditional TV is still desperately clinging to its last stronghold, Arkansas.
Going back to Warren is an even bigger jump back to the past. There, Cablevision, the provider of choice in the 1980s, still runs things. There's no cloud-based unlimited DVR or even a physical DVR. There's not even a channel guide. If viewers want to see what's on at the moment, the late 80's, early 90's method of going to a specific channel that slowly scrolls what's on television is the only option since the old school magazine style TV guide didn't make it through the time jump with cable TV to 2020s coffee tables.
Over 63% of Arkansans have internet speeds of 100 mbps or less. That means for nearly 2/3 of the state, the fastest they could possibly hope for is 10% of what the modern world offers. The easiest comparison is if I-69 were ever actually built across Arkansas, allowing residents to travel 75 mph, nearly everyone on the road could only go 7 mph or less.
The slowest possible download speed to properly stream live sports is 25 mbps. Nearly half the state has the minimum or less, which means once ESPN makes the switch, the picture will range from laggy to not available. As it stands, Arkansas has been left far behind and is unprepared for the current world.
How the state was allowed to remain so far behind when it's been a good 15 years since textbooks and paper worksheets disappeared from most school classrooms across the country after everything moved online with Google Classroom and eventually Canvas is stunning. Perhaps the education of the state's children, keeping them in line with the times and prepared for what awaits, wasn't cause enough to jump forward a few decades in basic technology infrastructure.
The good news is if missing out on tech jobs, luring remote workers and giving the children of Arkansas a fighting chance in education weren't catalyst enough, missing out on Arkansas games will light a hot enough fire to get the ball rolling. It will be awe-inspiring to see how quick things get done when the prospect of not being able to watch the Razorbacks starts to become a reality.
HOG FEED:
IT'S BEEN OVER A DECADE SINCE ARKANSAS HAD THIS TYPE OF POTENTIAL ELECTRICITY
ISAIAH SATEGNA READY TO EMERGE THIS YEAR AS THE PLAYMAKER FOR RAZORBACKS
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