Slow or no internet hurting a Ky. student at your house during COVID? This may help.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman on Thursday announced the Kentucky Broadband Speed Test, a project aimed at gathering data needed to expand internet home access for remote learning, telework and telehealth to everyone in the state, especially K-12 students.

The free, anonymous speed test takes about 30 seconds and can be accessed through Feb. 18.

“There is a digital divide in households across Kentucky, especially in rural areas, that has become even more apparent during the pandemic when so many people need it to attend school, go to work, get government services and conduct personal business from home,” Coleman said. “As an educator, I am especially concerned about the 13,000, or 2 percent of Kentucky students who lack internet access at home so they are basically cut off from their teachers and classrooms. We have to do better by them.”

“We’re asking every Kentuckian, no matter where you live, to help,” Coleman said.

To participate, a device must be connected to a person’s home Wi-Fi service and disconnected from a virtual private school or work network. For the most accurate results, people should make sure that no one else connected to the home internet is using the internet bandwidth for streaming video or gaming during the test.

People without Wi-Fi access in their home can go to a local library or stores or restaurants that offer free internet access to submit the address of a home with no available service.

Coleman said a map will be built of the strongest and weakest points of connection in Kentucky.

“We need as many Kentuckians as possible to take this internet speed test, to get an accurate picture of who has adequate internet access across the state,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “The more speed tests taken, the better understanding we will have of our state’s internet capabilities, and the better prepared we will be to repair and expand it.”

Beshear said the budget proposal he recently made to the General Assembly includes $50 million “dedicated to the last mile of broadband to areas in need. “

The proposed investment would be the first time state money funded an expansion of broadband, a state news release said.

The Beshear-Coleman Administration first dedicated $8 million in CARES Act funding to broadband expansion in August 2020. Since then, Kentucky has reduced the number of students without internet access from 35,000 to 13,000.

“In addition to finding out their own upload and download speeds, Kentuckians who participate in the speed test will help detect slow spots around the state and where Wi-Fi access and affordability are lacking. The speed test can be done from any device connected to the Wi-Fi signal in your home,” a news release said.

Kentucky is partnering with geospatial engineering firm GEO Partners LLC, as well as The Center for Rural Development, to obtain data on homes without high quality internet service, officials said.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 5:31 PM.