Working from home in Rotonda Lakes is much more difficult with unreliable internet connection

Families in Rotonda West and Rotonda Lakes can’t get access to the internet from several providers.

Brad Morgan went to the McDonald’s in Englewood, not for lunch but to use the Wi-Fi. “This is the only way that we can enjoy internet without dropping signal,” Morgan said. “I’ve contacted over 17 suppliers of internet, no luck.”

Brad and his wife, moved to Rotonda Lakes about two months ago. As many have since the pandemic began, they both work from home. What they didn’t realize was that it’d be so difficult to find a signal.

They’ve moved onto their Plan B — a contract with a second cell phone provider, simply so the couple can have stronger reception.

“We’re paying approximately $250 extra per month at this point, and it could go higher,” Morgan said.

He also says there are a few people who decided not to buy homes in Rotonda Lakes because of the internet issue. “I talked to people in the area that have not closed on their deal because they found out there was no Internet,” Morgan said.

David Michals said his family decided against two homes they really liked once they found out. “It drove us out of two homes we really liked,” Michals said. ”

Michals avoided a home in Rotonda West and South Gulf Cove because of the online issues. He says this isn’t at all what he expected. “We never thought cable internet connectivity was going to be an issue and it became a huge issue,” he said.

Luckily, Michals did find another, more well-connected home in Rotonda West. Morgan, on the other hand, is still without the connection he and his wife need.

Brad Morgan says that his homeowners association should step in and help. “I don’t believe it is their problem but they have the power to fix it,” he said.

He wants the community’s internet issued to be fixed since more and more people are working from home.

Xfinity told WINK News Reporter Erika Jackson, in part, that some homes in Rotonda Lakes are too far from their existing network, but that they are continuously looking for opportunities to expand.

According to Xfinity, “While we are not able to service all of the homes in Rotonda Lakes at this time as some of them are located too far away from our existing network, we are always evaluating and looking for ways to expand our network and bring Xfinity services to more people.”

CenturyLink is willing to help the Morgans.

According to CenturyLink, “As a customer-focused company, our people work hard to help our customers. We researched this inquiry about service and will be reaching out to schedule installation.”

Customers also have limited options as Frontier does not serve this specific area. They said in their statement, “We do not provide any services in Rotonda. Our service territories are defined by where phone service was historically established. We have never served that area of Florida.”

The HOAs in Rotonda West and Rotonda Lakes did not answer WINK News’ inquiries.