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Broadband panel eyes access to rural areas [The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va. :: ](Register-Herald (Beckley, WV) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 24--The West Virginia Broadband Deployment Council met far outside its typical Charleston venue Wednesday to hear issues about Internet speeds in some of the state's most rural regions. During the business portion of the meeting, held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, council members voted to put the remaining funds from the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) toward completing a middle mile network in southern Randolph and northern Pocahontas counties on a 3-2 vote. Jim Martin, the CEO of CityNet, the company which recently received a grant from the council to put broadband at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, made the motion for the move which would connect Valley Head to Mill Creek in Randolph County, Snowshoe to Cass and Durbin to Green Bank in Pocahontas County. About $690,000 remains of the $11 billion federal grant, $7 billion of which was spent for infrastructure, $4 billion for the middle mile and $3 billion for the last mile. The grant money was dispersed in two rounds of funding to local Internet Service Providers. Frontier's representative on the council voted against the measure. Dana Waldo said fiber optic lines already exist in the locations Martin described in his motion. Waldo said the move "goes against what the council has been doing in the past." "The use of taxpayer money to overbuild existing facilities is not appropriate," Waldo said. "One alternative is to return the money to the state." Waldo's motion to do that died for lack of a second. Tony Simental presented the council with a draft of the council's strategic plan. Simental, the state's Geographic Information System Coordinator, noted there is still work to be done on Internet speeds across the state, and the plan focuses on broadband growth and increased access. He outlined 11 objectives in the plan: -- identify a lead agency to facilitate the implementation of hte plan -- develop a Connect WV Fund as a sustainable funding for broadband programs -- implement a statewide awareness campaign -- promote broadband education -- support cost reduction of Internet access and equipment -- support development of applications and services taht increase broadband demand and identify a funding program f -- leverage BTOP investments to increase broadband availability -- support Gigabite City deployments -- work with providers that receive Connect America Funds to align with state objectives -- incorporate "dig once" considerations into statewide policies for other infrastructure projects, which would lay fiber optic lines when other projects like water and sewer lines are dug The council also discussed Internet speeds in rural areas, particularly Pocahontas County, where residents have complained that Frontier's speeds are substandard. In the draft report, tests showed that speed tests had increased in the past two years. The tests are voluntary and and can be done at several web sites, including the council's. Waldo questioned the validity of the speed test data, noting that they should not be taken at face value. He said Frotntier serves 760,000 households and 85 percent have access to 4 Mg or higher Internet speeds. He said to make a plan based on those voluntary speed tests "is the wrong way to go." "It's problematic for all providers," he said. In Pocahontas County, only 37 of 992 tests were at 4 Mgs or higher. Broadband is not regulated, as are other utilities, but does fall under the guidelines of the Federal Communications Commission. The daylong meeting continued through the afternoon with a "summit" attended by several Internet service providers that explained how their companies serve their customers and what challenges they face in West Virginia. -- Email: [email protected] ___ (c)2014 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) Visit The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) at www.register-herald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |