Tag: Broadband Expansion

Will W.Va. Lawmakers Back Broadband Expansion?

AARP and Generation West Virginia co-hosted a press conference at the capitol Tuesday focused on the future of broadband in the state.

AARP is a group that represents retired West Virginians and Generation West Virginia is a group aimed at getting young people engaged in West Virginia’s future.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, 56 percent of West Virginians as a whole lack access to broadband. But in rural communities, 74 percent of West Virginians lack access.

“In order to create a vibrant and growing economy, our state needs to invest right now in the infrastructure of the future; high speed broadband,” said Senate President Bill Cole, “so the businesses can grow and thrive, local county and state government can operate more efficiently, and schools at all levels can provide better opportunities to their students.”

Cole says he wants to get all of the stakeholders in the state involved to figure out what’s the best step forward for West Virginia.

Gaylene Miller is the State Director for AARP and Natalie Roper is the Executive Director for Generation West Virginia. Both women say broadband is not a generational issue and that young and old should come together to support legislation that would expand broadband access.

“It’s a complicated issue, but we need to be sure that we’re talking about bringing people together, so whether it’s private industry, state government, all of those working together to make broadband a reality in West Virginia is what’s really important,” Miller explained.

“We have to focus on the fact that broadband is an economic development issue;” Roper noted, “this is about keeping jobs here, bringing jobs here, and ensuring that all generations can work from home being able to work for employers, talk to employers in the state, access to healthcare, access to education; it’s about access and economic revitalization for the state. And when we focus on those things, it’s really hard to say no.”

Senator Chris Walters of Putnam County has proposed a bill this legislative session that focuses on constructing a statewide, fiber optic broadband infrastructure network. One that would be government funded and government owned.

Do Right to Work, Broadband Expansion Stand Snowball's Chance of Passing?

On this Snowmaggedon edition of The Front Porch:

1. A huge snowball fight breaks out over Right to Work, and whether it is right for West Virginia

2. Does Sen. Chris Walter’s bill to expand broadband internet access stand a snowball’s chance in hell? Should it?

3. Rick Wilson reads a snowy passage from “King Lear” about finding empathy for the less fortunate, and finds analogies in this year’s legislature 

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Ten Reasons Why W.Va. Should Build a High-Speed Broadband Network

West Virginia has some of the lowest rates of broadband access at some of the slowest speeds in the nation.

Sen. Chris Walters, R-Putnam, wants state government to build a sort of fiber-optic interstate highway and then lease it to private providers. The goal is to bring high internet speeds at cheaper costs.

On The Front Porch podcast, Walters gave ten reasons for building the network:

1. West Virginia has some of the slowest internet speeds in the U.S. and is slower than Romania and Bulgaria.

2. In the U.S., 17 percent of households lack access to advanced broadband service. In urban West Virginia: 56 percent, rural West Virginia: 74 percent

3. Slow connections are bad for business. Walters met a Pocahontas County farmer who wants to sell his livestock online, but doesn’t have broadband, so has to use an Alabama broker.

4. Businesses that move here, even to our cities, are shocked at their slow connections, Walters said, and therefore are unlikely to expand.

5. It’s also about education, he said. If you’re connection drops while you are taking an online test, you can fail the test.

6. What’s missing is the so-called “middle mile” between individual homes and the nationwide fiber networks.

7. Walter’s plan: build 2,500 “middle miles” of fiber connection costing $72 million. Two miles of interstate road construction costs $80 million.

8. How to pay for it: FCC grants for telemedicine, Department of Defense grants for wired line 911 emergency system, and bonds that would be repaid with proceeds from companies using the fiber network.

9. Opposition is coming mainly from existing providers that don’t want competition, Walters said.

10. The system would be operated by the state Water Development Authority. “All fiber is, is pipes – pipes with some cords in them.” The state WDA has bonding authority.

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

FCC Earmarks $38 Million to Expand Broadband in W.Va.

Broadband service is being expanded to more than 89,000 additional homes and businesses in rural West Virginia.

The Federal Communications Commission announced Tuesday that its Connect America Fund has earmarked $38 million for Frontier Communications Corp. to expand service in West Virginia. Frontier received $22 million to expand service to 36,000 West Virginia customers under the program in 2013.

The Connect America Fund is part of the FCC’s initiative to bring broadband access to rural communities. Nationwide, the FCC authorized about $438 million to connect more than 637,000 homes and businesses.

Exit mobile version