Tag: Internet

West Virginia Portal to Test Residents' Internet Speed

The West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council is asking state residents to use its new test portal to accurately measure the speed of their internet service.

The council’s mission is to provide affordable and accessible broadband service throughout West Virginia. 

The speed test will provide the data to generate a broadband coverage map expected to show the presence and current level of internet service.

The test is located at https://broadband.wv.gov.

State officials say it is independently administered through a testing and analysis company and takes a few minutes.

Council Chairman Robert Hinton says it’s secure and safe for West Virginians who have internet service at their home, business or at a public facility.

He says the more public input, the more accurately they can assess what’s currently available.

FCC Chief to Attend Ohio-West Virginia Broadband Summit

The commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission is slated to attend a broadband summit next month in Ohio.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that Mignon Clyburn will attend the Appalachian Ohio-West Virginia Connectivity Summit and Town Hall on July 18 in Marietta.

The commissioner is attending as part of a nationwide listening tour about limited Internet access in rural areas.

The event targets broadband access in southeast Ohio and northern West Virginia.

The town hall with Clyburn will take place at Marietta High School and will be open to the public. Guests must register to attend.

The summit’s workshop will take place at Washington State Community College.

Broadband Expansion Passes in House

Thirty percent of West Virginians do not have access to basic broadband services as defined by federal law, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

When you look at just the rural parts of West Virginia, that percent increases to 48.

House Bill 3093 aims to change that.

One of the biggest parts of the bill is it allows communities to form ‘internet co-opts.” These ‘co-opts,’ or cooperatives, would work together with a service provider to become their community’s own provider – thus reaching areas that may not have access to broadband.

Republican Delegate Roger Hanshaw of Clay County is the bill’s lead sponsor. While the bill has seen wide bi-partisan support, those who have voiced some concerns over the bill have mainly been internet service providers, which Hanshaw addressed in his floor speech.

“This is a bill that’s intended to promote competition, there’s no doubt about that,” Hanshaw noted, “but it’s a bill intended to do so in places where competition doesn’t exist. The formation of cooperatives; the formation of cooperatives is intended to happen and will happen in places where there is not service. People who are receiving service now have no motivation to avail themselves of this process and are unlikely to do so.”

Only one other delegate spoke to the bill on the floor today. It passed 97 to 2 and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

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