Ultra high-speed broadband for Pocahontas County

Hello all,

On Wednesday, July 29, 2009, I had the pleasure of being in Washington, D. C. to speak with the staffs of Senators Rockefeller and Byrd, as well as Congressman Rahall and his staff, on a truly unique effort to bring ultra high speed fiber-optic broadband to 11 counties in southern and south-eastern West Virginia - including Pocahontas.

The proposal is being spearheaded by Regions 1 and 4 Planning and Development Councils, and includes the support of all 11 of their counties, county commissions, and municipalities. It would provide a fiber-optic Internet backbone with a bandwidth of 100Gbps - a full 100,000 times faster than basic DSL! We would partner with private providers to deliver "the last mile" to residences and businesses, as well as our schools, libraries, and hospital/medical centers.

Pocahontas County's traditional industries are Timber and Tourism. I'd like to add Technology to our list. I believe that such an infrastructure in Pocahontas County will allow us to attract technology-related industries that rely on large amounts of affordable bandwidth.

The Pocahontas County Commission supports this endeavor, and it was a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Commission. Several others made the trek to D. C. as well to speak to this project, and it was a pleasure to join them in this effort: Regional Planning & Development directors Dave Cole (Region 1) and W. D. Smith (Region 4), Senator Richard Browning (D-Wyoming), Monroe County Clerk Donald Evans, Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester, and Jim Kelley from the Cumberland Plateau Company in Virginia.

The application deadline for this $45M proposal is August 14. There is much work to do between now and then. I will keep you updated on the status of this proposal as it moves forward.

DF

This is the sort of sustainable and compatible infrastructure that will advance education and employment while being entirely consistent with an economy based largely on farming, tourism and timber.

I spoke with Robin Mutscheller about the broadband project. Since her husband John works for Frontier, she recused herself from the discussion of the broadband project at the recent Marlinton Town Council meeting.

Specifically, the Marlinton Town Council was being asked to contribute $2,000 to Regions 1 and 4 Planning & Development Councils towards the costs associated with the broadband proposal. The town council didn't feel they had sufficient information at that time as for what the money was to be used, so it was tabled for the next meeting.

I understand that Region 4 Executive Director W. D. Smith will be attending the next Marlinton Town Council meeting to further explain to the council the purpose of the contribution.

At the Pocahontas County Commission, we recently voted to contribute $2,000 to this effort. In putting together the broadband proposal to USDA/RUS/NTIA, Regions 1 and 4 Planning & Development have incurred some costs and are essentially asking partnering counties and municipalities to help offset these costs. That is basically the purpose of requesting the contribution.

DF