For the News-Tribune
KEYSER — Nearly 200 county residents and business owners filled out survey forms on expanding broadband in the county during the Mineral County Fair at Fort Ashby.
The Mineral County Development Authority has contracted for a broadband expansion study with Design Nine of Blacksburg, Va., utilizing Appalachian Regional Commission grant funds. Members of the authority manned a booth at the fair encouraging as many as possible to fill out the survey being circulated as part of that study.
Many folks asked why they should fill it out when they already have broadband.
The reason is to bring jobs to Mineral County.
“While many do have it, many others don’t and there is little in the way of competition among the existing providers, according to Mona Ridder, executive director of the Mineral County Development Authority.
“That’s why we have a communications infrastructure committee working on this project,” she said.
“Look at it this way, just like your electric, gas, water and telephone, Internet is a utility and like those services it is becoming more and more critical to our daily lives,” she said. “For many of us, living without Internet would be like trying to live without water or electricity.”
She went on to say that for businesses, access to broadband is even more critical. “It’s the new telephone/fax, making the
transfer of data and documents nearly instantaneous.”
Ridder added, “It’s an all-in-one approach to communication providing telephone, Internet and video as a constant and what we are looking at is an affordable combination of digital service for everyone.”
She said that when Design Nine completes the study at the end of September there will be a plan that will help expand broadband to provide new business opportunities for existing providers as well as encourage competition and small business growth.
It’s growth within the industry as well as service to encourage new business that relies on broadband to come into the county, Ridder said.
“Education uses it for distance learning; health care uses it for better and real time communication between patients and the physicians treating them; for many, broadband eliminates the barriers of time and space in communicating and transferring information,” she said.
“It’s high tech now but it won’t be long before it’s as much a part of our daily lives as the telephone and television and it will include both.”
Rick Welch, a member of the committee, said that the idea of the Mineral County project and the study is to provide open access to broadband capability.
Ward Hill, another member of the committee, said that “open access does not mean free access.”
A significant price tag is attached to building the network, he said.
Welch added, “Once the network is built, the open access will allow small business to compete to resell service to individuals and businesses throughout the county thus making it affordable.”
Hill pointed out that the system will actually be two components. “The first is the infrastructure,” he said, noting that while it will take a public/private partnership to build it, it is not government providing the service.
The system requires the building and operating of the network which is expected to include both fiber and wireless. The service provider is the company that handles the content, local support and marketing. The county is not going to provide service, he said. Rather it will facilitate the construction of the system, or the infrastructure.
“The infrastructure does not provide the content but enables open access and competition including existing providers,” said Welch. “It levels the playing field between small business and existing providers.”
Having people complete the surveys, either on paper or online, is critical to the success of the study, said Annette Paxton, chair of the committee. “It will tell us what we need to know about what people have, want and need in terms of broadband service, now and in the future,” she said. “We are putting the surveys in several locations around the county, including Post Offices, libraries and businesses.”
Connie Sutton, county librarian and member of the committee, said that people may also fill out the surveys online at the local libraries.
For those who wish to do the survey on line the Web address is www.MineralBroadband.com or www2.designnine.com/mineralcounty/.
Paper surveys may be dropped off at those locations as well or mailed to Mona Ridder, Mineral County Development Authority, Grand Central Business Center, Suite 3011, 1 E. Piedmont St., Keyser, WV 26726. To request a copy of the survey, call (304) 788-2233.
The deadline for completing the surveys is Monday, Aug. 31.
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For the News-Tribune
KEYSER — Nearly 200 county residents and business owners filled out survey forms on expanding broadband in the county during the Mineral County Fair at Fort Ashby.
The Mineral County Development Authority has contracted for a broadband expansion study with Design Nine of Blacksburg, Va., utilizing Appalachian Regional Commission grant funds. Members of the authority manned a booth at the fair encouraging as many as possible to fill out the survey being circulated as part of that study.
Many folks asked why they should fill it out when they already have broadband.
The reason is to bring jobs to Mineral County.
“While many do have it, many others don’t and there is little in the way of competition among the existing providers, according to Mona Ridder, executive director of the Mineral County Development Authority.
“That’s why we have a communications infrastructure committee working on this project,” she said.
“Look at it this way, just like your electric, gas, water and telephone, Internet is a utility and like those services it is becoming more and more critical to our daily lives,” she said. “For many of us, living without Internet would be like trying to live without water or electricity.”
She went on to say that for businesses, access to broadband is even more critical. “It’s the new telephone/fax, making the
transfer of data and documents nearly instantaneous.”
Ridder added, “It’s an all-in-one approach to communication providing telephone, Internet and video as a constant and what we are looking at is an affordable combination of digital service for everyone.”
She said that when Design Nine completes the study at the end of September there will be a plan that will help expand broadband to provide new business opportunities for existing providers as well as encourage competition and small business growth.
It’s growth within the industry as well as service to encourage new business that relies on broadband to come into the county, Ridder said.
“Education uses it for distance learning; health care uses it for better and real time communication between patients and the physicians treating them; for many, broadband eliminates the barriers of time and space in communicating and transferring information,” she said.
“It’s high tech now but it won’t be long before it’s as much a part of our daily lives as the telephone and television and it will include both.”
Rick Welch, a member of the committee, said that the idea of the Mineral County project and the study is to provide open access to broadband capability.
Ward Hill, another member of the committee, said that “open access does not mean free access.”
A significant price tag is attached to building the network, he said.
Welch added, “Once the network is built, the open access will allow small business to compete to resell service to individuals and businesses throughout the county thus making it affordable.”
Hill pointed out that the system will actually be two components. “The first is the infrastructure,” he said, noting that while it will take a public/private partnership to build it, it is not government providing the service.
The system requires the building and operating of the network which is expected to include both fiber and wireless. The service provider is the company that handles the content, local support and marketing. The county is not going to provide service, he said. Rather it will facilitate the construction of the system, or the infrastructure.
“The infrastructure does not provide the content but enables open access and competition including existing providers,” said Welch. “It levels the playing field between small business and existing providers.”
Having people complete the surveys, either on paper or online, is critical to the success of the study, said Annette Paxton, chair of the committee. “It will tell us what we need to know about what people have, want and need in terms of broadband service, now and in the future,” she said. “We are putting the surveys in several locations around the county, including Post Offices, libraries and businesses.”
Connie Sutton, county librarian and member of the committee, said that people may also fill out the surveys online at the local libraries.
For those who wish to do the survey on line the Web address is www.MineralBroadband.com or www2.designnine.com/mineralcounty/.
Paper surveys may be dropped off at those locations as well or mailed to Mona Ridder, Mineral County Development Authority, Grand Central Business Center, Suite 3011, 1 E. Piedmont St., Keyser, WV 26726. To request a copy of the survey, call (304) 788-2233.
The deadline for completing the surveys is Monday, Aug. 31.
