High-speed broadband service
expected soon for Rockbridge area
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| Local businesses need faster Internet access, a study found. (MICHAEL MORELLA/The Rockbridge Report) |
Rockbridge County’s economic future will depend on the availability of affordable high-speed broadband service, according to a study recently commissioned by local governments in Buena Vista, Lexington, and the county — and the service is likely to be implemented locally as soon as 2010.
The three jurisdictions unanimously agreed to continue a study to significantly improve high-speed Internet access through fiber-optic broadband technology after initial results were published in October.
Lexington City Manager Jon Ellestad believes that high-speed service has become a necessity for local businesses, right alongside standard utilities.
“Ultimately everything is going to come over that fiber,” Ellestad said. “In my mind, for Lexington, this just makes eminent sense.”
Current wireless service provides basic Internet needs, but cannot support more advanced technology such as high-definition video, which requires a bandwidth far beyond what wireless can provide.
The proposed network would integrate a wireless system with fiber optic technology to allow for a much higher bandwidth to support higher broadband needs. Design Nine Inc., the Blacksburg-based consulting firm that did the initial study, will expand its findings into a more specific plan for the region.
According to the study, 98 percent of Rockbridge area businesses use the Internet today, but fewer than half are satisfied with their current Internet connection.
Ellestad believes that, as more and more residents work from home, broadband will become more and more important to local economic development.
Tim Reamer, director of economic development for Buena Vista, has been involved with the study since the project began several years ago. Reamer was in charge of a community group with members from both cities and the county that worked with Design Nine to facilitate the study.
Reamer said that none of the three municipalities currently has the capability to support a higher bandwidth, but that high-definition technology is quickly becoming more common.
“Not only is this going to happen, it’s going to happen relatively soon,” Reamer said.
Ellestad and the Lexington City Council are excited about the prospect of broadband technology in Lexington, but Ellestad is less certain about a fiber optic network across all of Rockbridge County. While Lexington spans only 2 ½ square miles, Rockbridge County encompasses about 600.
Mike Webb, director of the Rockbridge Partnership, which promotes business and industrial development in the area, says that everyone has something to gain from a fiber optic network linking the region.
“I hear about it more from the citizens than the businesses,” he said. Webb anticipates that the next phase of the study will be completed in April or May.
Reamer believes a fiber optic network will open new opportunities for telecommuting, allowing individuals to work from home or remote locations and businesses to function more efficiently.
“It’s another competitive advantage for the three areas,” he said.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd