County eyes consistent connectivity

Frustrated Internet users in underserved areas around the county may soon be surfing through cyberspace at top speed. At a Sept. 22 Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting, Orange County Director of Information Technology Vanetta Pledger presented plans to apply for federal and state grant money which could make dial-up connections a thing of the past.
Barboursville resident Alyson Sappington communicated her support for improved high-speed broadband access during the public comment portion of the meeting. With dial-up, the only means of accessing the Internet currently available in her area, Sappington said her daughter’s homework and research last hours longer than it would with better bandwidth.
Not only that, Sappington continued, but neighbors trying to operate home-based businesses, and homebound, elderly and ill residents needed access to high-speed broadband.
“We are submitting a letter of interest to the Department of Housing and Community Development to identify we are interested in conducting a planning study to provide high-speed internet access to 90 percent of the geographical coverage area of Orange County,“ Pledger explained.
The DCHD funding which Orange hopes to be awarded was made available as part of the Virginia Rural Broadband Initiative program. By letting DHCD know that the county wants to participate in the study, Orange becomes eligible for the next step in acquiring a high-speed broadband network spanning the area.
If the county is among the localities to be awarded funds for the study, the first phase of planning would include analysis of the need for high-speed internet access, as well as an inventory of existing infrastructure. Further, the study would examine potential and professional uses-at present as well as in the future-and an assessment of the community’s overall computer literacy. Perhaps most importantly, the study also examines the degree to which the county could benefit from broadband infrastructure.
According to Pledger, with high-speed broadband accessible in a geographic majority of the county, residents, could ditch dial-up and utilize a high-speed connection for purposes like distant-learning, telemedicine and data transfer.
Results of the planning study should include information about what will be required in terms of service to households and businesses and about the quantity (and expense) of necessary infrastructure, Acting Orange County Administrator Julie Jordan said. And once that’s been determined by the study, there’s a possibility that state and federal stimulus funding could come the county’s way to help get some of those telecommunications towers up and running.
But then what? District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett wondered. What could the county expect as far as funding the service after the infrastructure’s in place?
In a best-case scenario, Pledger explained, the county would have ownership of the tower-the cost of which would be subsidized by stimulus funds-and private sector service providers would lease space and provide maintenance.
Pledger said the precise price tag for a tower, the land on which to erect it and a road to access it hasn’t been determined. That’s a figure that should be determined once the study has been conducted.
“I do not have an actual cost due to all the variables that have to be considered,“ Pledger explained. “The planning study will provide estimated costs pertaining to tower construction and on-going maintenance expenses.“
Supervisors unanimously authorized Jordan to submit a letter of interest-the first step in pursuing the grant funds.
Once the ball starts rolling, and the county gets word from DHCD that financial assistance is available, the study must be completed within eight months, Pledger said.