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Rockingham seeks to expand broadband access

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

(Updated 5:20 am)

By Morgan Josey Glover
Staff Writer

WENTWORTH — Commissioners gave the OK on Monday for Rockingham officials to apply for a federal stimulus grant that could help expand broadband Internet access countywide.

The Board of Commissioners learned that it would cost $4.3 million to build a network that would serve 99 percent of county residents.

Key to making the project financially viable in a rural community is obtaining a grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would cover 75 percent of the costs, and thus make the venture attractive to a commercial provider. Applications for the federal grant are due March 15.

“Our gut says it’s going to work now, so they (commercial providers) should be able to put up the 25 percent,” said Mark Wells, director of the county’s Business & Technology Center.

Rockingham hopes to improve its odds of getting the grant by partnering with Stokes County. Both counties hired The Howell Group of Waynesville to conduct broadband studies and apply for the grant.

Stokes County officials expect to spend $4.6 million building a network that would increase the percentage of residents served from 78 to 97 percent, said Alan Wood, director of economic development in that county.

Officials with both counties also expect to learn this week whether the regional partnership will extend to Caswell County, which also lacks broadband providers.

“There’s some economies of scale that Stokes County and Rockingham County could benefit from by doing a joint application,” Wood said. “There are some cost savings there.”

Officials expect to learn by the end of the week whether the grant will pay for a network that encompasses people who already have a broadband provider.

Rockingham’s other option is to build a smaller network for $3.2 million that would cover only the areas of the county without a provider.

The consultant’s study found that broadband providers cover about 91 percent of the county’s population, leaving about 4,300 households without access.

The areas with the largest gaps in coverage are the Bethany community, the northwestern portion of the county, and the N.C. 704 corridor between Wentworth and Madison.

“The people who do have access have limited providers, so there’s an issue of competition and, therefore, pricing,” Wells said.

Wells, Wood and others see broadband access as a central economic development strategy in the rural Piedmont. For example, some farmers participating in a virtual farmers market now under development need fast-speed Internet so they can sell their products online, Wood said.

“That’s a business group that could benefit immediately,” Wood said.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 627-4881, Ext. 119, or morgan.josey@news-record.com

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jeffreyhsykes

February 10, 2010 - 8:09 am EST

I live in Reidsville and don't even have a curb and gutter in front of my house. The city has dirty water to boot. I can't see where spending $1,000 per household to give the last 10 percent of people in the county high-speed internet is a good use of public money.

I would have to pay thousands to the city to get a curb and gutter in front of my home. So I think if broadband internet is important to these people they can get together the money to pay for it themselves.

I'd rather they send the $4 million to Eden so they can stop spilling raw sewage into the Dan River.

kidsincarolina

February 10, 2010 - 8:16 am EST

I agree - those that want internet should pay for it themselves. We have people out of work in Rockingham County, people hungry, homeless, and without healthcare, and our officials want to make sure everyone has internet service??? How ridiculous! When will these people realize what the REAL issues are in this county and stop putting tinsel on a dead tree?

Freedomvoice

February 10, 2010 - 8:48 am EST

I am one of those that would benefit from the service. That being said it is not in the best interest to saddle the citizens of Rockingham Count with more debt and taxes. Grant money is just another way of saying we are getting you in debt as a tax payer, the money is just coming from a different source. I have researched this and I know there are cheaper and better ways of doing this. Let capitolism work and Government get off my back and out of my pockets. I'm broke folks.

Wilhammer

February 11, 2010 - 10:16 am EST

Capitalism has recently failed us big time - I suggest you read up on the subject - your sacred capitalists are trying to stifle capitalism with a monopoly.

http://savencbb.wordpress.com/about/

citycritic

February 10, 2010 - 9:03 am EST

So if commercial providers do not pony up ( pun intended ) the 1.1 m needed after Washington rains down down its 3.2 m to provide these last 4300 households with internet service, will our county fathers proceed with this plan anyway ? I hope by the time this comes to a vote we have 2 new commishs seated. VOTE ANTI INCUMBENT !

Illiterati

February 10, 2010 - 9:10 am EST

This is the one project that can actually bring jobs and educational opportunties to everyone in the county. Around the country, as well as in our county, rural areas without broadband are becoming aging ghost towns because of their isolation from current technology. Households that don't have broadband access can't just call up Time Warner and offer to pay them to lay wire to their homes. TW will categorically refuse, as will Embarq.

It's not just about those existing 4,300 households lacking access. It's about areas in the county where new homes and businesses could be built, but won't be because those areas are in "dead zones," lacking broadband access. If you're trying to sell acreage, good luck with that if your land is in a broadband-free zone.

Like electricity in the 1930s (considered a luxury, not a necessity, back then), broadband Internet has become an essential utility, not just a way to access porn and YouTube. Vast swaths of Rockingham have no broadband access, which means anyone thinking of moving or building here, and subsequently increasing our dwindling tax base, will likely decide not to because no broadband access hampers you in many ways.

Need a job? (And many in the county do!) Job listings are now posted online first, many are not posted in the newspaper at all, and most require you to apply online. Many good-paying jobs also ask you to be able to work from home, for which you will need broadband access.

Off-site jobs (i.e., work-from-home jobs) are one of the few growing segments of the labor force, and these jobs require broadband access. I work full-time from home via broadband. I earn much more working remotely for companies in other parts of the world than I could working on-site in the area. I'm not the only one in the area who does this. You could join us—as long as you have broadband and computer skills.

Going to college? You need broadband to access your assignments, grades, communicate with your instructors, attend video lectures, do research for your papers, submit your papers, etc. Want to take a course to learn a new job? Odds are good that you'll find what you need online and not anywhere in the Triad.

When you learn what people and companies in the rest of the world are doing with the Internet, you'll know that lack of access is a real detriment to this and every other rural county in America. Unless we level the technological playing field, our kids will continue to leave and potential new residents and developments will choose other areas over ours, and this county will dwindle to nothing.

jeffreyhsykes

February 10, 2010 - 10:23 am EST

I can't see lack of access when there is 90 percent broadband penetration in the county.

Illiterati

February 10, 2010 - 11:06 am EST

90 percent covers existing homes, which seems acceptable if you're considering the short-term interests of the county. However, look at the actual land mass that isn't covered and you'll see that a large percentage of the county has no broadband access. That doesn't favor future development, which means the county will continue to see a decline in property and sales tax revenue and population. People and businesses are unlikely to move here if they have to give up their broadband access. Even during an up market, try selling a home or acreage in an access-free zone and you'll be at a disadvantage and will likely have to accept a lower offer, if you can sell at all.

kidsincarolina

February 10, 2010 - 7:45 pm EST

"Many good-paying jobs also ask you to be able to work from home, for which you will need broadband access." -- please share where this vast number of work-at-home jobs are. As someone who is very tech-savvy and has telecommuted in the past, all I can find now are scams.

Back on point: Time Warner will run cable into developments, which is what it sounds like you're talking about with regard to land development. Satellite internet service is also available, as are growing air-connections such as ClearWire.

That said - what's wrong with keeping a few of our trees and NOT developing the whole county into something resembling - God forbid - Greensboro or Charlotte? People come to Rockingham County to escape the sprawl.

Local Man

February 10, 2010 - 9:26 am EST

Broadband access is about jobs. It has become a requirement for many people in order to work.
I will never understand why people think that these grant monies are provided for just anything we want to do with them. You can not use a technology grant to provide curb and guttering.

Money always comes with strings attached, guess what, you can not use your medical insurance to pay for car repairs either.

jeffreyhsykes

February 10, 2010 - 10:32 am EST

Why yes, let's continue to feed at the public trough until everybody has what they want!

We all realize that a federal grant just comes from the Fed's printing press, so nobody really loses.

And grant research and grant writing provides busy work for local government employees whose very existence on the county payroll may contribute a substantial amount to the county's fiscal imbalance.

I seem to recall two years ago it was the methane pipeline that kept them busy. What became of that? What became of all the staff time spent pursuing that idea? Did it become reality?

Before that, the county hired a budget manager to implement performance based budgeting. The policy was never implemented, but the position remains filled and the budget keeps growing.

To top it all off, the county manager forced the sheriff to cut four positions two years ago and then turned around and hired his own wife just a couple of months later at a salary of $90,000 to work as a nurse. She had been employed in the private sector but I guess decided the public trough was a better place to feed.

Folks in Wentworth need to understand the public mood. We are not buying any of your sales tactics this year. If it doesn't contribute to a balanced budget or a lower tax rate kill it.

kidsincarolina

February 10, 2010 - 7:49 pm EST

Amen!

citycritic

February 10, 2010 - 3:36 pm EST

Ill, you make valid points ( even with your condescending tone ). Technology in today's world is very important and needed in Rockingham County, however, let's not fool ourselves into thinking this will be a job panacea for Rockingham if it is done. The sad truth is most Rockingham county citizens do not trust the people making decisions in our local government. That leads people to not support even smart dollars that need to be spent on potential worth while projects such as this one. Greenways,Civic Centers and Equestrian farms are all good things for communities but they do not put all the displaced manufacturing workers who do not have a job back in the work force. The people want to know that governments are being good stewards of their money at all levels and it does not appear that is the case.

kidsincarolina

February 10, 2010 - 7:49 pm EST

Agreed there, citycritic. From what I see around town, those "cable guys" are bussed in from Greensboro and surrounding areas - they aren't local folk who are being put back to work here in Rockingham County.

Don't even get us started on the "Equestrian Center".....

Fool us once, shame on you...