U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., recently announced the award of a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through its Rural Utilities Service to establish high-speed Internet services in the community of Hurley. Boucher’s announcement coincided with the 60th anniversary of the federal agency’s telecommunications program.
When the telecommunication programs were established in 1949, only one in three farms in rural America had access to telephone service, according to Boucher. Today, with continued assistance from the Rural Utilities Service, millions of families now have access to vital communication services, including high-speed Internet, distance learning and telemedicine programs.
Hurley is the latest Southwest Virginia community to receive high-speed Internet services. Broadband networks have also been established in the Mechanicsburg community of Bland County, the Trammel community in Dickenson County, the Tannersville community in Tazewell County, the Carbo community in Russell County, and the Blackwater community in Lee County, according to Boucher.
The latest project will provide high-speed Internet services to residents in the northern end of the Hurley community, as well as the Hurley Family Medical Center and the Knox Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
The broadband deployment will also allow officials to open a new computer center in downtown Hurley to provide free and open access to Internet services to Hurley residents in convenient times, according to a press release from Boucher
The federal funds will also allow Inter Mountain Cable to construct a hybrid fiber-coaxial cable to the premise network to serve about 100 residents in the Northern end of Hurley, including Paw Paw, Rockhouse, Guesses Fork and Race Fork. The company also will construct an additional 45 miles of its hybrid fiber cable into Hurley, replacing the cable television plant and overlaying fiber.
The continued deployment of the broadband backbone project into far Southwest Virginia is welcomed.
Ten years ago, modern roads, water and sewer facilities were considered essential infrastructure for job creation and retention. Today, broadband is included on the list of required infrastructure necessary to attract and retain industry.
The high-speed connection is absolutely essential for economic development and growth in our region. One needs to look no further than Russell County to see the benefits of the broadband backbone where more than 700 new technology-based jobs have been created. It is our hope that we will see the creation of additional technology-based jobs in the region, including at the planned Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park project in Bluefield, Va.
In the meantime, we welcome the latest high-speed connection in far Southwest Virginia.
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Quelle/Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, 27.11.2009
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