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To the Editor,
Here is a broadband update from my perspective. I have been reading the same articles that you have about how the US Treasury is including West Virginia (as one of four states) in the $1.2 trillion American Rescue Plan approved for broadband expansion. According to articles that I have read, this money is intended to increase service to 10% of unserved West Virginia locations.
Hancock County Commission, in collaboration with other governments, agencies and the WVDED (Department of Economic Development) has been working to use ARP (American Recovery Plan) money to bring service to 100% of our locations, not just 10%.
In case you are interested in how these Federal Declarations reverberate locally, continue reading. In the beginning of this process, the ISP's (Internet Service Providers) were vying to receive an RDOF designation (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund). The RDOF designation is made by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and exclusively opens the doors to Federally allocated broadband dollars for use in RDOF qualified zones. Relevant note: The FCC has delayed designating an RDOF provider for Hancock County for over a year. RDOF zones are chosen based on the lack of broadband availability and you might imagine that much of WV qualifies.
ISP's exist in a hyper competitive market so an RDOF designation is a "King-Maker" especially when the scales are tipped to the tune of millions or trillions. Further business complications such as workforce availability, unpredictable job costs and inflation make it risky for an ISP who has not been RDOF approved to bid on a job knowing that an RDOF approved ISP could come in later with the resources to disrupt their project.
To recap: Until the FCC awards an ISP the RDOF designation for Hancock County, ISP's find it too risky to bid on laying lines and connecting customers. According to responsible ISP's, the cost of installing brand new fiber optic line is approximately $30,000 per mile. If I do the math on the $1.2 trillion touted by the US Treasury, this would build 40 million miles of brand new fiber optic line. That is the distance from NY to LA more than 13,000 times. As a Commissioner, I am ready to put this US Treasury money where their mouth is as soon as the FCC takes their thumb off the bidding process.
Eron Chek
Hancock County Commissioner