High-Speed Internet Infrastructure May Impact West Virginia’s Future Economy

December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When West Virginia received $126 million from a federal grant to build a high-speed Internet infrastructure, it decided to use the funds to extend the current telephone lines. However, this plan has come under attack by Citynet, a local telephone service provider. The company has created a website and is taking out ads to try to rally the residents of the state to pay attention to this issue.

According to Jim Martin, the CEO of Citynet, the state’s decision regarding the high-speed Internet infrastructure may cripple the state for years to come. His belief is that West Virginia needs to use the funds to build a middle-mile solution capable of delivering high-speed connectivity rather than relying on an outdated model.

From the moment Citynet learned about the state’s plan, it has been lobbying for changes. Martin has called the state and asked it to suspend using the grant; however, the state has not responded to the request. Citynet hopes the citizens will join with him to ensure the state uses the funds in a way that better incorporates the government’s plan for them.

Martin backs his support for a middle-mile solution by highlighting the benefits to Internet service, which include better quality, faster connection speeds, and higher capacity at a reduce rate. As a company awarded for bringing Internet solutions to areas with limited connectivity, Citynet may be in the best position to lead this fight.

The state was to use the grant, provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to improve the Internet structure for over 700,000 households and 110,000 businesses. In its application for the grant, the state indicated it would be building a middle-mile infrastructure, which is exactly what Citynet hopes the state will do. However, the state amended it plan to focus on a “last-mile” program, which would benefit a publicly traded phone company, Frontier Communications, hoping to capture most of the business from the endeavor.

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Networks East Selected to Expand North Carolina High Speed Internet Network

December 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Waikīkī Sand Villa Hotel #426
Image by Nemo’s great uncle via Flickr

When you hear that a company receives millions of dollars of stimulus funds, you might think most of it is going to go into the company’s own pockets. But that may not be the case for Networks East, a local North Carolina business that is going to be working to improve high speed Internet access throughout the state. The company will be using $58 million to install the equipment to expand the coverage area for the company so that more people in North Carolina will have access to high speed Internet through satellite.

Currently, a large majority of residents in the state only have access to the Internet via dial-up connections. This negatively affects their ability to use the Internet to its full capacity. The company plans to target underserved areas and defines this as areas where Internet speeds are 768 kilobits per second or slower.

In order to qualify for the grant, the company had to offer customers a one-year price guarantee for the rate. For $39.99 for the first month, the company will install the equipment necessary for a household to tap into the high speed Internet network. The company plans to offer the service until the grant money runs out; however, it anticipates that the funds will be able to help all areas of the state.

Most of the areas that will classify as underserved are rural communities, and many feel the new system will be a boon for the communities. As La Grange’s economic development director, Mark Pope believes having a higher speed Internet connection will help rural residents be more attractive to employers. Some rural residents think it will also help them find newer job opportunities faster.

Regardless of how residents plan to use the connection speed, many think appreciate the grant and the boost in local technology.

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What to do on a Cruise

September 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A lot of people have never been on a cruise. The network and satellite news broadcasts daily about the awesomeness of going on a cruise! But people are listening to the network news! And this is really a sad fact, because the purpose of cheap cruises is to open up the concept that anybody can walk across the gang plank (how you get on and off a ship the easy way), and start to see a little more of the world than they would have otherwise. While some cruises are in the ocean, some others involve traveling down lakes. And whether you go up north and watch arctic critters frolicking on ice bergs, or down to places where it never gets anywhere below “pretty hot,” you have some serious scenery options to choose from.

But of course, not everybody who goes on a cruise is interested in just “looking at stuff” the whole time. After all, one of the great joys of the Internet is that you can pretty much look at anything you want (so long as it’s legal to look at where you are). Most people do not go on a vacation to look at things, but to actually do things. And there are a whole bunch of different options aboard just about every cruise ship ever built, whether you are a social butterfly or just like to enjoy some quiet alone time.

If you are the contemplative sort, you can sit beneath an umbrella and take in a good book. Or you can sit in the hot tub and feel the bubbles beat your muscles into submission. If you have to move, most cruise ships have a gym on board, so you can work up a good sweat in between other interesting ways to break up a sweat. Most ships feature a night club, where you can dance the night away and maybe meet someone interesting — or you can always hit the casino, and hope your luck is good tonight.

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