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Weekly Column Article
Aug. 17, 2007
Opening Our Rural Communities to 21st Century Opportunity
From The Governor’s Desk: A weekly column by Gov. Joe Manchin
Contact: Lara Ramsburg, 304-558-2000
High-speed, consistently-accessible Internet can do a lot more for West Virginia than make it quicker to download videos or music. In fact, it’s a crucial part of our infrastructure and essential to our education, business and economic development plans.
Just like roadways, electricity and telephone lines were in the 20th century, bringing affordable broadband connections to our communities is necessary if we expect our state to grow and compete for jobs with other states and other nations.
There’s no doubt we live in a society that thrives on technology. Just ask your teenager about “texting” on his or her cell phone and you’ll quickly realize just how connected we are. But technology also is one of the greatest business and development tools available.
Our beautiful, mountainous landscape makes traditional development very difficult. High-speed Internet access has the potential to provide our rural communities with a gateway to the economic and social opportunities of the 21st century.
My administration’s goal is that by 2010, every West Virginian who wants high-speed access to the Internet can select from at least one provider, regardless of where they live. This week in Danville, W.Va., I joined officials from Verizon and Connected Nation to announce a partnership that I believe will be a model for how a rural state can connect its most remote households and businesses.
I want to thank Verizon and Connected Nation for their commitment to help us reach our goal. By the end of next year, Verizon expects to make its high-speed Internet service available to 90 percent of Boone County homes and businesses. Connected Nation will help us map broadband availability.
While we provide the ability to access the Internet, we must also encourage more West Virginians to use it. Only about 55 percent of West Virginia households have home computers. A big part of our partnership is helping more West Virginians – of all ages – understand the benefits of having a home computer connected to a broadband service. The economic, social and educational benefits are immense, from access to countless global news sources to e-commerce and sharing of our culture and ideas with new audiences around the world.
We also are working hard to make more state government services accessible online, and to make it easier for learners of all ages to continue their education through Web-based programs. By bringing together the state, Verizon, Connected Nation and other broadband providers, we can open West Virginia – and its rural communities – to the countless opportunities of the global economy and the Information Age.
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