Nelson awaits broadband input

The Nelson County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to consider the establishment of a wireless services authority for broadband Internet access in the county after hearing the final report on the Rural Broadband Initiative project at its April 14 meeting.

The public hearing is scheduled for May 28 and supervisors named themselves as members of the authority for the time being, they said. The authority would oversee operations and make decisions on providing high-speed data and Internet access service to local businesses, government and the public in Nelson County.

The proposed wireless authority goes hand-in-hand with the final report given to the supervisors on April 14, which states that the county should work with private providers and seek out federal economic stimulus funds to increase broadband Internet access.

The entire project of creating an infrastructure for the county would cost a total of nearly $2.3 million, said Keith Hill of Icon Broadband Technologies and Consulting Gateway Corp.

The proposed plan includes 31 miles of fiber optic cables that would run from a tower at Afton Mountain to the Rockfish River Elementary School, down along Va. 6 through Woods Mill and U.S. 29 to Lovingston and the courthouse, and back down U.S. 29 to Colleen. 

The project potentially would be funded by federal grant money that would be available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and state grant money through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, with the county chipping in $258,000.

Hill said that by working with the private sector, the county can minimize the investment, the risk and the demands on the county staff while connecting government facilities in a high bandwidth network, reducing communication expenditures and expanding broadband services to county residents.

“We believe, in your county, the best solution is a combination of wired and wireless technologies,” Hill said.

It is not feasible to connect communities such as Montebello, Faber, Wingina, Arrington, Tyro, Shipman, Gladstone, Massies Mill, Schuyler, Afton and Piney River to the infrastructure by fiber optic cable but they could be connected through wireless technologies.

Hill said the project would take up to a year to complete and in the future, Nelson could collect reoccurring fees from service providers or customers who use the network for revenue.

“There’s a lot of ‘what ifs,’” Hill said.

Supervisors agreed with Hill, but South District Supervisor Joe Dan Johnson said the network was needed.

“If we wait on a private provider (for broadband Internet access), we’re 10 to 15 years down the road,” Johnson said. “I think without us, we don’t move forward. This is an opportunity to grow county revenue.”

Central District Supervisor Connie Brennan said she didn’t think there was any question that the county needed this infrastructure.

Board Chairman Allen Hale said the biggest challenge the county faces would be the affordability of the broadband infrastructure if it were unsuccessful.