EDITORIAL:
Still the forgotten kingdom
October 8, 2009
A couple of brief items in the news this week might make readers stop and scratch their heads.
One is that the state, more precisely the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, will be receiving $1.2 million in federal grant money to map Internet broadband access in Vermont. The cash is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Our first reaction was “huh?” We were under the impression that most people already know where broadband is available, or not. Just call FairPoint, or a local cable provider, and ask. While it’s nice to see stimulus money come to Vermont, and we’re sure there will be jobs created from the cash, somehow we wonder if it’s really necessary to map something that should already be known.
Certainly the state of Vermont, through the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, should know. Isn’t that what they’ve been working on for the past couple of years? The stated mission of the VTA is identifying where broadband is and isn’t in the state, promising to deliver it to 100% of Vermont by 2010.
Which brings us to the second item, the fact that the VTA has just lost its director. We’re sure there are a number of reasons for his abrupt resignation, by we can’t help but wonder if it was all precipitated by the looming 2010 deadline.
In our opinion, the VTA was charged with an almost impossible task. As nice as the 2010 deadline sounds in the abstract, the reality is that the state will be nowhere close to being 100% wired in the next 15 months.
The major population centers are already wired. What’s left is too rural. It all comes down to money. As in, the cell phone and broadband providers will invest where they think they can make a return on their investment. In fairness, FairPoint has made a reasonable effort to expand its broadband capabilities in the area, as they were required to do. But that appears to be halted by the weight of the crushing debt the company took on when it bought out Verizon in northern New England.
A year ago, State Sen. Dick Sears coined the phrase “the forgotten kingdom” as a way of describing the areas of southern Vermont that have been left behind as the digital revolution steamed ahead to the profit centers of the state.
We feel that the term still applies to many locales in our readership area. Just ask the folks in Whitingham, Halifax, East Dover, South Wardsboro, Searsburg, or any other place where the only options for Internet access are either dialup phone or satellite dish. One is slow, the other spotty and expensive.
Locally, we keep hearing that broadband is a key to economic development. We can’t agree more. Local leaders are working hard to try and expand broadband coverage in the area. But it’s a slow process, slower than anyone can imagine until they actually start down that path.
We still feel that if anything will be accomplished, it will be done locally. Meanwhile, we’ll be waiting for those maps to be created by the VCGI. Perhaps the new director of the VTA can use one to find “the forgotten kingdom” when somebody from the area calls him or her in a year asking why they still don’t have broadband access.
One is that the state, more precisely the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, will be receiving $1.2 million in federal grant money to map Internet broadband access in Vermont. The cash is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Our first reaction was “huh?” We were under the impression that most people already know where broadband is available, or not. Just call FairPoint, or a local cable provider, and ask. While it’s nice to see stimulus money come to Vermont, and we’re sure there will be jobs created from the cash, somehow we wonder if it’s really necessary to map something that should already be known.
Certainly the state of Vermont, through the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, should know. Isn’t that what they’ve been working on for the past couple of years? The stated mission of the VTA is identifying where broadband is and isn’t in the state, promising to deliver it to 100% of Vermont by 2010.
Which brings us to the second item, the fact that the VTA has just lost its director. We’re sure there are a number of reasons for his abrupt resignation, by we can’t help but wonder if it was all precipitated by the looming 2010 deadline.
In our opinion, the VTA was charged with an almost impossible task. As nice as the 2010 deadline sounds in the abstract, the reality is that the state will be nowhere close to being 100% wired in the next 15 months.
The major population centers are already wired. What’s left is too rural. It all comes down to money. As in, the cell phone and broadband providers will invest where they think they can make a return on their investment. In fairness, FairPoint has made a reasonable effort to expand its broadband capabilities in the area, as they were required to do. But that appears to be halted by the weight of the crushing debt the company took on when it bought out Verizon in northern New England.
A year ago, State Sen. Dick Sears coined the phrase “the forgotten kingdom” as a way of describing the areas of southern Vermont that have been left behind as the digital revolution steamed ahead to the profit centers of the state.
We feel that the term still applies to many locales in our readership area. Just ask the folks in Whitingham, Halifax, East Dover, South Wardsboro, Searsburg, or any other place where the only options for Internet access are either dialup phone or satellite dish. One is slow, the other spotty and expensive.
Locally, we keep hearing that broadband is a key to economic development. We can’t agree more. Local leaders are working hard to try and expand broadband coverage in the area. But it’s a slow process, slower than anyone can imagine until they actually start down that path.
We still feel that if anything will be accomplished, it will be done locally. Meanwhile, we’ll be waiting for those maps to be created by the VCGI. Perhaps the new director of the VTA can use one to find “the forgotten kingdom” when somebody from the area calls him or her in a year asking why they still don’t have broadband access.
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