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Hark! Students to Accelerate Virginia by testing their Internet speed this holiday break

BLACKSBURG - While winter break brings a welcome reprieve from the demands of schoolwork and exams, it can also bring frustrations to those of us who must leave our lightning fast college Internet connections and return home to broadband dead zones. The irony of finally having the time to stream TV shows or play online games only to be obstructed by a slow Internet connection is disheartening.

Unfortunately, many areas of our state have limited or nonexistent access to broadband. This may only be a minor inconvenience for some (e.g., missing out on catching up on 30 Rock and having to bake Christmas cookies with your Aunt Rita instead), but it has major implications for many. Inadequate broadband services hold back many Virginia communities' economic growth since jobs that require broadband are expected to increase much more quickly than others over the next ten years.

The Accelerate Virginia campaign is working to increase awareness of the power of broadband and identify areas where access to broadband is limited or not available at all. The campaign is asking college students going home for the holidays to take a speed test of their own and then encourage their friends and family to do the same. Patrick Fay communications manager for Accelerate Virginia said, "We are asking everyone in Virginia with an Internet connection to participate by taking a speed test. And by passing the word on to their friends and family, in person or by Facebook and Twitter, students in the state can really make an impact."

Whether you have a broadband connection at home or not, please visit http://acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest/ to run a brief Internet speed test. Your input will help the campaign to create an accurate map of broadband availability in Virginia that will highlight localities that are in need of broadband infrastructure investment.

Participation in the campaign will also help you to identify alternatives to your existing Internet connection. After completing the speed test, you will receive a detailed review of your broadband connection and a summary of what others in your community are reporting about their service, including provider names, connection types, speed averages, and satisfaction ratings.

Increased access to broadband throughout Virginia will benefit all of us by facilitating economic growth. This translates to increased employment for our communities and more job opportunities for us when we graduate. Please remember to run a speed test over the holidays and encourage your family members and friends to do the same.

Sara Grant, a junior from Blacksburg, Va., majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, is a writer for the Accelerate Virginia campaign.

By Sarah Grant

County seeks help in pinpointing broadband service

Franklin County is the first locality to launch a statewide internet speed test campaign, and residents are being asked to help.

Called Accelerate Virginia, residents are encouraged to run speed tests from their homes and businesses to help develop an accurate map of existing broadband service locations in the county.

Data collected from the speed tests will be used to demonstrate where and what kind of internet services are currently offered to county residents.

Sandie Terry, director of information technology for the county, said about 30 percent or more of the county's population has no access to any form of broadband.

The state's first generation broadband map, initially released in 2009, misrepresented the county's broadband availability, she said.

The initial map was based upon analysis of information voluntarily contributed by public and private sector broadband stakeholders.

However, Terry said the disclaimer on the state map acknowledged the data was incomplete and the map would evolve as more data became available.

The state map depicted a majority of Franklin County as served with broadband, but this conflicted with information collected locally in the same time frame, she said.

Local data showed that hundreds of addresses throughout the county are unable to obtain any form of broadband service, Terry said.

The county and its private wireless internet service provider partner B2X plotted unmet demand based on follow-up site surveys that determined these locations could not be served by their network, usually due to terrain or trees.

By partnering with the Accelerate Virginia campaign, Terry said that widespread citizen input can generate a more realistic view of the current locations at which service providers offer broadband in the county.

Terry is encouraging county residents to help out the program.

To participate in the campaign, they are asked to run one or more Accelerate Virginia internet speed tests, available from the county's website or directly at www.acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest.

Terry said anyone, whether they have a broadband connection or not, can participate.

After completing the speed test, residents are requested to spread the word about the importance of broadband in their community and encourage their friends, family members and neighbors to run speed tests, Terry said.

If the county meets a goal of obtaining data from at least 300 speed tests, the Accelerate Virginia campaign will be able to create an accurate countywide map of reported internet service.

This mapping may be used to seek future grant funding to expand the wireless network, Terry said. The Accelerate Virginia campaign, led by Virginia Tech's eCorridors group, will be conducting other localized internet speed test campaigns throughout the state.

For those who cannot get broadband services at their address, the Federal Communications Commission is asking that it be reported to the Broadband Dead Zone.

Taken from The Franklin News Post
Written By CHARLES BOOTHE