When Sherry Swinson, Powhatan’s Director of Economic Development, received a grant last year to conduct surveys on internet usage, she discovered that many county residents have internet service that is neither as fast nor as reliable as they want or need.
Swinson found that inadequate broadband capability was not only affecting homes in more rural parts of the county, but was also proving to be problematic for businesses along the Route 60 corridor. “We have had a lot of people locate their business on 60,” Swinson said, “who were guaranteed a certain [broadband] service, only to find out later that the service was unavailable.” To attract and retain commercial enterprise, Swinson said, all areas of the county need access to reliable high-speed internet.
This is why Swinson is encouraging Powhatan residents to participate in the Accelerate Virginia speed testing campaign. Residents can take the 2-minute test from their home or business computers, and are encouraged to take the test several different times at different times of day to provide the most comprehensive picture of their internet service.
Jean Plymale, a member of Virginia Tech’s eCorridors program, which designed and runs the Accelerate Virginia campaign, said in an email that “The purpose of the study is to collect data which will enable us to better understand the availability of broadband services throughout Virginia.”
Regarding the term “broadband,” Plymale said that “it means different things to different people and it’s changing all the time.”
“Basically what we want is for people to have the speeds that they need to use the applications that they want,” Plymale said.
Plymale said that as of last Friday 49 Powhatan residents had taken the test. Accelerate Virginia’s goal is to collect 300-500 speed tests per county.
“Places like Stafford and Fauquier Counties got over 700 speed tests,” Plymale said in an email. “[The] bottom line [is] the more consumer speed test data we get, the better analysis we can produce.”
But is there an incentive for companies like Verizon and Comcast to provide broadband service to remote areas where few potential customers?
“The incentive isn’t there today,” Plymale said, “but that isn’t to say it won’t be there tomorrow.” Plymale said that smaller internet providers can often be a good choice for rural customers.
“The smaller companies support speed testing, because they’re very responsive to their customers,” Plymale said.
To take the Accelerate Virginia speed test or to learn more about the program please visit: http://www.acceleratevirginia.org/
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