Broadband availability undergirds the American economy and is required for continued innovation and opportunity. Reliable broadband services are essential for economic development, educational and occupational opportunity, advanced healthcare, public safety and quality of life. Unfortunately, many counties in Virginia still have limited access to broadband services. Identifying areas that are in need of broadband is the first step towards maximizing investment in broadband infrastructure.
Virginia’s Broadband Mapping initiative is about one third of the way through a five-year campaign to assess broadband availability in our state. To date:
- The Virginia Broadband Mapping site has been developed as part of a federal initiative to map broadband availability at the state level. Participating service providers have made broadband service data available to the Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance. The provider data was migrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) and is presented in an easy to understand online mapping website. The Virginia Broadband Map provides tools that allow the user to identify broadband service providers, type of service and upload/download speeds that might be available at any location in the state. CIT encourages all Virginians to explore this new resource.
- Virginia Tech’s Accelerate Virginia Campaign is working in conjunction with the state to collect consumer data on broadband connectivity and quality. The Accelerate Virginia Internet speed test allows Internet subscribers to contribute data on the quality and cost of their Internet service by taking a simple online speed test. To date, Accelerate Virginia has collected data from over 6700 locations across the state (see map), but a good deal more participation is needed. Accelerate Virginia invites all county leaders to initiate a free Internet speed testing campaign for their county. The data collected will support Virginia’s effort to accurately map broadband availability across the state.
In addition, citizens who have no access to broadband services are encouraged to register their address with the Federal Communications broadband dead zone registry.
County officials are asked to help promote Virginia’s Broadband Mapping initiative by encouraging citizens to utilize these new services. Options include featuring a link to the Accelerate Virginia campaign on a prominent place in their county web site, posting fliers, adding a note to payment notices or other county mailings or sending a press release to local newspapers or community websites. Accelerate Virginia offers guidance, sample press releases and customizable marketing materials to simplify the job of promoting citizen participation in the online speed test. Together, the data produced by these services will enable a better understanding of broadband availability and quality of service throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Currently, more than 20 counties in Virginia are promoting the Accelerate Virginia campaign, but much more support is needed.
If your county is interested in partnering with the Accelerate Virginia Campaign, please contact Project Manager Jean Plymale at (540) 231-2270 or vplymale@vt.edu.
