Wood County EDC targets high-speed internet access

By Phil Major
publisher@wood.cm
Posted 5/19/22

Four projects of $1 million each to help jump start efforts to give Wood County residents better access to high-speed broadband internet services have been proposed by the Wood County Economic …

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Wood County EDC targets high-speed internet access

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Four projects of $1 million each to help jump start efforts to give Wood County residents better access to high-speed broadband internet services have been proposed by the Wood County Economic Development Commission (WCEDC).

That was among the take aways from the public forum hosted by the WCEDC last Monday night, May 9, in Quitman, which drew about 30 people.

Presenter and WCEDC board member Lee Smith said high-speed broadband access is one of the key issues the commission has targeted in its 25-year plan to make Wood County one of the most livable counties in the nation.

He outlined the many ways broadband has become essential in the modern economy, from education and job training to health care and remote access to jobs.

It also has an impact on real estate, with homes lacking good broadband access often rejected by buyers. And many new commercial enterprises are highly dependent upon high speed access.

The proposed projects, one in each of the four Wood County commissioner precincts, would offer direct access to between 300 and 1,500 homes for a total of 2,600 homes.

The projects would be undertaken by Peoples Communications of Quitman, which has already put 550 miles of fiber optic cable in the ground in the county.

Fiber optic is the preferred method of broadband delivery as it avoids the reliability pitfalls of overhead wires.

But radio-signal delivered internet is also a part of the plan to reach more remote areas where laying cable might not be economically of physically feasible.

Smith explained that any company, such as Peoples, has to make a business decision on its potential return on investment when deciding where to lay fiber optic lines. It wants to sign up the most subscribers in the least time.

He compared the roll out of rural broadband with the expansion of the railroads in the 1800s and the efforts that brought telephone service and electricity to rural areas in the 1900s.

Those efforts required significant investments of time and materials and included public investment.

Smith showed maps detailing the four projects, which have been presented to county commissioners for consideration as the county determines how to spend $8.8 million received as part of the American Rescue Plan (federal COVID relief).

The WCEDC has recommended spending the entire amount to help leverage resources to bring the broadband goal closer to reality.

The four projects were identified by Peoples as giving the “best bang for the buck.” And as Smith noted, even $8 million will only go so far.

Additional funding, such as from the state which also has federal pandemic dollars to spend, should be sought.

WCEDC Executive Director Christophe Trahan encouraged those present to talk to local officials, as well as state officials, to help keep rural Texas from being overlooked. It will be a continual effort, he said.

Smith encouraged attendees to share the information and help make it important to decision makers.