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SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER CALLS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND IN SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA

Washington, DC – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) this morning kicked off the Southern West Virginia’s Broadband Summit at the Glade Springs Resort in Daniels, West Virginia with a speech challenging southern West Virginia and the entire state to build a comprehensive broadband network. Rockefeller told the gathering of local elected officials, business and technology leaders, and economic development leaders from all over the region and the entire country that such a network would bring significant new economic and educational opportunities.  

“Every generation in the history of this country has experienced an infrastructure leap that fundamentally changes our society and ushers in enormous new economic opportunities,” Rockefeller.  “In the early and middle part of the 19^th century, we saw the explosion of this country’s rail network.  In the 20^th century, we saw the emergence of the interstate road system. And for our generation, we have seen the development of broadband, which is fundamentally reworking the way we see the world and has opened up enormous new business opportunities for our citizens, particularly in traditionally underserved areas.” 

Rockefeller told the summit that there would have to be a number of approaches employed to reach his goal of giving 100 percent of West Virginia businesses and homes have access to broadband.  “Each community’s broadband challenges are different,” he said. “There’s no one solution for this – we need a combination of companies building out their network and municipalities providing broadband directly to their businesses and households.  We also should start considering what public-private partnerships we should form to achieve effective broadband deployment in our state.” 

Hosted by the Discover the REAL West Virginia Foundation, the Summit also included appearances by Congressman Nick Joe Rahall; Michael J. Copps, Federal Communications Commission Commissioner; and Larry Irving, President of Washington’s Irving Information Group. 

America has fallen behind the world’s developed countries, in terms of broadband availability and usage.  A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development finds that the United States has dropped from tenth to twelfth in the world in percentage of broadband usage over the last several years.  According to the Consumer Advocate Division of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, only 85 percent of American homes have high-speed telecommunications availability.  In West Virginia, only 75 percent of residents and businesses have access to broadband, a number that is significantly lower in southern West Virginia.     

Over the last decade, in Congress, Rockefeller has fought to encourage companies to invest in greater communications infrastructure.  Under Rockefeller’s Broadband Internet Access Act (BIAA), companies that deploy broadband in rural and other underserved communities would receive enhanced tax benefits. The BIAA provides a temporary, two-tiered tax incentive to stimulate new investment in this crucial infrastructure.  It contains a 10 percent tax credit for investment in “current-generation” broadband infrastructure in rural and underserved areas.  It also includes a 20 percent credit for “next generation” broadband investments in rural and residential areas.  The incentive is technology neutral, making delivery of service -- not the delivery medium -- the factor for determining eligibility.  Any broadband provider meeting the required “bit rates” is eligible, regardless of whether the service is provided over a telephone wire, cable modem, optical fiber, wireless device, satellite service, or some other form of technology. 

“I hope that today will usher in a reconsideration of the possibility of next generation broadband deployment in southern West Virginia.  This isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity,” said Rockefeller. “My hope is that this summit will build on our commitment to further prosperity in southern West Virginia and lay the seeds for partnerships that could come to shape the technological future and the economic framework of the region and the entire state.”

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