Broadband Infrastructure The Backbone of Economic Success
KENT SOWARDS
For some time , and for many , the connotation of terms like educational attainment , workforce and economic development in West Virginia has been negative . Demographic trends have not been favorable . Data and rankings placing West Virginia near the bottom have been cited far too many times to be recounted here . Yet , in 2023 , West Virginia has rebounded from many of the recession-like effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with the addition of jobs and several announcements of significant economic investments . While an improved business climate and considerable efforts on the part of Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Legislature cannot be overlooked , a key component of this success comes from significant inroads into an improved broadband internet infrastructure .
Broadband internet , and more recently , funding for improving access to those services , has captured a significant amount of state and national attention . The funding available to West Virginia under the Broadband Enhancement , Access and Deployment ( BEAD ) program , as an example , represents a generational opportunity and will help every sector of the economy and every citizen in the state bridge the digital divide .
The concept of a digital divide is not new ; in fact , it has been part of the research and academic lexicon for approximately three decades . Other work came before , but in 1995 the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ( NTIA ) published , “ Falling Through the Net : A Survey of the ‘ Have Nots ’ in Rural and Urban America .” This research helped train the focus on extensive disparities relating to internet access , particularly for minority groups and older , less-affluent rural populations with lower educational attainment .
For many years subsequent , however , broadband internet was still thought of as a luxury good . Along with seismic shifts in every aspect of daily life , the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped views of broadband into that of a necessary utility . Heading out of the pandemic focused on a lasting recovery , broadband now features as an essential component of efforts to equitably improve outcomes in economic development , education and civic participation .
Despite the immense funding levels for broadband infrastructure deployed in West Virginia and around the country — with the significant wage impacts to labor , businesses and households from its deployment notwithstanding — the value from fiber and other infrastructure for high-speed internet is small . The true value comes from both access to and , more importantly , what people and firms are enabled to do with secure , reliable and affordable internet connections .
A comparison of potential versus kinetic energy helps to illustrate the difference . Energy stored up in an object , like a ball sitting atop a steep slope , has potential . Broadband infrastructure acts as the slope , while robust networks and reliable access to them represent that potential energy . When the ball begins to move down that slope , the motion transforms into kinetic energy . E-learning , remote work , telehealth and digital engagement represent a few of those transformative activities .
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