Researchers work to improve Internet access in rural towns

Many isolated Appalachian communities could put high-speed wireless Internet access to good use, connecting students to educational resources not available at their local library and introducing small businesses to a wider pool of potential customers.

But private companies, such as phone and cable providers, don’t see a financial incentive to establish wireless broadband networks in places like Perryopolis or Glenville, W.Va., information technology analysts say. The population in the rural sections of Appalachia is too sparse and the topography is too rugged.

So Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Appalachian Network Access, with the help of $250,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Benedum Foundation, plans to set up two wireless broadband networks in isolated communities — the first in Glenville, W.Va., the small, 2,000-resident seat of Gilmer County.

"Wireless Internet means that geographic isolation can no longer keep rural communities from conducting commerce with the greater world," said Bruce Maggs, an associate professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and a co-founder of the center.

A few places in this town about 160 miles south of Pittsburgh and 85 miles north of Charleston, W.Va., such as Glenville State College and the library, have broadband access, which allows the Internet user to transmit large amounts of data and images faster.

But the rest of the community, including households and small businesses, has no choice but to use dated and costly dial-up service that’s hundreds of times slower than broadband access.

"Many people don’t realize that dial-up in rural areas is not as good as in urban and suburban areas," said Mike Hernon, the founder of the Hemingway Group and a consultant for the Appalachian Regional Commission. "The phone lines work for telephone calls, but they’re often too dirty for dial-up access."

Investment banker John Whitehill, a co-founder of the Center for Appalachian Network Access, said he thinks the project could have a dramatic effect on education and business in Glenville and the site of the second network, which will likely be in Fayette County.

If students want to study an obscure subject or there aren’t enough students in one high school to justify hiring additional teachers, administrators could use the wireless broadband networks to connect students and teachers in schools miles away from one another, Whitehill said.

"Why do I need 12 French teachers? I could use four French teachers and a bunch of assistants and save the district real money," Whitehill said.

The new network could save small business owners time when they try to buy supplies or sell their goods and services online, Maggs said. It should also encourage web-masters to create more complex Web sites — something that was more difficult to do with dial-up services.

Subscribers should have access to the network by the end of the year, Maggs said. Subscriptions could be as low as $20 a month.

"It’s like we’re giving them electricity and we’re turning the lights on," Whitehill said. "Life is fine in Glenville, but we could open up a whole new world for them."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-09-12-digital-divide_x.htm