MORGANTOWN — The goal is pretty straightforward — adequate broadband access for every resident of Monongalia County.
Now, how do you make it happen?
That question will be central to a request for proposals approved by the Monongalia County Commission on Wednesday.
The commission is looking to hire a consulting firm to work with the multi-agency Monongalia County Broadband Initiative to form a comprehensive, county-wide broadband plan.
Commission President Sean Sikora said the RFP (Request for Proposal), like the question of the county’s broadband access, is complex.
“What works in Morgantown doesn’t work in the western end. What works here in Morgantown doesn’t work on the eastern end,” Sikora said. “Like I’ve said before, nothing is more frustrating than, in the western end, not having any service and in the eastern end, you’re told you have service but you don’t, or the service just isn’t adequate.”
Russ Rogerson, president and CEO of the Morgantown Area Partnership, said the past year has made the importance of broadband access abundantly clear.
“Broadband is the water and sewer of today. Nothing has proven that more than the pandemic,” he said. “I’m excited about this getting out and seeing the proposals coming in.”
Sikora said dense forestation coupled with challenging topography make for extremely short sight lines. The same rugged beauty that brings people to the state makes it difficult to deliver services.
Thus the need for a plan.
“I want to point out that as a leader in West Virginia, Monongalia County is seeking to implement a system of broadband provision that is top-tier. Our citizens are top-tier and we want to make sure that county-wide, the broadband infrastructure is top-tier.”
The county’s broadband initiative is made up of representatives from the county’s planning, GIS, information technology, and commission offices, as well as the Morgantown Area Partnership, MECCA 911, the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization, the board of education, and the health department.
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