Matching local funds will bring high-speed service to hundreds
Greg Larry Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY — Garrett County’s continued effort to expand broadband services received a boost Friday when the Appalachian Regional Commission announced that it is awarding a $250,000 grant to assist the project.
Officials say the funding will allow high-speed broadband services to be accessed by about 800 additional homes in southern Garrett County.
“Today we are here to provide the county $250,000,” said Earl Gohl, federal co-chair of the ARC.
“Having an opportunity to make an investment like this really makes a difference in rural communities. It’s so important. It’s why the ARC was established,” said Gohl.
The method to be used to deliver the high-speed service is a newly developed wireless system that accesses unused frequencies on the television spectrum.
“Today’s ceremony takes from the planning stage to the doing stage. That’s great news,” said Jim Raley, county commissioner.
Numerous officials attended the event, including state Sen. George Edwards, County Commissioner Gregan Crawford and U.S. Rep. John Delaney of the 6th Congressional District.
“Let’s face it, access to high-speed communication is an absolute in the world today. We applaud the grant. It’s done in a smart way,” said Delaney.
Delaney said he enjoyed hearing of the cooperation among the private sector, government and community resources.
“I love the spirit that I hear out here. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that in Washington,” said Delaney.
The grant awarded by the ARC is a matching grant, meaning funds in the same amount must be secured and added to the investment. The county plans to supply the $250,000 matching funds required to bring the total funding package for the project to $500,000.
The homes receiving the new high-speed service will be Crellin, Pleasant Valley and other communities south of Oakland. Residents in that region are currently using dial-up.
Raley said that the goal of the county is to deliver broadband to 90 percent of homes. That requires around 3,000 homes to be brought online. The grant will allow 800 more to have access, leaving 2,200 still needing high-speed service.
Frank Shap, assistant director of economic development for the county explained how the new system works.
“It’s really a radio signal going into the house. The technology is called Television White Space. It’s the unused frequencies on the television spectrum,” said Shap.
“There will be a receiver in the house almost like a modem. A wireless signal will go back to a transmitter mounted on a tower and from there to the internet,” said Shap.
A carrier such as Shentel, Comcast, QCall or Atlantic Broadband will be needed to administer the system.
“We will try to identify one or more carriers that want to work with us to deliver the service,” said Shap.
Crawford said that the more broadband is accessible in the county, the more likely people will buy a home or move their business there.
“We have a lot visitors that come to the county and say ‘If I just had a way to work from here I would do it,’” said Crawford.
The more flexibility we can offer them, the better the chance they will stay, Crawford added.
Greg Larry can be contacted at glarry@times-news.com
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