I recently surveyed southern West Virginians through my E-newsletter and this column to get your thoughts on Broadband internet access in our state. My goal was to continue working to provide affordable access for this growing tool that is so important to our jobs, education, safety and security, medical services, even entertainment and recreation by being armed with your voices.  I appreciate everyone who responded and want to use this opportunity to share some of the results and keep you informed of my next action.

For years now, West Virginians have been all too familiar with the “digital divide” and its effects in rural areas versus the country’s large metropolitan centers.

 In fact, upward of sixty-five percent of West Virginians who responded to the survey noted that their access to broadband was not reliable and slower than they would like.  On top of this, the remaining thirty-five percent of respondents said they had no access to broadband whatsoever.  To me, this is unacceptable. 

As the world becomes more reliant on fast Internet access, businesses that lack it are held back from competing in the global marketplace.

When I asked you what you felt was the most important broadband infrastructure investment we can make here in southern West Virginia forty-five percent of 871 respondents said that they would like to see access increase for more communities. And nearly sixty-four percent of respondents said that broadband service was “very important” to their family’s work.

Your responses are loud and clear-- you want the same kind of access to broadband that other Americans have, you want it to be fast and affordable; and you recognize the potential high-speed access has to improve business, education, and job creation. 

 Broadband if used to its full potential, while being made accessible and remaining affordable, can benefit everyone from government at the federal, state and local levels, to private and non-profit sector businesses, to teachers and classrooms. But we must continue to create partnerships between all of these entities to harness the power e-commerce can bring communities. In order to fully benefit, we must ensure broadband is fully deployed. I remain 100% committed to getting better broadband connectivity and improved access throughout West Virginia. Today, the Recovery Act, which I strongly supported, is investing $126 million in funding broadband accessibility here.

I am also making our broadband providers in our state aware of your concerns. We are at a crossroads with major service providers, with Frontier’s expansion in our region.  I will keep you updated on my efforts and these discussions.  I am also working to find solutions and dollars to invest in better broadband connectivity and improved access throughout West Virginia, and I look forward to working with those private companies and with local governments to find the best solutions to obstacles keeping you and your families from having access to broadband and being able to afford that broadband once it is available.

In the coming months, as I further investigate the next steps we need to take to improve broadband for our state, I will be sharing these findings with other members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation and with you.

If you would like to volunteer your time and talents and resources to this effort, we welcome you.  Please drop mean email at nrahall@mail.house.gov. 

I look forward to hearing from you, and working with you as we move ahead. Sign-up to receive e-newsletters and surveys so you can share your thoughts with me on issues that are important to you on my website athttp://www.rahall.house.gov.

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U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) represents West Virginia’s 3rd District.