Pittsylvania County to gain more Internet access

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced two grants Monday totaling more than $21 million that would expand broadband access in Southside — including Pittsylvania County.

Of the two infrastructure grants, one will provide $16 million in stimulus funding to the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative for 465 miles of new fiber that will directly connect 121 regional schools to an existing network, according to the Department of Commerce. MBC President and CEO Tad Deriso said that would include Pittsylvania County.

“County schools have a very good network today,” Deriso said. “Eventually as those bandwidth needs increase, you will run into a limit as to what wireless can do … (This is) an infrastructure investment that’s going to be a long term benefit for all the schools in the county.”

Danville is already fully connected on a fiber optic network, Deriso said.

Rickey Parker, assistant superintendent for information technology for Pittsylvania County Schools, said that although the schools already had a fiber network, the infrastructure expansion would benefit the surrounding community’s connection to the school division.

“What it’s gonna do is provide more options and … allow us to hopefully help the underserved areas of the county,” Parker said. “Hopefully this project is going to help to raise the penetration of broadband into the whole region and it’s going to help everybody.”

Pittsylvania County Schools recently implemented a “Parent Portal” on its Web site for parents to access their students’ academic information and communicate with teachers. But a tool like that is not helpful — for parents or teachers — without Internet access at home, Parker said.

“We have a robust infrastructure,” he said. “…This is not gonna really affect how we do business, but it has the potential to affect how we relate to the community. Many areas it’s just underserved, but if there’s a piece of fiber going out there — that benefits us because it helps the community connect into the schools.”

According to a news release from the MBC, the Virginia Tobacco Commission provided $4 million in matching funds and the project will bring an estimated 75 new jobs to the region. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, along with Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, and White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra made the announcement Monday in Washington.

“This is a huge boost for Southside Virginia, benefiting our kids’ educational success in the short term and building our region’s long-term competitive advantage for the 21st Century,” Perriello said in a statement. “I’m thrilled these stimulus funds will expand Internet access for consumers in our small towns and rural communities, giving our workforce the competitive edge they deserve.”