Finally, someone is using commonsense
by James D. Ogg (published in The Central Virginian)
To the Editor:
The paid political advertisement that appeared in the August 10 issue of The Central Virginian and offered by Duane Adams, candidate for the Louisa County Board of Supervisors' Mineral District seat, is like a breath of duly needed fresh air for the county!
After all of the hooey surrounding our county's erstwhile broadband authority and their ill-developed plan for a $1.1 million waste of taxpayer's funds for a broadband initiative by installing 10 towers around the county, there is finally one person who has stepped up and said there is a better way.
Mr. Adams seems to have done a lot more research than has this committee, which has hired a consulting firm, only to have the FAA say that the tower at the high school is too tall due to its proximity to the airport! Then we heard of some bad estimates of construction costs per tower. Instead of $100,000 per tower, some are coming in closer to $200,000. Does this sound like folks who know anything about what they are doing?
To make matter worse, as Mr. Adams notes, they seem to be planning a line-of-sight technology distribution plan similar to a cellular network. That's what we currently have today with various companies, and believe me they are awful. As soon as the business day begins, their speeds drop off and they slow down drastically. That is not what we define as a robust network.
Mr. Adams has hit the nail on the head, i.e., fiber-based delivery networks, whose scalability is robust enough and can be almost infinite, given the advancement in electronics and laser technology.
Partnering with other carriers such as Central Virginia Electric and Rappahannock Electric Co-ops makes all the sense in the world. The county could cooperate in many ways to let a rollout of service proceed. Forming alliances with adjoining counties can oly enhance the scope and overall business legitimacy of this enterprise.
I have to tip my hat to Mr. Adams for his foresight, research and outlook for truly high speed internet access for Louisa County!
