By JIM McCONVILLE
The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Berkeley County Economic Development Authority is interested in getting its hands on a software program that identifies broadband penetration in a specific geographic area — a tool large technology companies now use to decide whether to set up shop in a particular geographic region, BCEDA officials said.
“There is piece of software that could give us great information in regards to where broadband currently exists and where it is lacking,” said Sandy Hamilton, director of the BCEDA’s board of directors meeting Wednesday.
According to BCEDA board member Hunter Wilson, the software — called “fiber locator” with an estimated $3,600 price tag –is used by large technology development firms in determining whether to build physical plant in a specific area.
Wilson said the software was employed by large industrial firms in their decision to see up shop in Loudoun County, Virginia over the border from West Virginia roughly 15 years ago.
“If you look at Loudoun County (Virginia) in 2002-04, they rolled out the rug for these large data centers where they can send (broadband) signals and repeat them — Amazon, Microsoft — all the large companies,” Wilson said. “They built data centers that can send a signal between here and whatever,” Wilson added. “The faster they can send a signal, the faster Amazon can fill and order.”
According to Wilson, the software could provide the BCEDA a footprint of where broadband is — and isn’t — in Berkeley County.
“These companies are jumping over West Virginia and going to Ohio, because West Virginia doesn’t have much in the way of broadband,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of jobs here, but I think if we can build more toward upper scale technical, so we can take a lot of pressure off of our natural resources, our water and everything else. The only thing that is hurting us right now is a lack of (broadband) fiber.”
Wilson said technology companies use the program called “fiber locator” to assess a geographic area’s broadband penetration.
“They all use this program called fiber locator to determine where they want to be,” Wilson said. “I think it is something that we should explore. Everybody’s done a great job getting jobs in here (Berkeley County). Maybe we should start looking for something that will provide a little high income and draws a little less on natural resources.”
Hamilton said a new initiative by the West Virginia Economic Development Council in Charleston is researching the software package which it would then provide to local economic development authorities around the state.
“They’re looking into providing that software to all of us,” Hamilton said. “They would bear the expense of it. I’m just waiting to get an answer if they go in that direction.”
See more from The Journal
