By CHRISTOPHER DOWELL
The State Journal
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In a recent survey among West Virginia’s economic development agencies and chambers of commerce, a conflicting narrative has emerged. It’s between a perceived need for higher speeds with more access to broadband and an uncertainty as to what those current speeds and reach of existing providers already are.
The survey found that:
- 87.8 percent of respondents stated that the percentage of businesses in their county/counties that require internet for daily operations falls between 51 and 100 percent.
- 91.7 percent of respondents stated they believed the percentage of the labor force that works from home full-time in their county/counties falls at 10 percent or below.
- 22.4 percent of respondents stated they believe the percentage of the West Virginia labor force that works from and/or operates a business from home falls 5 percent or below.
- When surveying West Virginia residents in February, West Virginia for Broadband found that 14.7 percent of respondents stated they or someone in their house works from or operates a business from home.
- 44.9 percent of respondents reported that they believe 91-100 percent of businesses in their county/counties would see improvement in operations through doubled broadband speeds.
See more from The State Journal
