Broadband Roundtable's task: Complete the last mile

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
August 2007

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is worried about bridging the gap between "haves" and "have nots." In this case, he's not talking about money or education. Rather, he's concerned because some Virginia companies in rural areas don't have easy access to low-cost, high-speed Internet service. "Those companies that don't have access are at a definite competitive disadvan-tage, especially in an increasingly global economy," says Aneesh Chopra, Virginia's secretary of technology.

To bridge the gap, Kaine recently formed a Broadband Roundtable. It will develop a "last mile" telecommunications blueprint for meeting his goal of supplying every Virginia business with access to low-cost broadband by 2010.

Former Gov. Mark Warner and Chopra will co-chair the roundtable, but other notable Internet and technology experts will be on the panel, including Ted Rappaport, considered the godfather of wireless technology.

Chopra says Virginia has invested an estimated $300 million in broadband infrastructure and technology since 1998, thanks to money provided by the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the federal government. Projects have included the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative fiber optic backbone, which provides high-speed Internet access to last-mile service providers for 700,000 residents and 19,000 businesses in Southside Virginia.

The roundtable's agenda will be an extension of that work, says Chopra, and reach into every area of the state.