BVU Is Recognized For Expansion Of Fiber-Optic Infrastructure

By David McGee
Staff Writer / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: September 11, 2008

BRISTOL, Va. – The city utilities provider received state recognition this week for its efforts to expand OptiNet broadband service to nearby rural counties.

Bristol Virginia Utilities received the Governor’s Technology Award for its collaboration with the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission to provide high-speed Internet and telephone service to businesses in Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell counties.

The project won in the cross-boundary collaboration category, which seeks information technology partnerships that share data across boundaries, promote solutions, support common business processes and encourage innovative partnerships, according to a news release.

The award was presented Monday during a conference in Williamsburg, Va.

During the past five years, the two agencies have combined efforts to extend high-speed Internet and telephone service into remote parts of the region, BVU President Wes Rosenbalm said.

“We appreciate the recognition, but what we did was set out to improve the quality of life in those areas,” he said.

The extension beyond BVU’s traditional service areas of the city and Washington County, Va., was paid for with $7.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

The partnership is credited with helping attract more than 600 jobs to two new Russell County facilities operated by CGI Inc. and Northrop-Grumman Corp.

“Never has a project been as valuable to our four-county area,” Andrew Chafin, chief executive officer of the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission, said in the news release. “Our journey from technological isolation to worldwide connectivity has opened new highways for industry and commerce throughout our region.”

While the two information technology firms have garnered the most attention, the service has provided other benefits, Rosenbalm said.

“Those two [firms] were the big splash, but we have helped a lot of other businesses be more competitive,” Rosenbalm said. “Yes, this is about economic development and attracting new businesses, but it’s also helping existing businesses be better.”

Both Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama – during a Tuesday speech in Lebanon – and former Gov. Mark Warner – during his nationally televised speech at the Democratic Convention – praised the broadband services now available in the region.

“We’re a non-political entity, but we’re grateful when anyone recognizes the work we’ve done,” Rosenbalm said.

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