Where to?

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: September 8, 2008

Why would anyone surf the Internet with a dial-up connection?

Danville’s broadband survey found that most of the residential customers still on pokey old dial-up connections did so because they didn’t have any better choices.

The connected network of computers we call the Internet has been around for several decades, but only in the past dozen years have most Americans gone online. But how they get online has a great deal to do with where they live.

That’s why the city’s nDanville network holds out so much promise. Danville proposes to build a fast, fiber optic connection throughout its electric power service area and then allow companies like Gamewood to sell services on that “open network.”

Danville would be the wholesaler and the Internet service providers, telephone companies and cable TV companies would be the retailers.

One of the first steps was taking the pulse of residential and business customers, something nDanville has just completed. The city received 285 completed residential surveys and 65 from businesses. Jason Grey, the city’s broadband network manager, said the number of residential surveys was “more than we expected.”

“They want more options,” Grey said of local residential customers. “They want more places to pick for their Internet and telephone.”

To do that, Grey will need to help solve the chicken-and-egg problem of broadband access. Companies won’t come into an area without customers, but without established service, potential customers either make due with what’s available or they never develop an interest in getting the service.

The next step for nDanville will be a pilot project in one area, such as West Main Street near Averett University’s main campus, the Westmoreland neighborhood (where the city has done a lot of rehabilitation work) or some other area where there might be a high “take rate”

“We’ll go where the community needs us and the service providers think they can make the most money,” Grey said of nDanville’s initial residential installations.

Already, nDanville has linked the city’s schools, government buildings and approximately 40 local businesses.

With up to 30 years of capacity in the system, the only question is where this system will go next.