As an economically depressed rural area in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Allegany County has always struggled to bridge the digital divide. Our population is in need of Internet skills to compete in today's workforce. Economic development is waning because high-tech/biotech industries have bandwidth needs that our current Telco infrastructure cannot provide at a competitive rate. The proposed project would build upon, and extend, the existing county government network to provide high-speed Internet access to both the public and private sectors in Allegany County. This would create a level playing field for our residents when competing in the job market of the new millennium. The leased microwave equipment is the best, most cost effective means of providing Internet access in our rural area. This network will provide access to the Internet to approximately 85% of the residents and 95% of the businesses and 100% of the government and industrial parks in Allegany County. We are extremely hopeful that this model will be repeated in other communities struggling to gain fast, reliable Internet access.

Working Website