West Virginia

The City of Huntington, West Virginia wants better broadband and had been begging the incumbents for years to improve service, with no success. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) granted the City $2.5M in funds to start building a Gig fiber network, and that woke the incumbents from a deep sleep.

Researchers have discovered a massive geothermal hotspot in West Virginia that could be used to generate green electric power. A review of previous data collected from a large number of oil and gas wells found that the temperatures had not been calculated correctly. Areas as hot as 200 degrees Centigrade were identified only five kilometers deep--shallow enough to tap for energy generation.

West Virginia, just a few miles away from Blacksburg, has jumped to first in the nation with respect to intelligent, pro-community thinking about broadband.

The state legislature, unlike more than a dozen other states trying to cripple the ability of communities to promote economic development and to support existing businesses, is saying, "We don't want to do that."

Not only that, the state seems ready to give communities the tools they need to chart their own future. This article [link no longer available] has the details.