Greenbrier Broadband Council ponders dark fiber

Jul. 8—To the uninitiated, "dark fiber" may sound like something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

In truth, it is fiberoptic cable which has been laid in the ground but isn't being used — sort of nascent connectivity. It's infrastructure that's not yet "lit" or put into use by a service provider.

And it's a resource that Greenbrier County has in plentiful supply but will likely never be able to use.

The Suddenlink communications company installed the fiber using federal funds at every school in Greenbrier County but never was called upon to activate it. Now that county and state officials are applying a full-court press to correct West Virginia's generally abysmal broadband outlook, the potential of dark fiber is getting a second look.

Greenbrier County is moving forward on several levels to secure cost-effective, reliable broadband service for residents and businesses. To that end, a countywide Broadband Council was formed and has been collecting data from online surveys designed to measure connectivity and internet speeds. That database eventually will be used to support applications for grant funding to pay for broadband projects like the one already underway in Quinwood.

At a Wednesday meeting of the Greenbrier Broadband Council, the agenda called for a discussion of Suddenlink's dark fiber and how to capitalize on it for expansion of the county's internet availability.

"How can we fit that into county planning efforts?" asked Sen. Stephen Baldwin (D-District 10), who chairs the Council.

Greenbrier County Commission President Lowell Rose immediately threw cold water on expectations of cooperation with Suddenlink, which still owns the fiber.

"They do not want that last mile connected," Rose said, noting Suddenlink's existing television and telephone lines run along the road that passes directly in front of his home, but the company refuses to hook up service to his house.

He added that Frontier, another communications company serving the county, is likewise uninterested in connecting new customers.

"Those two have taken the money and run, in my opinion," Rose said.

Vicky Cline, director of technology for Greenbrier County Schools and a member of the Broadband Council, said the school system's substantial contract with Suddenlink expires next year, opening the door to negotiations. She said access to the dark fiber might be a point in those negotiations, if the Council considers that fiber to be important to the county's broadband expansion plans.

Remaining skeptical, Rose said he nonetheless would ask the consultants who are helping the Commission with its broadband strategy to research and then weigh in on the dark fiber issue.

Engineer Craig Murphy, who is working with the county on its broadband projects and plans, said he agreed with Rose's position on Suddenlink and Frontier.

"The Frontiers and Suddenlinks of the world aren't willing to come to the table," Murphy said. "They really don't like others playing in their sandbox."

Baldwin chimed in, "That's why we need open access."

From the time when the Broadband Council was just a subcommittee of a Covid-19 Task Force he also chairs, Baldwin has touted the need to include multiple broadband providers in planning for the county's future. Having more than one or two internet service providers — open access — places more power in the hands of customers, wresting away some of the control over rates and quality of service from large corporations.

Region 4 Planning and Development Council, which is also involved with both the County Commission's projects and the Broadband Council, is continuing in talks with a pair of smaller West Virginia internet providers — GigaBeam and Citynet — that are interested in possible expansion into Greenbrier County.

GigaBeam is looking to move into Greenbrier from its southern toehold in Monroe County, while Citynet has a presence north of Greenbrier in Pocahontas County. Both companies aspire to eventually establish a presence in Raleigh County by working their way down I-64 from Greenbrier, according to John Tuggle, Region 4's executive director.

When it comes to competing for broadband expansion grant funding, Tuggle painted a rosy picture for Greenbrier's prospects.

"Greenbrier County and Pocahontas County are ahead of the game," he told the Broadband Council.

Tuggle said having regular planning meetings like the one on Wednesday, which was conducted via Zoom, means all involved will be prepared to move quickly when applications open for various "buckets" of federal or state funding. But there's plenty of work yet to do to, particularly in mining the data needed to correct inaccurate federal broadband mapping, he cautioned.

"Maps are still showing a lot of areas (in Greenbrier County) are served, and we know they're not," Tuggle said.

— Email: talvey@register-herald.com