Hardy Telecommunications, along with representatives of the Hampshire County Commission and the Hampshire County Committee on Aging (HCCoA), held a kick-off event Friday, September 9, to celebrate the launch of public Internet access at a county senior center.
Hardy Telecommunications has installed its OneNet fiber Internet service for free public access at the Capon Valley View Hampshire County Committee on Aging Adult Activity Center at 6487 Christian Church Road. The service was turned up on September 1, but a formal event to announce the launch was held September 9.
The celebration coincided with the center’s usual lunch service to area residents. Hardy Telecommunications Assistant General Manager Derek Barr presented a donation to HCCoA Chairperson Melinda Chambers to cover the cost of all meals served for the day.
“We’re excited to be in this community, and we are making this donation as a way of saying thank you for having us,” Derek said.
Keith McIntosh, regional coordinator for West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, read a statement from the senator praising the HCCoA for its service to the community. He also stressed the importance of broadband in today’s society and applauded the efforts of Hardy Telecommunications and the Hampshire County Commission to extend broadband service to more West Virginians.
The public Internet access at the center was completed as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service Community Connect project. The public Internet access is made possible through a partnership between Hardy Telecommunications, the Hampshire County Commission, and the HCCoA.
The service has a speed of 300 Mbps download and 150 Mbps upload. The center has an office with two computers and a shared printer for public use. Customers also can bring their own laptop computer or other device to connect to the Internet wirelessly.
Hours of operation for the office inside the building will be announced at a later date; in the interim, residents can check at the center to see if the inside office is available. Citizens are asked to enter at the back right of the building.
Public Wi-Fi access is now available 24/7 in the facility’s parking lot. Derek said the level of service experienced via Wi-Fi depends on a number of factors, including the device being used and network traffic, but testing showed speeds approaching 300 Mbps download on newer devices on Wi-Fi.
Construction on Hardy’s Community Connect project is continuing. Special considerations were made to open the community center for public use as soon as possible, but other individual locations along W.Va. 259 outside Wardensville to Christian Church Road toward Capon Bridge will be open in the coming weeks and months.
“Our Community Connect project involves offering service to about 600 locations, stretching from the Hardy-Hampshire County line along W.Va. 259 through the Yellow Spring and High View areas, then along Christian Church Road to near Capon Bridge,” Derek said. He said Hardy Tel already offers service in the town of Capon Bridge through a previous Hampshire County project.
“The Hampshire County Commission and other county representatives have been very active in offering funding and other resources to bring broadband to their constituents,” Derek said. “We’re happy to work with them to expand faster Internet speeds in our communities.”