Embarq proposes high speed internet service for Flint Hill and Huntly–but says county would have to invest half the high cost
By James P. Gannon
Embarq, the telephone company for about half of Rappahannock County, has proposed a plan to bring high speed internet service to the Flint Hill and Huntly areas, but it would require the county to share the $311,700 cost of upgrading Embarq’s equipment.
In a May 9 letter to County Administrator John McCarthy, Embarq official James Payne responded to a request from the county asking if the phone company could bring high speed internet service to more homes and business in its service area in the northern part of the county.
Payne’s letter said Embarq is “in favor” of extending high speed internet service to the Flint Hill and Huntly areas, but its study of the economics of the idea showed that “this expansion is extremely expensive,” and that the number of customers to be gained was limited. Therefore, Embarq is not willing to fully fund the capital equipment costs itself, but it proposed a 50-50 cost sharing “partnership” with Rappahannock County.
Embarq is willing to put up half of the $311,700 it says is required to upgrade its local facilities to provide DSL internet service in the Flint Hill/Huntly areas, but the county would have to invest the other 50%, or more than $155,000 in taxpayer funds.
McCarthy said Wednesday that he will present the Embarq proposal to the Board of Supervisors at its meeting next Monday, but he is not recommending its acceptance. “It’s a valid offer, but it’s hugely expensive for a relatively minisule expansion of broadband in the county,” he said. The plan probably would not provide high speed service to more than 200 homes, he estimated.
McCarthy contrasted the Embarq proposal to a broader plan being discussed with Virginia Broadband, under which that company proposes to build seven transmitters to beam wireless broadband service to most areas of the county. Virginia Broadband proposes that the county provide a five-year, interest-free loan of about $450,000 to pay for initial costs of the system, with the county investment being fully paid back over five years from revenues generated by subscribers.
In the Embarq plan, “we pay for half and we never get it back,” McCarthy remarked, whereas the Virginia Broadband proposal would require a larger total of county funds, but would be fully paid back and would extend the internet service to a far larger number of county households.
The county administrator intends to brief the supervisors on the progress of negotiations with Virginia Broadband with a view toward bringing a proposed deal to the July meeting of the Board of Supervisors.
-- James P. Gannon
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