WASHINGTON, June 24, 2003—A new partnership formed by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) with the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Carnegie Mellon University will soon be bringing wireless broadband applications to rural Appalachian communities. Glenville, West Virginia, is the first site to receive broadband service, to be followed by another site in southwest Pennsylvania. ARC and the Benedum Foundation are providing funding for the project; Carnegie Mellon is providing technical training and support through its Center for Appalachian Network Access. Glenville State College will facilitate equipment installation.

ARC Federal Co-Chair Anne B. Pope affirmed the importance of this new initiative: "This partnership shows regional cooperation at its best as universities and foundations and agencies such as ARC work together to address the development needs of the Region. I applaud the Benedum Foundation and Carnegie Mellon University for joining us to help provide access to high-speed broadband for enterprises in rural Appalachia. This access is critical to their remaining competitive in a national and global economy that is increasingly using the Internet to do business."

ARC's support for the partnership is part of its Information Age Appalachia telecommunications and information technology program, created to promote the development of telecommunications in Appalachia, with a special focus on helping the Region's distressed counties.

While much of the United States has been reaping the economic benefits of the Information Age, rural and small-town areas in Appalachia have too often been left behind. For a variety of reasons, these areas substantially lack adequate access to a robust telecommunications infrastructure. This, in turn, exacerbates the Region's geographic isolation and serves as a barrier to the economic, educational, medical, and other benefits that other regions have enjoyed for years.

The focus of Information Age Appalachia is not only on access to infrastructure, but also, and more importantly, on applications that use that access. Instead of simply promoting technology by itself, the program seeks to stimulate economic growth and improve the standard of living in the Region through technology-related avenues.