House Speaker Tim Miley today applauded bold steps by the city of Bridgeport to become “Gigcity, WV” by providing its residents with a huge boost in Internet speed, and urged other West Virginia communities to consider a similar approach. The City of Bridgeport this afternoon announced a pilot program which would connect 100 homes to a high speed fiber network, increasing Internet speeds up to 200 times faster than a typical broadband connection. “This proposed pilot project carries tremendous potential to attract businesses and residents to Bridgeport,” Speaker Miley said. “High quality, affordable Internet access is vital to both our economic progress and our quality of life.” Bridgeport-based company Citynet has agreed to maintain the network at no cost to the city. Bridgeport City Council, which must approve a $100,000 investment for material and equipment, is expected to take up the proposal Monday. “I challenge other cities to embrace this kind of innovative collaboration,” Speaker Miley said. “It’s time to start looking for opportunities that invite us to rise up and meet our challenges in order to create future economic prosperity for the state, rather than looking for excuses as to why we can't be successful and blaming others in the process.” “If we continue to allow ourselves to only be focused on a few, traditional economic sectors as the panacea for economic prosperity in West Virginia, we will never realize our true economic potential,” he added. “The action being taken by the city of Bridgeport is a perfect example of how every community in West Virginia can embrace the future by mixing innovative ideas with technology.”
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