Roanoke Valley Broadband Initiative

Roanoke (WSLS) - Roanoke's mayor says he is furious after learning some jurisdictions are unsure about the broadband initiative to create a faster internet service for the Roanoke Valley. The City of Roanoke already set aside $2 million for the project. It would create faster internet service in the roanoke valley by building an open access fiber optic cable network. Mayor David Bowers says, "We're not big enough for private investment to succeed and we're not small enough to get tobacco financing so we are in the doughnut the broadband conundrum, the hole of the donut and since the private industry hasn't done and we can't find other money from the state or the federal government to do it then it's up to us." Bowers says he plans to go the city manager to find out how the city can move forward.