Investigation Begins Into West Virginia's Broadband Incompetence Overpriced Routers, Overpaid Consultants, Verizon's Fingerprints West Virginia is one of the worst connected states in the nation, something that was supposed to be helped by a $126.3-million federal stimulus grant intended to improve state broadband. Instead, as a series of excellent reports in the Charleston Gazette have illustrated this year, state leaders doled out most of that money to Verizon, who convinced the (either corrupt or totally incompetent) state officials to spend it on ridiculously overpriced, overpowered and unused routers, and ridiculously overpaid consultants who haven't actually accomplished anything. Now the Gazette notes that The West Virginia Legislative Auditor is at least investigating the ridiculous spending on routers ($22,000 each), trying to figure out who recommended them (Verizon) and why state leaders signed off on it: West Virginia State Police, for instance, can't use 70 routers assigned to detachments because the devices aren't compatible with the agency's voicemail system. Also, more than 160 libraries have declined to hook up the routers to a new high-speed fiber-optic network because the state Library Commission can't afford to pay for faster Internet service. An additional 175 routers remain boxed up in storage - more than two years after they were purchased. It's particularly unfortunate given the fact that the funds really could have helped a state that drastically needs broadband infrastructure improvement. It's also rather disgusting that Verizon's playing a starring role in all of this, given that a large portion of the state's broadband woes can be attributed to the telco, who for the last decade neglected state infrastructure before ultimately unloading it to Frontier Communications. Now they're providing the kind of "help" the under-connected state residents could probably do without.
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 | | Just take 2 routers and call me in the morning You don't just buy a bunch of expensive equipment and then sprinkle pixie dust. You need competent technical staff at every level that understands the specific problem to be solved and the best option for solving it. Were there technical liaisons on West Virgina's side that could interface between the government and Verizon? Were there IT staff further down that could communicate with these liaisons to say that the equipment being ordered is inappropriate? Perhaps too many IT staff were shown the door and WV is the victim of over outsourcing? Unfortunately you can't always trust your outside contractors. | |
| |  bbeesleyVIP
join:2003-08-07
Richardson, TX
kudos:5 | Exemplifying Government West Virginia is a shining example of why we don't want the Government at the helm of broadband expansion.
That there was incompetence, corruption and a feckless outcome could have been historically predicted | |
|  |  jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Re: Exemplifying Government said by bbeesley:West Virginia is a shining example of why we don't want the Government at the helm of broadband expansion.
That there was incompetence, corruption and a feckless outcome could have been historically predicted
Exactly right -- and the problem with these federal grants is that they come with expiration dates, so agencies just hurry up and spend the money so they don't lose it, without taking time to properly manage the project. | |
| | | sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 Reviews:
 ·T-Mobile US
| Re: Exemplifying Government said by jester121:said by bbeesley:West Virginia is a shining example of why we don't want the Government at the helm of broadband expansion.
That there was incompetence, corruption and a feckless outcome could have been historically predicted
Exactly right -- and the problem with these federal grants is that they come with expiration dates, so agencies just hurry up and spend the money so they don't lose it, without taking time to properly manage the project. Maryland has made the most of their federal grant, and quite a few of the counties are within a year or two of bringing the fiber rings online. | |
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| | | Because a really stupid, republican/ conservative/ evangelical red state cannot manage broadband does not mean others cannot. Vermont is rolling out a fiber network through the middle of the state, paid sovernet communications to handle it, and it seems to be coming along great. 'Course, home users will not get direct connections to the fiber, but it will allow for private business to easily expand services (fairpoint even recently gave us a free upgrade up a tier) | |
| | | bbeesleyVIP
join:2003-08-07
Richardson, TX
kudos:5 | Re: Exemplifying Government said by shrraga:Because a really stupid, republican/ conservative/ evangelical red state cannot manage broadband
<sarcasm>
wow! thanks for identifying the crux of the issue that Republicans, conservatives and evangelicals don't have the good sense to effectively get broadband to the masses.
I guess we should just let Democrats, liberals and atheists manage broadband policy and everything will magically clear up?
</sarcasm>
Governments will always be fraught with corruptive and disruptive influence as long as regulators have an accountability to please those who got them elected and this is universal across all ideologies. | |
| | | | | | Re: Exemplifying Government Blue... you forgot, blue | |
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| | Investigation is throwing good $ after bad The West Virginia Legislative Auditor wants to know who signed off on the state's decision to buy $24 million in Internet routers with federal stimulus funds and how the purchase benefited taxpayers.
Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred has given Homeland Security director Jimmy Gianato until Dec. 21 to answer 16 questions and nine informational requests about the state's use of a $126.3-million federal stimulus grant designed to expand high-speed Internet in West Virginia.
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At Tuesday's meeting, state lawmakers also questioned whether the state would finish the broadband expansion project by the federal government's Jan. 31 deadline. The state has to complete the project by then, or risk losing any unspent funds.
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Williams also asked why the state was spending $50 million -- $20 million more than budgeted -- of the stimulus grant to upgrade a wireless tower network used for emergency communications.
I'm not holding my breath for an audit about how effective stimulus the rest of the $800+ billion in stimulus $ was spent. | |
| |  LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5 | Re: Investigation is throwing good $ after bad said by hoyleysox:I'm not holding my breath for an audit about how effective stimulus the rest of the $800+ billion in stimulus $ was spent.
The broadband stimulus pgm was never meant to improve broadband. It was meant to goose the economy and also act as political payoffs by sprinkling money around to friends of pols. | |
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| | need higher paid people You all forgot to mention that we need to offer million dollar salaries so that we attract the best qualified people possible. At least that what government and big corporations say to qualify their huge huge salaries. | |
| | | Sadly The biggest and most organized crime syndicate in the US is Government, from town hall, all the way to Washington. Unfortunately for us taxpayers, there is no one to investigate and prosecute them.
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Isn't it sad that those that raise their right hand and swear "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America" are usually the ones most likely to trash it. | |
| | | | Re: Sadly said by meeeeeeeeee:The biggest and most organized crime syndicate in the US is Government, from town hall, all the way to Washington. Unfortunately for us taxpayers, there is no one to investigate and prosecute them.
You know it!!
I sure wish some on out there would investigate every single member of every single official office and see how many we can bust! I know that's impossible, but even if we just investigated the officials in Washington, I bet we could get rid of over half of them, and that's being VERY lenient!
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The Firefox alternative.
»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/ | |
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 VanPremium
join:2009-07-08
New Orleans, LA | I just don't understand why we don't just ditch any and all regulations and let Verizon and AT&T do whatever they want, whenever they want, and however they want.
Then, the consumer wins! | |
|  linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State
 ·CenturyLink
| Nothing new or exciting Verizon has played the lobby and dump game all over America as did Cox, AT&T, and the others.
There are no laws or punitive damages for any rogue company. The big bully companies that buy what they want and charge what they please should have city mandated leash laws.
The is why there is NO competition anywhere in America except perhaps in the 5 Alpha cities.
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Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside | |
| | | might as well go 2 for 2 +1 for North Carolina | |
| | | | Re: might as well go 2 for 2 What? | |
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sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 Reviews:
·T-Mobile US
| Overpriced Not Overpowered From looking at the images, the routers are either Cisco 3925s, 3945s, or 3945E's. That means that they can handle between 1 and 10 gigs of traffic apiece, not really "overkill" these days, especially for broadband heavy installations like hospitals, libraries, and schools. Gross mismanagement of a the project though, clearly. | |
| |  tubbynetreminds me of the danse russePremium,MVM
join:2008-01-16
Chandler, AZ
kudos:1 | Re: Overpriced Not Overpowered said by sk1939:From looking at the images, the routers are either Cisco 3925s, 3945s, or 3945E's. That means that they can handle between 1 and 10 gigs of traffic apiece
please. no more than a couple hundred megs on the 3945e with no services.
q.
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"...if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself..." | |
| | | sk1939Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9 Reviews:
·T-Mobile US
| Re: Overpriced Not Overpowered said by tubbynet:said by sk1939:From looking at the images, the routers are either Cisco 3925s, 3945s, or 3945E's. That means that they can handle between 1 and 10 gigs of traffic apiece
please. no more than a couple hundred megs on the 3945e with no services. q. True, in practice, although the router performance table says otherwise. I do know a number of companies that have put them in for gigabit connections, strictly routing though. | |
| | | | tubbynetreminds me of the danse russePremium,MVM
join:2008-01-16
Chandler, AZ
kudos:1 | Re: Overpriced Not Overpowered said by sk1939:True, in practice, although the router performance table says otherwise. I do know a number of companies that have put them in for gigabit connections, strictly routing though.
routerperformance.pdf uses 64-byte packets to determine throughput. the important number is taking pps and multiply by (ideally) 1500bytes or (realistically) the standard imix rule of ((1500+64)/2).
the companies that put them in may have gigabit 'handoffs' -- but the router in no way will push 1gbe of traffic. isr-g2 are software driven platforms -- so *anything* on the router will have to be cpu-driven.
for 1gbe applications -- you'll need to jump to an asr1000-series, an old 7206vxr/npe-g2, or some hardware-based routing platforms (i.e. multilayer switch).
q.
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"...if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself..." | |
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elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA | Just another example Of why the government should let people keep their hard-earned money, and choose for themselves how to spend it, rather than meddling in the marketplace playing Santa Claus. | |
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