Community Fiber in Virginia Offers Wi-Fi to Festival Folks

Bristol, Virginia, holds a unique place in the heart of community broadband advocates because it was the first muni broadband network to provide triple-play services over a full fiber-optic network (OptiNet). It is well known among NASCAR aficionados for the Bristol Motor Speedway as well. What I didn't know, prior to my visit to Bristol this week, is that it is also home to a music festival celebrating the community's important contributions to country music. The second page of the Fall Newsletter from Bristol Virginia Utilities [pdf] discusses how BVU's OptiNet has built a Wi-Fi network downtown to offer free connectivity to festival-goers. But it doesn't end there - they also provided laptops and HDTV to those who wanted to hang out. From the newsletter:

At the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival, BVU set up the “BVU Pavilion,” a temporary technology hotspot. The pavilion offered free WiFi Internet, public laptops, as well as high-definition televisions and seating to festival guests throughout the entire weekend. In addition to the BVU Pavilion, housed in downtown Bristol VA, BVU also installed equipment to provide WiFi Internet access throughout the twin city’s downtown areas. The access was a huge plus for users of mobile devices such as smart phones. Users could download festival applications like artist schedules, stage maps and more. “As our second year providing this service, we knew people would be looking for us again. This is simply a gift to our city,” explains Gail Childress of BVU. “We are avid supporters of making our community a great place to live and visit. This complimentary service is just one way that we can say ‘Welcome’ to our visitors and ‘Thank you’ to our full-time residents.” “BVU has been great to work with,” says Leah Ross, Executive Director for Rhythm & Roots. “This allows our fans to check their email, log onto Facebook or Twitter, blog about the festival or just surf the Internet. It’s really a win-win for everyone.” Rhythm & Roots guests who prefer to use their own laptops or devices found available space within the pavilion to sit and log on. If guests came without a computer, laptops were available for use within the facility. BVU personnel staffed the facility all weekend to answer questions and keep things running smoothly. BVU is proud to step up for this community ensuring that both locals and visitors receive the best service for the second year running.

Because BVU has wired the whole community with fiber-optics, offering Wi-Fi is much easier. A significant difficulty in blanketing areas with Wi-Fi is the backhaul that takes the wireless traffic back to the central office and then out to the greater Internet. With fiber everywhere, the backhaul problem is solved.