Chamber News

Embarq Expands Availability of DSL in Patrick County, VA

STUART, VA., Jan. 22, 2007 — EMBARQ today announced that High Speed Internet is available in 10 Stuart-area sites included in a public-private broadband partnership between EMBARQ and the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC).

(See today’s The Enterprise, Jan. 23rd. Headline, page 1.) To meet with an Embarq representative and learn more, these dates have been set to serve our local community: Jan. 29 and 30 at Rotary Field (Woodland Drive), Stuart, VA 3pm-8pm Jan. 31 at Patrick Springs Fire Dept., Patrick Springs, VA, 3pm-8pm Postcards were sent to eligible customers, notifying them of community meetings to increase the awareness. EMBARQ Announces Expanded High Speed Internet Availability in Patrick Partnership with MBC Bringing Broadband to More Areas of Southside Virginia The partnership is bringing affordable broadband service to as many as 3,000 additional residential and business customers in Patrick, Campbell, Halifax and Bedford counties. EMBARQ is investing $900,000 to add equipment at 10 Stuart-area sites in Patrick County and nine sites in the Altavista and Brookneal areas of Campbell, Halifax and Bedford counties. A 50-percent capital match from MBC using Virginia Tobacco Commission (VTC) funds completed financing. “The economic development impact of this kind of deployment is significant,� said Steve Parrott, state executive for Virginia. “This project ensures that Southside Virginia will play an important role in the state’s educational and technological evolution.� "Thanks to the strong support of the Virginia Tobacco Commission, we're seeing more of our Southside communities have access to affordable broadband than ever before", says Tad Deriso, General Manager of MBC. "The expansion of high speed internet services is critically important for our rural communities, and we're proud to be involved in such creative public/private partnerships to make this a reality." The company and MBC officially announced the broadband availability at the Patrick County Annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner and Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Stuart. EMBARQ is one of six companies partnering with MBC to expand broadband in Stuart, Altavista, Appomattox, Brookneal and Lawrenceville, Va. The use of VTC funding matched investments by EMBARQ and the other private-sector companies to accelerate deployment of broadband to Southside Virginia communities. The project is expected to be completed by March 31. Postcards have been sent to eligible customers, notifying them of community meetings to increase awareness of the broadband availability, including events from 3-8 p.m. on Jan. 29-30 at Rotary Field in Stuart, and from 3-8 p.m. at the Fire Station in Patrick Springs on Jan 31. Refreshments will be served. About EMBARQ Embarq Corporation (NYSE: EQ), headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, offers a complete suite of common sense communications services. The company has approximately 20,000 employees and operates in 18 states. EMBARQ is included in the S&P 500. For consumers, EMBARQ offers an innovative portfolio of services that includes reliable local and long distance home phone service, high-speed Internet, wireless, and satellite TV from DISH Network® – all on one monthly bill. For businesses, EMBARQ has a comprehensive range of flexible and integrated services designed to help businesses of all sizes be more productive and communicate with their customers. This service portfolio includes local voice and data services, long distance, Business Class DSL, wireless, enhanced data network services, voice and data communication equipment and managed network services. EMBARQ believes that by focusing on the communities the company serves and by employing common sense and practical ingenuity, it is able to provide customers with a committed partner, dedicated customer service and innovative products for work and home. For more information, visit embarq.com. About Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative MBC is charged with implementing the Regional Backbone Initiative for Southside Virginia. MBC provides open-access optical transport services to telecom service providers, and offers a unique value proposition for competitive telecom providers to expand their service area and serve enterprise customers in rural Virginia. MBC offers Metro Ethernet services, TDM-based services, dark fiber, tower leasing and collocation services at more than 60 business, industrial and technology parks in South Central Virginia, as well as interconnections with key carrier points of presence in the eastern United States. For more information, please visit www.mbc-va.com. About Virginia Tobacco Commission The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is a 31-member body created by the 1999 General Assembly. It has, as a significant part of its mission, the promotion of economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities. To date, the Commission has awarded 945 grants totaling more than $416 million across the tobacco region of the Commonwealth. For complete information on all of the commission’s history, mission, funding programs and past awards, visit their website at www.tic.virginia.gov