paul.dellinger@roanoke.com (276) 228-4752

The draft for a proposed telecommunications fiber-optic network covering the New River Valley will be made public at two meetings Tuesday at the New River Valley Competitiveness Center.

Anyone interested in such a community network can attend either the 2 p.m. or the 7 p.m. session to get the information and to comment on the proposal.

The New River Valley Telecommunications Committee, headed by Radford City Councilman Bill Yerrick, developed the plan during a series of meetings over the past several months. The presentations will attempt to show that broadband Internet access is essential to economic development, education and the quality of life in Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski counties and Radford.

They will also identify steps that would need to be taken to make the plan a reality.

The meeting is open to the public but is particularly geared to local elected officials and members of plan-ning commissions, industrial development authorities and public service authorities - people who would have roles in moving the project forward.

Others who would be involved would include local government economic developers, planners and building officials, business owners, medical professionals and nonprofit leaders.

The development of a "next generation" technology infrastructure for the New River Valley would require both long-term and more immediate actions such as revising subdivision ordinances to include fiber-optic access and utility policies so the communications cable could be laid whenever utility ditch lines are opened. All of these potential changes will be explained and discussed at the meetings.

The draft plan is available for review at the New River Valley Planning District office at the Competitiveness Center. For more information, contact Jan Reynolds or Lydeana Martin at the New River Valley Planning Commission office at 639-9313 or by e-mail to lmartin@nrvdc.org.