Groups Working to Improve Cove's 'Decent' Internet Connectivity

In the quest to improve internet connectivity in the Cove area, Dwayne Zimmerman, owner of Crowsnest Broadband, talked about the challenges faced by residents and solutions presented to deal with varying levels of service across the region.

He said that the service quality in the Cove area is “decent,” but varies significantly depending on the location.

There is an AT&T cell tower at the northern end of Clover Creek and another near Smith Transportation.

T-Mobile has one tower in Fredericksburg and another in Martinsburg, and Clappertown relies on Verizon towers.

Zimmerman said that in the southern Cove area, the service rapidly declines.

“Once you start getting into the southern Cove areas, the coverage starts to drop pretty fast,” he said, in regard to service in the Woodbury, Loysburg, New Enterprise, Bakers Summit areas.

Zimmerman said he heard that there is potential for AT&T to erect a tower near the Northern Bedford County School District, which he thought would greatly benefit the area.

“Trees are public enemy number one,” he said. “It can be difficult to get service on the ridges and hollows where there are a lot of trees and dense forest.”

In an effort to address these challenges, Zimmerman said Crowsnest is pursuing a grant from the state for broadband internet improvements.

Once the grant is acquired, his team will focus on installing more towers and repeaters to enhance coverage in the Clover Creek and Piney Creek area, he said.

“At times we use silos, grain bins and even houses for repeaters and help get more service into the valleys,” Zimmerman said.

He said the company’s ability to install non-line-of-site repeaters allows signals to go through trees which improves coverage in more wooded areas.

Zimmerman said while the coverage is good in the towns, the areas outside that often rely on DSL as the primary option.

His team is always striving to enhance internet services by upgrading fiber optics and expanding tower infrastructure.

Having grown up in the Cove, Zimmerman said that he understands the struggles residents face with limited cell and internet services.

That is why his company serves areas in the Southern Alleghenies which are smaller and tend to be overlooked by major companies, he said.

Zimmerman recognized that the Cove, with its sparse population density, may not be a priority for larger companies.

“The Cove has about four to five homes per mile, which does not make a lot of financial sense to the bigger companies,” he said.

There have also been efforts by local authorities, said Stephanie Clevenstine, director of planning for Bedford County.

There has been a three-phase approach to improve the countywide internet access which has been aided by Alleghenies Broadband, Inc. (ABI) a non-profit corporation working to improve internet connectivity in the Southern Alleghenies region, which includes Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, and Huntingdon, and Somerset counties.

The first phase involved installing 21 towers, with ongoing efforts to secure grant funding for additional towers in the second phase.

The third phase focuses on installing fiber optic cables for residents in areas with challenging terrain.

Clevenstine said they are collaborating with ABI to build more towers, particularly in the northern part of the county, including areas such as Yellow Creek and New Enterprise.

Zimmerman and Clevenstine both said that they have received positive feedback in the efforts that they have made to assist those still facing connectivity challenges at home.

“I have talked to many residents that have already gotten service through Crowsnest or other internet service providers because of the work that we have done,” Clevenstine said.