High-speed data center aims to drive economic growth in Cabell County
October 31, 2024 WCHS
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia still ranks as having one of the worst internet speeds in the nation, according to a study that could soon change.
Huntington city leaders announced a new data center aims to extend high-speed fiber connectivity to every home and business in the region.
The city held a news conference Wednesday with the Mayor Steve Williams and Alpha Technologies CEO Doug Tate announcing the company planned to retrofit the old Appalachian Power Company building.
More than a decade ago, Cabell County native Brad Kalinoski wanted to bring Hollywood and his visual effects company to the Huntington area.
“I’ve always been interested in connecting with Huntington and anybody who wants to talk to me about infrastructure,”visual effects supervisorBrad Kalinoski said.
For two years, Kalinoski said he spoke with city leaders about bringing higher internet speeds for create economic growth. He said editing high-budget projects like “The Walking Dead” and “Spiderman” require a large amount of data and he went where the bandwidth was located.
Williams said city council passed an ordinance two weeks ago allowing the city to do an business with data centers. This was something previously not written in city code.
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“The ultimate goal of creating a bridge to not only support the vision that Mayor Williams has but to further support thundercloud’s mission of creating a middle mile fiber network to help drive both business and economic growth,” Tate said.
According to an study publicized by the White House earlier this year, the study shows for every 10% increase in broadband speeds there is about.9 to 1.5% per capita economic growth.
Eyewitness News asked Kalinoski if the new data center and infrastructure would encourage him to return to the Mountain State.
“Yeah, I’d consider it for sure because I’ve always had that dream,”Kalinoski said.
Overall, Kalinoski said he’s hoping for business growth.