Center for Appalachian Network Access

How many computer-networking interns can claim that one of the perks of their five-week summer internship was a great tan? Ten students from the School of Computer Science, the College of Engineering and the Heinz School certainly can.

They spent their summer primarily outdoors, helping the Center for Appalachian Network Access (CANA) provide high-speed Internet access to two rural communities in Appalachia—Gilmer County, W.Va., and Bedford County, Pa.

CANA was co-founded in 2003 by Bruce Maggs, associate professor of computer science, and Pittsburgh investment banker John Whitehill. Its purpose is to bring the Internet to Appalachian communities like Glenville, in Gilmer County, and raise the literacy and economic profile of the region.

In September 2003, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation gave researchers at CANA $250,000 to implement two new wireless broadband networks in Appalachia, a 200,000-square-mile region along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi.

After they complete the pilot projects in Gilmer and Bedford counties, CANA expects to extend the project to other rural communities in West Virginia, Southwestern Pennsylvania, and ultimately the entire Appalachian region.

Sophomore computer science major Thomas Quisel feels that high-speed technologies will enable the Appalachian region to develop a more sustainable economic future. “After witnessing the depressed state of many of the communities in the Appalachian region, I saw how high-tech jobs and small businesses could help bring a more stable economic future to the area without disturbing the rural culture.”

CANA partners with local community organizations to provide essential support for the planning, implementation, and long term maintenance of the project. Glenville State College has been an enthusiastic partner in the Gilmer County project.

After donating a new PowerMac G5 and a Dell Dimensions computer to the Gilmer County Community Center, the CANA interns crawled out tiny windows, climbed ladders, and spent a lot of time outdoors connecting homes and even the local police station.

“My friends are going to wonder how I got a tan during my networking internship,” laughed mechanical engineering junior Eugene Yee.

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Center for Appalachian Network Access