How fast is the Internet service at your home or work? If your answer is “not fast enough” the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization hopes to change that someday soon.

The VVREO, consisting of representatives from Camp Verde, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Jerome, Sedona and the Yavapai-Apache Nation, has been working to address insufficient bandwidth in the region, which is home to nearly 70,000 people.

VVREO Treasurer Jodi Filardo presented the Sedona City Council an overview of the proposed work, time frame and cost during the Tuesday, March 24, council meeting. If all municipalities are onboard, the project could take about three years to complete at a cost of $17 million to $25 million.

Filardo said each community has its own ways of funding large projects but by providing this comprehensive long-term plan, the VVREO is hoping communities can come together toward a common goal.

“We can all aim for something that will interconnect,” she said. “Working together we can build something that will be much stronger and we won’t, in each individual community, waste money because we will build this together.”

According to a report, in April 2009 volunteers from VVREO formed the Verde Valley Broadband Coalition to address this issue.

GSW Telecom & Consulting, a Tucson-based firm specializing in the feasibility, planning, design and engineering of fiber-based telecommunication networks, has developed a technical plan in three phases for the Verde Valley. Per the agreement, the first phase delivers a conceptual middle mile network route originating in Camp Verde with splice points at key locations to the Yavapai-Apache Nation and connecting Cottonwood and State Route 89A to Clarkdale, Jerome and Sedona.

For the full story, please see the Friday, March 27, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.