ROANOKE TIMES  
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996                TAG: 9603110028
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY  
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
      Published correction ran on March 12, 1996.
         Faculty, staff and students at Virginia Tech still will be able to 
      join the Blacksburg Electronic Village through Tech's modem pool. A 
      story in Saturday's Current made it appear otherwise. People who aren't 
      affiliated with the university will be able to be a part of BEV through 
      other modem pool providers. Those residents who aren't affiliated with 
      Tech but receive Internet access through the university have until July 
      1 to find other modem pool providers. The university will continue to 
      support community groups and provide a wide range of other BEV services,
      including BEV home pages on the World Wide Web and BEV mailing lists. 
      Gor more information, visit the BEV home page at http://www.bev.net/ 

BEV USERS MAY HAVE TO CHANGE ACCESS PROVIDERS

No more users will be added to the Blacksburg Electronic Village by way of Virginia Tech's modem pool, but, perhaps more important, those who currently use the modem pool will have to join one of the new local commercial Internet providers by July 1.

Andrew Cohill, who's directed the high-profile experiment, said the BEV web pages, office and training programs aren't going anywhere. More than 5,000 people are hooked up to 3-year-old BEV, and the project has generated publicity from Esquire to the National Enquirer to USA Weekend.

"We started a minirevolution and helped grow a local cottage industry. BEV began as a research project to help a community understand the ramifications and applications of advanced communications systems," Cohill said. "It has been an amazing success."

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