Word a week ago that Charlotte County’s initiative to bring broadband service to the Bacon and Phenix areas is moving forward is good news.

In today’s world, internet access is a necessity — high speed internet access is becoming paramount. Internet connections and the information that flows through them, for better or for worse, is the lifeblood of the modern world. We rely on it for everything from shopping to banking to getting the latest news and keeping up with family and friends.

We access all this information through not just a variety of devices — desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and “wearables” — but we do so all at the same time. Broadband service makes this possible without overly clogging the works. There is no reason someone in Bacon or Phenix shouldn’t be able to access the internet as easily as someone in Farmville or even Lynchburg or Richmond. That certainly shouldn’t be the case with today’s technology.

We are equally delighted to ear the initiative will lead to the installation of more towers, specifically in Mullins, Saxe and Eureka. They deserve to have access to high speed connections, too. We also hope things works out to place a tower at Southside Virginia Community College. Students have at least as much need for good internet access as the rest of us to research, work and study.

On top of everything else, the Virginia Tobacco Commission is funding the initiative, saving the county and consumers money.

All in all it’s a good deal we applaud.