Stimulus money could bring broadband to rural homes
ONLINE SURVEY
To fill out the state Public Service Commission survey on broadband Internet needs in the state, visit http://psc.wi.gov.
The survey will help officials distribute broadband grants in Wisconsin, according to the PSC.
JANESVILLE — Rural residents limited to slow, dial-up Internet connections might get relief through the federal stimulus package.
But first the government wants to know where those users live.
The state Public Service Commission is conducting an online survey to find out which areas lack broadband Internet access or are underserved.
“We would like to compile that information and map out where the greatest need is in Wisconsin,” PSC spokesperson Teresa Smith said. “We might have six pockets, we might have 25 pockets. That’s the point of all of this.”
No data is available to paint a comprehensive picture of Internet service across the state, she said. Rock County doesn’t have any data either, said Mickey Crittenden, director of information technology for the county.
He does know parts of the county are not served or underserved.
The PSC survey will be online until June or July, Smith said, and more than 1,800 surveys had been completed as of last week.
The federal stimulus package allocates $7.2 billion for loans and grants to extend broadband Internet to underserved rural areas. The funding will be used for infrastructure, public computing centers and data collection and mapping.
Rules and plans on how the money will be distributed still are being decided, Smith said.
Terms of broadband
Broadband Internet is faster than a dial-up connection through a phone line, which sometimes is the only option in rural areas.
But broadband “is a generic term that really isn’t precisely defined,” Crittenden said. “It really denotes services that are faster than dial-up, which can run the whole gamut.”
Crittenden, for example, sees broadband as at least a 1 megabit per second connection speed.
“I would prefer it to be much more than that—have (that) called high-speed rather than broadband,” he said.
Federal officials haven’t defined “broadband” yet either, Smith said.
No matter the definition, broadband connections are orders of magnitude faster than even the fastest dial-up connection. For example, a 1 megabyte photo would take 22 minutes to download on the normal dial-up connection. The same photo could be downloaded in 6 seconds on a 1.5 megabit connection.
Restricting business
State Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, has heard from quite a few 80th District residents longing for better Internet access.
“A lot of people I bump into in our small, rural communities are well-educated and want to start a business or grow, expand or work for another company,” he said. “But they don’t necessarily have that technology that will allow them to do that.”
He likens the issue to the highway system.
“We need this strong infrastructure of information technology to exist everywhere,” he said. “It’s a good goal and vision.”
Reaching rural
LiteWire Internet Services of Evansville is closely following the stimulus news and might be able to take advantage of broadband loans or grants.
LiteWire started in 1999 with the goal of delivering Internet service to rural customers, said Dave Mueller, co-owner and CFO.
“Our focus was to get into the country,” he said.
They’ve done that, offering wireless broadband to rural residents in much of western Rock County and southern Dane County.
The company uses tall structures such as silos and cell towers for antennas that wirelessly send and receive Internet to special antennas mounted on the homes of subscribers.
“We couldn’t do it if it wasn’t for people who wanted to help us get it done,” Mueller said.
The company plans to double the size of its coverage area this summer, and they’ll be watching the application process for federal money.
Mueller said of the broadband stimulus money would “make things happen a lot faster.”
INTERNET OPTIONS
Rural residents often have limited Internet service options because big companies don’t extend service to less-populated areas. Cable and DSL typically aren’t available.
Mickey Crittenden, director information technology in Rock County, described the options rural residents typically choose from:
-- Dial-up through a phone line. It’s slow but cheap. Monthly rates can be $10 to $15.
-- Satellite. Users receive Internet through a satellite dish. Response time can take 1 to 2 seconds, he said, and weather can affect the signal.
It’s not “super fast,” he said, and it can be expensive. Monthly rates can be around $80.
-- Cellular data service. Users slide a cellular data card into a computer to connect to the Internet using a cellular connection. Cost is $40 to $60 a month.
-- Fixed wireless. Companies put equipment on tall rural structures such as silos and cellular towers to connect with antennas placed on subscribers’ homes. Costs start at about $40 a month.
Apr 14, 2009 at 7:37 a.m.
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I can see the point, many people do work at home on their computers, and many others COULD if they had high speed. Also many courses are offered online and that would eliminate the commuting and extra expenses if some could take advantage of that luxury who can't now. And right now education seems to be a very important part of the jobless community. BUT, I do believe there are other issues that could be taken care of first, but that is just my opinion. I have faith that they are doing the right thing with the appropriate reasons, because computers certainly are a lifeline in the making for many people and businesses.
Apr 13, 2009 at 11:51 p.m.
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i agree with kathryn sullivan, unbelievable! an its not going to create as many jobs as you think.an how many people do you think are going to be qualified for these jobs? but i guess whats most important that no one has slow internet.
Apr 13, 2009 at 6:28 p.m.
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Jobs will be created if Broadband is expanded. Someone has to do that work. Same with road improvements. Improving infrastructure will create jobs!
Apr 13, 2009 at 9:41 a.m.
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YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! People are losing their jobs and their houses and the stimulus is giving people brodband? I can't believe it.....
Apr 12, 2009 at 11:39 p.m.
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The article is about rural areas that are not offered cable TV that would carry internet, nor offered anything via phone line other than a dial up modem connection that is virtually useless- a download speed of 18-21 kbps.
Apr 12, 2009 at 7:32 p.m.
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I am on Centurytel.net. I was one of the first homes to get the local broadband... they had some issues when I first got on line, I had an in-home business at the time, so 24 hour connectivity was my business lifeline. I have to say, I have NEVER had better customer service with any other company. The gal I was working with actually drove to my home on a weekend and got a crew to come over for some issues with my CPU unit!!!
And the H3!! with Charter. They have a junction box at the end of my driveway and their techs are constantly doing something up on the pole. They leave all the broken bolts/metal shavings, busted wire at the end of my driveway.
I had a small coffee can of debri which I took down to their little office off of Kennedy Rd back 15 years ago. I had new tires and one of their little "surprises" punctured my tire. I told them about it while handing it off to the gal at the front desk. She took the can - dropped it in her waste basket then proceeded to tell me about their newest special package.
I told her I wasn't interested ( I still had Charter at that time - used to be Jones Intercable, if anyone remembers those days...) I asked that she tell their crews to sweep up when they are done. She said she couldn't, as they subcontract the pole work. I canceled my Charter service right then and there.
I plan to check into some of the other services Centurytel has to offer. I believe they have a new broadcasting service... I would HIGHLY recommend them to any home that is serviced by Centurytel. Awesome company!!!
Apr 12, 2009 at 7:29 p.m.
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Yes, T6 is a good company, good service for the two years I've had it. They put transmitters on silos, grain legs and other high objects for rural high speed internet and other services.
Apr 12, 2009 at 6:38 p.m.
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T6 has a great wireless internet service. In nearly two years, I have only had one outage at their end and one problem at my end. They were even willing to come out on Christmas day to fix the problem at my house. Much better than any broadband offered by those Janesville companies.
Apr 12, 2009 at 10:05 a.m.
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I posted this on the poll comments, but thought it worthy of reposting:
One stated goal of the 1996 Telecommunications Act
to ensure that consumers “in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services . . . at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas” (U.S. Congress 1996, §254 (b) (3)).
So what happened to this act and why isn't it being enforced?
Apr 12, 2009 at 9:06 a.m.
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A couple of years ago there was a joint committee of Beloit, Janesville and Rock County officials examining the issue of community wide wi-fi. Their work didn't result in the implementation of a plan, obviously, but could serve as the basis for a new study of this for rural areas. It seems to me, though, that if the private sector thought it was feasible, rural areas would already have it.
Apr 12, 2009 at 7:16 a.m.
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You forgot to include T6b Broadband in broadband coverage. If you go to their web site at www.t6b.com and check out their coverage area, you can see that they also serve western Rock county and some Green County. I know people who have it who live just West of Rockport RD. and Hwy.11. This all started 2 or 3 yrs ago when some of the people in Orfordville got tired of dial up and the t-v cable and Verizon phone company would not do anything about it. I live in Orfordville and I've had if for 2 years or so and I like it. For you people living in areas where the map shows it is available check it out and give them a call.
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