Finding funds for fixed wireless service

Some rural communities are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to obtaining high-speed Internet service. DSL and cable-modem providers aren’t stepping up to serve them, so they’re turning to fixed wireless as an answer and coming up with creative ways of funding.

The town of Jasper, MN, helped pay for installation of such a system by working with Sioux Valley Wireless (www.svtv.com) and obtaining a $43,125 grant from the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development (www.dted.state.mn.us) to help pay for installation of a wireless Internet system.

Joel Brick, Sioux Valley Wireless telecommunications director, provided the service by installing a re-transmission system at the top of Jasper’s grain elevator. It picks up a line-of-sight signal from the company’s broadcast facilities near Colman, SD.

An early customer of the service was David Smith, Jasper mayor & local bank president, who plans to offer Internet-based banking services to his customers.

Brick noted that rural providers such as Sioux Valley have had to obtain high-rate loans to pay for infrastructure and aren’t getting any breaks in funding. But there are ways to get communities involved in financing, he said, using Jasper as an example.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura developed the Technology Catalyst Grants in order to improve the competitive position of rural Minnesota through the application of advanced technology. The program distributed $1 million in grants to nine rural areas earlier this year — all funding wireless-broadband projects. Seven will use unlicensed spectrum; the Sioux Valley project and a project spearheaded by Minnesota Valley TV in Yellow Medicine County both use licensed MMDS spectrum.

Even if communities don’t obtain grants to fund construction of infrastructure for high-speed Internet, Brick said Sioux Valley would work with them to find ways to obtain service.

Sequelle Project

A slightly different approach is being taken in Washington County, OH (www.co.washington.oh.us), and Wood County, WV (www.woodcountywv.com). Here Sequelle (www.sequelle.com), a non-profit corporation, has partnered with Mountain State College of Parkersburg, WV (www.mountainstate.org), holder of ITFS and MMDS licenses, to provide a wireless high-speed data network.

“Because commercial providers of wireless broadband services have not included Southeastern Ohio in their service plans, it's up to us to develop our own local access or risk getting left behind in the communications revolution we now experience,” said Mike Iaderosa, president of the Washington County Community Improvement Corporation, which is the Sequelle sponsor.

Access to reasonably priced broadband communications is a critical tool for sustained economic and community growth, according to the Sequelle plan. Along with spectrum, Sequelle will make technical support services available.

State and federal funding will pay the initial costs of the project estimated at $3 million, although Sequelle ultimately plans to be able to reinvest 10¢ to 15¢ out of each dollar received for service back into technology development and related service.

In May, Sequelle issued an RFP for its system, which, along with high-speed Internet, will include web-hosting, VPN and intranet services. Heidi Laughey, Sequelle CEO, reported that Sequelle is finalizing terms with the winning vendor, Cisco (www.cisco.com).

“Assuming we can work through some duplexing strategies/issues and maintain our throughput requirements, the award should go to them sometime in the next couple of weeks, I imagine,” she said.