[RTC List] Wireless broadband deployment in Kentucky

[CrawfordCA at aol.com]

To all ...
 
In light of the recent actions by Governor Schwarzenegger 
(_http://www.tsblogs.com/techblog/2006/10/ca_broadband_policy_breakthrou.html_ 
(http://www.tsblogs.com/techblog/2006/10/ca_broadband_policy_breakthrou.html) )  to remove 
barriers to deployment of broadband, you may find this article of  interest in 
Government Technology Magazine concerning wireless broadband  deployment in rural 
Kentucky. If this is not of interest to you, please forgive  the intrusion. 
Cheers !!
 
Chris Crawford
_www.justiceserved.com_ (http://www.justiceserved.com) 
707-443-1944
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct link:
_http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=101991&utm_source=gten_061031&utm_med
ium=enews&utm_content=story_ 
(http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=101991&utm_source=gten_061031&utm_medium=enews&utm_content=story) 
 
 
Kentucky Counties Chose Regional Broadband Provider
Government Technology Magazine  October  30, 2006  By James Mayse 
Reprinted with permission from the _Messenger-Inquirer of  Owensboro, Ky._ 
(http://messenger-inquirer.com/frontpage.htm) 



Digital Connections Inc. of Hendersonville, Tenn.,  was selected to build the 
broadband system, whose coverage area will include  Daviess, Hancock, McLean 
and Ohio counties. 

Daviess County  Judge-Executive Reid Haire said the firm will receive $2.4 
million to build the  broadband system. 

David Hemingway, Digital Connections' senior account  representative for 
Kentucky, said officials "are still hammering out the details  of the contract." 

Work on the system could be done quickly, Hemingway  said. 

"Our goal is to have it done in three months once the contract is  signed," 
Hemingway said. The firm is required to have the system complete by the  end of 
2007. 

Hemingway said the company would like to have the system  finished within a 
maximum of six months after work begins. 

"We're going  to be as aggressive as we can, but weather is going to be a 
determining factor,"  he said. "If everything works out perfectly, it could be 
done in six weeks."  

Expanding broadband Internet coverage across the state is one of the  goals 
of Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Haire said the counties involved are interested in  
securing grants to pay for the system. 

"We believe there's a significant  economic development issue involved here," 
Haire said. "(This is) the first  region in the country that has attempted 
this kind of coverage."  

Hemingway said the project will be extensive. 

"(Motorola) told  our engineer this will be the largest physical deployment 
of their equipment in  North America," he said. "It's going to be covering over 
2,300 square miles. We  haven't found anybody that's addressed the rural 
markets like these counties  are." 

Cinergy Communications of Evansville will be the Internet service  provider 
for the system. The goal is to keep the customer cost for the service  at $30 
or less per month, Hemingway said. 

"Cinergy will also be offering  dial tone ... so (customers) can get phone 
service as well," he said.  

Jiten Shah, executive director of the _Green River Area Development District_ 
(http://www.gradd.com/) , said  Digital Connections was chosen because the 
company proposed a plan to expand  broadband by installing hardware on towers. 
The committees reviewing the three  applications had questions about the second 
company's plan, which proposed  satellite broadband. The third company's 
proposal was rejected because the $4  million price was considered prohibitive, 
Shah said. 

Many counties that  had planned to pay for broadband infrastructure with coal 
severance dollars had  their projects vetoed by Fletcher earlier this year. 
Fletcher vetoed all the  single-county coal severance projects but kept the 
money for the projects in the  budget. 

Counties have to apply for those funds through the Governor's  Office for 
Local Development. Haire said Daviess County has not yet made a  request to the 
office for the broadband project. 
"I've not yet gone to the  commissioners" with a proposal, Haire said. 

Shah said the broadband  contract should be completed in the near future. 
Picking the company "was a big  job, but we feel that might have been the easy 
part," Shah said. The challenge  now is "the implementation, trying to get 
together the funds." 

"We're  hoping before the end of November, we should have financing and the 
contract  finalized and, in three to six months, should have the system 
running," Shah  said. 
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