[RTC List] Broadband Associates project

[William Van Hefner]

Don,

The "299 corridor" is about as densely populated as the highway leading to
Chernobyl!

Seriously though, this state highway has numerous points where you won't
see a single building for stretches of 10 miles or more. The collective
population within 500 feet or so of Highway 299 has to be less than 2,000,
and that is spread over a total of 150+ miles. Weaverville is the only
incorporated town that it goes through (it also goes "by" Blue Lake as
well). It has a collective population of what, maybe 5,000?

Ironically, Weaverville already has broadband service from at least one
provider, as well as from a wireless provider. So, they may already
arguably have better access to broadband than most people in Humboldt. A
large percentage of the population along 299 consists of retirees, many of
which probably don't even own computers. There is also an existing
wireless provider in Weaverville that has coverage at least as far West as
Hoopa, which just makes the case for installing a fiber route there from
scratch all that more ridiculous.


-- 
William Van Hefner
President - Vantek Communications, Inc.
e-mail: vantek at humboldtonline.com

On Fri, January 23, 2009 5:11 pm, Don Grossman wrote:

>
> 2)  I don't have much knowledge of the 299 corridor but it must have a
> pretty substantial population to support this kind of project.