A 25:1 ratio is what John Rose, president of OPASTCO, points out is the difference between what the National Broadband Plan calls for between urban and rural areas. The objective for 2020 is to have at least 100 million homes at 100 Mb/s. Rose points out that the other 15 to 30 million rural homes would have a different broadband standard of 4 Mb/s. Rose is concerned that this definition of broadband could relegate rural areas to the equivalent of a 60 Kb/s circuit in today’s terms.
The FCC did point out, in panels at the OPASTCO 2010 Summer Convention, that the four Mb/s goal is today’s number, it represents throughput and not peak and that this goal will change over time. The question is why didn’t the FCC explicitly state the objective for rural broadband for the year 2020 in the Natonal Broadband Report?
A highlight of the OPASTCO 2010 Summer Convention was the keynote speech of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. ViodiTV caught up with Chairman Genachowski after his speech and he elaborated on the importance of a robust broadband infrastructure to creating a vibrant rural economy, which in turn benefits the urban economy. We also briefly discussed the importance of community-based, telecommunications companies in the development of the rural broadband infrastructure.
To read the full text of the speech he gave to OPASTCO, where he outlined the five principles for Universal Service Reform, please click here. It is unfortunate, that he wasn't able to stay to hear the next panel at OPASTCO, which featured representatives from NTCA (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association), WTA (Western Telecom Alliance), MTA (Minnesota Telecom Alliance) and the TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) and was moderated by John Rose. The common theme of the panel was that the industry needs to continue to work together to provide data and share its message to both the FCC, as well as legislators.
The second largest rural population in the country is one factor that makes the implementation of broadband in North Carolina a challenge, so says Jane Patterson the Executive Director of e-NC. We caught up with Patterson at the 2010 Broadband Properties Summit, where she talked about the work the e-NC Authority is doing to help bring broadband to every corner to this state that is home to the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. In this video interview, she points out that one solution does not fit all when it comes to deploying broadband.
In addition to her role with e-NC, Jane is also on the board of directors for the Rural Telecommunications Congress.
In this brief video, Ron Hinds explains how GRM worked with the town of Lamoni, Iowa to implement a wireless solution that allowed their local law enforcement officials to leverage their resources, while making their communities safer. Lamoni, Iowa is also the home of 1976 Olympic star, Bruce Jenner’s alma mater, Graceland University.
In this interview Michael Loomis of Nortel Networks and Gary Bolton of Hatteras Networks explain the applicability of Carrier Ethernet to rural markets, using both existing copper and/or new fiber infrastructure. This allows carriers to provide services to rural areas that are comparable to what can be found in urban area. Michael Loomis points out how rural carriers are closer to their subscribers and are much faster to move to solutions than larger entities.
