A small rural community is taking matters in to their own hands to solve their lack of broadband. They’re using “white space” radios from Carlson Wireless, combined with lightly-licensed 3.65 WiMax and cellular microcells, writes Kim Miyade.
Ryan Peel, owner of Vergennes Broadband has lived in the scenic rural town of Vergennes, Michigan most of his life, but had been continuously frustrated with the lack of broadband access.
Peel’s solution is to combine three different technologies to extend wireless broadband coverage in his community: WiMAX at 3.65 GHz; TV white space radios; and micro-cell mini-towers to extend cellular phone coverage as well. It’s currently being constructed.
“There’s going to be a hybrid network”, explains Peel. “The primary technology will be WiMAX using 3.65 GHz semi-licensed band. It’s going to use WiMAX radio technology with 6x diversity. But there are a significant number of people in the area that WiMAX cannot reach, because of the terrain and tree cover as is the nature of rural America”, explains Peel.
Vergennes Broadband uses two 100+ foot towers, each with a WiMAX radio and a Carlson TV white space radio. Carlson Wireless (Blog) developed the “White Spaces” radio, called the RuralConnect IP. The software-defined radio uses the slivers of VHF and UHF spectrum not used by television broadcasters.
Peel is adding supplemental value to the project by offering femtocells. Femtocells provide a local cellular connection and use broadband for the backhaul. It simply plugs into customers’ new Internet connection to work.
Peel created a pre-registration website, collecting more than 200 pre-registered potential customers. Peel said, “These are real names; these are real addresses. I have them plotted on maps and that’s a big impact statement right there.”
The proposed Internet plans are affordable, ranging from $39.99 per month for a 1 MB connection speed to $59.99 per month for 2 Mb, plus installation and a one-year contract. Subscribers will be pre-qualified by comparing the customer’s address to the coverage map. If it looks like coverage is available, they will schedule an on-site survey. This ensures customers are not sold a service that won’t work.
Pre-registrations were captured with an advertising and marketing budget of $395, relying on social media tools such as Facebook and Google Ad Words, as well as a booth at a local community expo.
The Vergennes Broadband Facebook page has 124 followers to date, giving people a way to see what’s going on with the project and features a “countdown to broadband” page.
By law, Television Broadband Devices (TVBDs) must be certified by the FCC before they can be imported into or marketed within the United States. But a conditional sales contract between manufacturers and wholesalers or retailers is permitted under FCC rules provided that delivery is contingent upon compliance with the applicable equipment.
