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Shovel-ready Internet coming
Published Saturday, August 8, 2009
NATCHEZ — By this time next year, the combined efforts of a Texas-based fiber optic company and millions in federal stimulus dollars are scheduled to result in high-speed Internet access for rural Adams County residents.
At its meeting Monday, the Adams County Board of Supervisors passed a motion lending its support to BSI Cable, based in Balch Springs, Texas, to move forward on a project that will install a fiber optic network in Adams County.
BSI President and CEO Gerry Locke said Amite, Claiborne and Jefferson counties have also given their support to the project.
And BSI representatives are working to bring the yet-to-be built network to Wilkinson County also.
Locke said since bringing broadband Internet service to sparsely populated areas is so cost prohibitive the areas are simply passed over.
“For so many years these areas have been ignored,” Locke said. “It’s a really tough business model.”
But Locke is hoping his company will be able to use federal stimulus money to change that.
By next Friday Locke said BSI will have applied for approximately $20 million in stimulus funding that has been appropriated specifically to bring broadband Internet service to rural areas.
Additionally, BSI will provide a 20 percent match to the government’s funding with their own cash.
Locke said while the project represents a sizeable investment for his company, there are so many large portions of Mississippi with little or no Internet access that broadband installation would represent a major technology boost to the underserved areas.
The supervisors gave their unanimous support to the project.
Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the availability of high-speed Internet access in areas that have little or no current access, would improve the quality for those impacted residents.
“Kids can use it for their homework, it’s just a great resource,” Lazarus said. “I know I can’t live without it.”
Locke said once funding is in place construction on the “shovel-ready project” could begin as early December or January, with project completion coming in August or September.
While the new Internet service won’t be free, stimulus stipulations indicate the service should be designed to be affordable for the rural populations.
Locke said while it’s too early to predict what monthly subscription could cost, business models on similar projects already in place are up to 40 percent less expensive than traditional providers.
“We want to be able to make this available to as many people as we can,” Locke said. “We’ll be running a fiber optic cable through (Adams County) and branching it out to all the deep rural areas.”
Locke said once the new system is up and running participating counties will receive 2 percent of the company’s revenue to help promote the new broadband access.
“We can run fiber optic lines across the whole country,” he said. “But if residents don’t utilize it, it’s worthless.”
Comments
Posted by ProNatchez (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 1:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why would you waste all that money on fiber when wireless is the way to go, and so much cheaper?
Posted by jammin1 (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 1:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There isn't a way to make wireless secure and you still have to hook a wireless modem up to an incoming phone line to get service! I have wireless and it is secure but my neighbor's isn't secure so anyone close can piggy back off them and get on the Internet without paying a dime.
Posted by Suntanned_Superman (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 1:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's rite, jammin1!! Piggy-backin my butt off rite now!
Posted by thetinman (Keith Reynolds) on August 8, 2009 at 5:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like a great opportunity for Adams County to move ahead.
Posted by oldguy (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 7:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is about time. I can't wait to dump my Bellsouth/AT&T DSL. We are on the outer fringe of the service area and Bellsouth/AT&T does not respond well at all to concerns about slow speeds while they continue to charge for high speed. When dealing with them it is always a problem at one's home and never a problem with their system. There are ways they can add repeaters to the line to boost the signal and one can bet that if this new fiber optic plan is approved and instituted they will all of a sudden decide they can improve service.
They are so stupid as to not even being willing to do the relatively small amount of work/expenditure necessary to provide DSL to the Beau Pre country club area. You can bet your bottom dollar I will drop their sorry service and sorry service attitude in a heart beat.
As to wireless versus hardwired, not only is it a security issue but also consider how dependent on location your cellphone service is, I would suspect the wireless internet to be just as spotty in some areas. The other issue with wireless is loss or degradation of true high speed performance.
Posted by oldguy (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Additionally, once this service is up and running many will be able to drop their regular phone service entirely by switching to one of the internet/broadband services such as Vonage.
Posted by skippydammit (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LONG overdue !
Hughes Net is the SUCKIEST piece of garbage EVER
hoisted onto an unsuspecting public !
"Faster than dialup" my (censored! but rhymes with "bass") !
Come on Fiber Optic.
FINALLY something the poliTICianS MIGHT be doing right.
:)
Posted by lost_in_kingston (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Its about time Adams county rural gets hi-speed internet . My $79.99 a month Wildblue satellite has sure been sluggish this past 12 months. And when it rains here or Laredo Texas , my satellite is down. Now I can have dependable broadband & VOIP phone service. Magicjack wont work over satellite, but with fiber optics installed, everyone can tell AT&T where the sun don't shine with their over priced/over rated phone service. I'd gladly pay $200 a month for fiber trunk dependable internet service. Satellite internet is overloaded due to certain communication companies not getting off their sorry butts, CableOne & AT&T will finally have some competition. I would have paid AT&T or CableOne $200 a month for DSL or cable internet, but guess I wasn't one of the "Chosen Few" they decided to run it to.
Posted by Username (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll bet this highspeed internet makes it to the CCA prison before it makes it to any other "rural" part of Adams county.
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree ProNatchez
I use wireless , right now that's what I'm using,
a modem or aircard works just fine for me and the cost is not so bad at $50/mo....
this stimulus money will just go in the pocket of this cable co
but if this will give CableOne some competition, then that is good...
lost-n-kingston must have a lot of money to throw on entertainment and internet, I think $200/mo is ridiculous to pay....
shovel ready internet- HA what a joke.....
how many jobs is that? can you say NONE
Posted by mrmojorisin (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Right, Krogers.........more waste of the stimulus money supposedly aimed at creating living wage jobs.
An air card, a cellphone, and a laptop, almost anywhere in the world today and you're set up.
How about putting some people to work rebuilding our infrastructure?
in·fra·struc·ture (nfr-strkchr) n.
1. The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd say we could use a whole lot more of that than high-speed internet, do you think?
--mojo
Posted by lost_in_kingston (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I was told by a cellular tech that if a cell tower dosn't have a fiber optic cable run to it.....it cant deliver hi-speed internet . I have tried every available cell card to receive internet here at Kingston & none of them work.
Posted by jaayden (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
While they are at it let's throw in a cable line with it and get us some competition for some cable access TV!
Posted by mrmojorisin (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What? You say you want CableOne to have some competition? Now that would be capitalism, right? No? So what does it mean we have now with only one cable source from which to choose?
Socialism!!!
Marxism!!!
Communism!!!
Oh MY!!!!!
Naw, all it means is we get lousy cable service and have to pay three time what it should cost in a healthy market. But this isn't exactly a big city...how many Cable systems do you think Natchez can support?
Get "da' DISH" ... for the same $145 dollars I was paying CableOne for TV and Internet, and one DVR and HBO, I get 2-DVRs, Internet, all the HBOs, all the Cinemax, all the Showtimes, all the Encores, all the ESPNs, plus the NFL channel, the NBA Channell, both College Sports channels, the hunting and fishing channels, SPEED, everything that came with CableOne, all the food channels, the music channels, rent a movie with real choices, .... AND the service is great. After the last tornado/wind shear that passed through town and took out all the Cable TV...my dish was still working.
Compitition--the American Way, unless you're an insurance company, drug company, oil company, investment bank, or brokerage house or you're a member of the US Government.....then it's oligarchy as usual!!
--mojo
Posted by ProNatchez (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Some say the wireless is not secure, but I am not talking about your household wireless router that defaults to wide open, and folks don't know how to secure them. I am talking about the new wireless that will come about from the auctioning off of the old analog TV spectrum. The wireless will come from towers and will reach for several miles. It also penetrates walls much better than the high frequency wireless we are all familiar with. Much better and longer reach than the cellular that we have now too.
Yes they will have to run fiber to those towers, but it would not be like running fiber to everyone's homes. A lot less fiber and digging.
Your laptop or netbook would not be restricted to use in your home. You could even have it running and connected in your deer stand or on your boat or in your car. If they just run fiber to your home, this is not possible. Wireless is the way to go.
Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I won't pretend to know the in's and outs of wireless technology.
But I do know Hughesnet should be the victim of a class action fraud suit.
I did hear a while back that internet broadband access can be offered through the electrical grid that is almost everywhere -- but that electric companies are generally loathe to do something that would so challenge Ma Bell. I found it hard to believe but the source was better than us jokers on the talk board.
Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on August 8, 2009 at 4:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://energypriorities.com/entries/2006...
Broadband off the electric grid
Posted by Preacher (anonymous) on August 9, 2009 at 11:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Broadband over Power Lines (BPI) has already proven to interfere with other radio and wireless services. Avoid it like the plague. Think what would happen if they put an RF signal on every power line over the entire county 24 hrs a day. The inteference would be a total mess.
Posted by skippydammit (anonymous) on August 10, 2009 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Just in case anyone missed it,
in my (ever) humble opinion:
Hughes Net Inhales Deeply While
Making Slurping Noises !
NOT "faster than dialup" as it is
OFTEN MUCH SLOWER.
ANYthing would be better than
Hughes Net. Bring back TELEGRAPH
and it would be better than Hughes Net.
So There !
Posted by oldguy (anonymous) on August 10, 2009 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Think of how often your power goes out around the county, if your internet came through the same lines that is how often it would also go down. It is not at all unusual to have our power shut off for 30 seconds various times during the day. To the point we are contemplating putting an uninterruptible power supply on the satellite receiver so that it does not have to go through the check list to reestablish programming. Of course the microwave needs the same.
Posted by oldguy (anonymous) on August 10, 2009 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I sure hope this system comes to be. Our DSL is bouncing in and out today, getting failure to connect notices from automated email checks and internet radio broadcasts keep dropping out. Bellsouth/AT&T is not doing what they should be doing to keep business. I only wish this could be deployed within the next month or two.
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