New broadband stimulus has rural consumers wired
The U.S. Department of Agriculture may seem like an odd name to be finding in the broadband news section, but stimulus grants totaling over 500 million will get your name anywhere. And that’s indeed how much the USDA’s Rural Utility Service Fund awarded to 40 different companiescompanies that have in many cases already proven their dedication to networking hard-to-reach areas.Two of those companies are EcliptixNet Broadband of Washington state and DigitalBridge Communications of Virginia. EcliptixNet was awarded 20.4 million, which it will use to build a mobile WiMAX network covering 46,000 homes. DigitalBridge was awarded 7.5 million to build WiMAX networks covering rural areas in Idaho, Indiana, and Mississippi.Common problems with rural broadband are the expensive price of equipment for individual customers, as well as the economic issues for customers in low-population-density areas. WiMAX can help counter these limitations by linking networks rather than individual computers. With WiMAX, signals can reach a radius anywhere from 6-8 miles.It’s still difficult to find good locations for antennas, though. That’s why EcliptixNet is collocating the majority of its WiMAX transmissions on 36 pre-existing antennas. The company will construct only 14 new sites. In the case of DigitalBridge, their projects will cost less than 350 per household to set up, and consumers will be able to purchase reliable WiMAX service for 30. An extra 15 a month will get them portable access via a USB device.The funds were provided by the USDA Rural Utility Service (or RUS, which is both an acronym and an allusion to the Latin word rus, “countryside”). In turn, RUS works closely with the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) and Rural Telephone Bank (RTB), which provide many of the funds used in RUS’s loan programs. Traditionally, RUS has been concerned with electricity, telephone, water, and sewer access. This new program shows that the organization feels broadband has become just as necessary as those other common utilities for everyday life. Broadband has already shown its usefulness in connecting people to educational networks and resources. AcademicBroadband.com looks forward to the future as broadband becomes more and more a part of everybody’s educational life.