Wireless shows promise for stimulus money

Sustainability tales from rural America

Industry analysis by expert Joanie Wexler, plus links to the day's wireless news headlines

As the Aug. 14 broadband stimulus application deadline approaches, it's noteworthy that wireless has already played a successful role in earlier programs created to get far-flung U.S. citizens "connected." Wireless has proven itself a sustainable model in several rural areas, potentially setting the stage for other forthcoming deployments using stimulus funds.

Because they don't involve trenching and running cable, wireless networks can be less inexpensive and often deliver a faster payback in sparsely populated areas than terrestrial networks. As such, wireless nets have allowed grant and loan recipients in some rural areas to meet their infrastructure implementation deadlines and pay back their loans on time when fiber proved cost-prohibitive.

Elk River, Idaho, and three counties in southeastern Michigan, for example, have already succeeded in obtaining monies from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Program for earlier projects. They have built wireless connectivity infrastructures from Proxim Wireless and Motorola, respectively.

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As the Aug. 14 broadband stimulus application deadline approaches, it's noteworthy that wireless has already played a successful role in earlier programs created to get far-flung U.S. citizens "connected." Wireless has proven itself a sustainable model in several rural areas, potentially setting the stage for other forthcoming deployments using stimulus funds.

Because they don't involve trenching and running cable, wireless networks can be less inexpensive and often deliver a faster payback in sparsely populated areas than terrestrial networks. As such, wireless nets have allowed grant and loan recipients in some rural areas to meet their infrastructure implementation deadlines and pay back their loans on time when fiber proved cost-prohibitive.

Elk River, Idaho, and three counties in southeastern Michigan, for example, have already succeeded in obtaining monies from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Program for earlier projects. They have built wireless connectivity infrastructures from Proxim Wireless and Motorola, respectively.

The latest USDA Rural Utilities Services (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) will eventually be the collective source of more than $7 billion in funds still to be granted or loaned to build broadband networks in unserved, underserved, rural and remote areas across the country.

For its part, Elk River, population 156, is isolated and surrounded by hills. It secured about $164,000 from the USDA in 2007 to move beyond dial-up Internet access capabilities and give the town an economic boost. With the help of Access Consulting in Missoula, Mont., a company hired initially to assess the connectivity status of 16 communities in Idaho – the town built a Proxim backhaul network, which primarily consists of 802.11a mesh connections. The backhaul network connects to wired ISP First Step Internet in Moscow, Idaho, using bridged microwave circuits, and subscriber access is via Proxim 802.11g Wi-Fi links.

"We looked at the backbone first. Fiber would have cost us $20 million," says Paul DeWolfe, professional engineer at Access Consulting – a bit beyond the town's six-figure budget.

Margaret Patterson, the director of the Elk River Free Library District who secured the initial funding, says that the connectivity has boosted the town's viability. There are citizens attending college via the Internet and one has built a virtual storefront for a manufacturing business. Folks from first responders to independent Avon sales reps are getting trained on line, while hunters have access to safety education and training.

Patterson's husband, Brian Richmond, a retired military telecom expert, serves as the "country computer doctor," supplying  user support that counts toward the town's grant matching requirements. He "doesn't mind being paid in huckleberry jam," she notes.

Next time: What's happening on Michigan's lower peninsula using Motorola wireless infrastructure gear.

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Silicon Valley.