Yesterday’s Rural Broadband Symposium in Catskill was a sham. No direct questions were allowed after the morning’s panel presentations; questions had to be submitted in writing. And even then, tough questions went unasked. The president of Mid-Hudson Cable showed his respect for the broadband issue by skipping the symposium altogether and sending a self-serving video instead.
Kathleen Whitley-Harm and Rosemary O’Brien, who comprise Greene County Citizens for Better Broadband, did seem sincere and passionate in their advocacy of the issue. But they have spent years to achieve modest gains in one Greene County town, Greenville. And since individual towns have their own individual contracts with “providers” and these town contracts are typically for 10 years or longer, such a piecemeal approach could take many, many years to produce worthwhile results for the county as a whole.
Congressman Gibson announced that yet another symposium on the subject will be held soon. That would be the third. Gibson will point to these symposia in this election year, and say progress is being made on an important issue. In fact, the symposia seem to be a stalling tactic on the part of the Congressman and our local “providers”. Talking about an issue does not, in itself, resolve it. But it does allow you to claim you are “doing something”.
Mid-Hudson Cable President James Reynolds was quoted in the Catskill Daily Mail nearly a year ago (4/27/2011) as saying, “Virtually all the areas are going to be done without the use of government funds.” This was after Mid-Hudson Cable declined $3.5 million in stimulus money to expand broadband services in Greene and Columbia Counties. It would have been natural to ask him, at this symposium, where that broadband build-out process stands one year later. But he was not in attendance. And the question itself was not permitted. (I asked it in writing, but moderator Warren Hart chose not to present it.)
The lack of adequate broadband coverage in our area is indeed a critical issue. But much bolder action than this sham symposium will be required to address it.
Thanks for the summary, Tom. Some of us here in Stuyvesant expected as much of Gibson’s Symposium. I submitted similar questions (why did mhcable turn down $3.5 million stim money for Greene—and why were they complaining about labor costs if it was SUPPOSED to create jobs?) at the recent Columbia County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast. Ooops. the Congressman was all out of time to take any questions. Sorry, gotta run!
There is certainly a lot of misunderstanding out there. The bottom line is that the big companies simply can not justify the major investments to serve that last 5% (or 30%), so they will never get it done. And all the noise about middle-mile fiber here or there is meaningless for the family out in 40-acre zoning.
I’ve been providing rural broadband to otherwise unserved areas for nearly a decade, like many WISP by using line-of sight wireless distribution. With recent FCC approvals, we now have access to TV band frequencies called white spaces, which go right through trees and buildings, and even around hills.
So now it’s actually easy to provide rural broadband in forested, hilly terrain with low population density. Heck we can even use telephone poles along town and county rights-of-way, for the antennas, radios and network equipment. Broadband, on a stick.
The cost for fill-in networks are in the tens, or low hundreds of thousand of dollars – not millions. And once funding is secured, it’s a matter of weeks, or a few months, to build out a network and actually deliver broadband.
For those interested in how to make it happen, instead of just talking about it, visit our newborn Rural Broadband profile (and sign up for weekly activity updates).
We’re sharing information and strategies on how other towns in New York are actually Getting It Done. Instead of every town re-inventing the wheel, why not learn from the success of others? Or share yours?
http://connectadirondacks.com/show/broadband (See the Documents folder for downloads.)
PS – I have invited Rosemary and Kathleen of Greene Citizens for Better Broadband to share some of their work, or at least sign up to learn from others. But they are volunteers after all, and may not have time to do so.
It should be noted that Mr. Engelmann’s work in the Adirondacks was highlighted at the April 11 symposium, and that the “Rural Broadband Guide” offered via the link above is provided “Compliments of Congressman Chris Gibson”. Further, it should be noted that wireless solutions frequently do not qualify as full-scale broadband.