Broadband Technology for Extremely Remote Areas Providing Last-Mile Broadband Service to extremely remote communities Julie Langou ESCRBC Project manager November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 1
The airdryer story November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 2 http://youtu.be/-u1tmyvuzha
About ESCRBC ESCRBC is one of 14 regional consortia in the State of California. The project is supported by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and is run by the Desert Mountain Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D). IE and ESCRBC share common borders. November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 3
Extremely remote areas = Frontier and remote (FAR) Extremely Remote = not classified as rural area but FAR Frontier and remote (FAR) time it takes to travel by car to the edge of Urban Area 4 levels FAR level 1 - CA = 1.4% [ living 60 minutes away or more of UA of 50,000 people or more] FAR level 2 CA = 0.8% [ living 45 minutes away or more of UA of 25,000 people or more] FAR level 3 CA = 0.5% [ living 30 minutes away or more of UA of 10,000 people or more] FAR level 4 CA = 0.3% [ living 15 minutes away or more of UA of 2,500 people or more] November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 4
FAR Map Living 60 minutes or more from urban areas of 50,000 or more people; but 45 minutes or less from urban areas of 25,000-49,999 people; or 30 minutes or less from urban areas of 10,000-24,999 people; or 15 minutes or less from urban areas of 2,500-9,999 people Level 1 November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 5
FAR Map Living 60 minutes or more from urban areas of 50,000 or more people; And 45 minutes or more from urban areas of 25,000-49,999 people; And 30 minutes or more from urban areas of 10,000-24,999 people; And 15 minutes or more from urban areas of 2,500-9,999 people Level 4 November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 6
Broadband = High speed Internet Why Broadband is so important for extremely rural communities? November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 7
Broadband Situation SB 740 Senator Padilla California goal 98% of CONNECTED by December 2015 6Mbps up 1.5 Mbps down 80% of ADOPTERS by December 2015 Local government leadership is key to closing the Digital Divide and sustaining digital inclusion November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 8
Broadband Situation November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 9
Broadband Dilemma 98% of CONNECTED by December 2015 FAR = 1.4% Grant available for UNSERVED November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 10
Extremely Rural Broadband Model Extremely Rural Operating Models Extremely Rural Technology Extremely Rural Locations Considerations Extremely Rural Funding October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Meeting 11
Extremely Rural Broadband Operating Models Business Model Not realistic without grant money Public Utility (Service District ok if no existing provider ) have the required structure, billing, and accounting systems Used of volunteers for maintenance more grant opportunities Broadband Cooperative Has been done in Colorado Very few examples in California October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Meeting 12
Extremely Rural Broadband Technology Fiber Copper / Coax Cellular Fixed Wireless Super Wi-Fi TV White Space Satellite Dial-up November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 13
PROs Fiber Possible with grants Fastest, very reliable Longest life span (many decades, 100 years?) Best ROI on the long term Getting less costing to install than copper More likely to obtain if stakeholders nearby include Military Base, Hospital, School, Reservation CONs Better to have it underground -> environmental studies Trenching very expensive Bring the cost of Fiber ~ $60,000 per mile Need to write grant (Cost, Time, Expertise, Paperwork, Uncertainty, ) November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 14
Copper / Coax Are you sure? PROs Up to 30 Mbps (some type of DSL, Cable) Fiber and Coax can coexist FTTNode, FTTCurb, FTTPremises, FTTDesktop, etc. CONs Copper wire is a Century old technology Will be inadequate in 5 years (Moore s law) Cost roughly the same than Fiber November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 15
Cellular Did you say Data Plan? PROs Fast if 4G 4G = ~ 300 Mbps / 3G =~ 7 Mbps Very good coverage CONs No coverage in FAR Data plan limit for usage Very expensive to use (Video Usage is growing 70% in 2016) November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 16
Fixed Wireless Easy? PROs Up to 100 Mbps The cost is reasonable 2.4 GHz most commonly used unlicensed frequency lowest cost Too many device Easy to setup / maintain CONs 5.8 GHz Point to Point backhaul connections Require line of sight Outdated in ~ 20 900 MHz Not enough space Require line-of-sight Line-of-sight interference Licensed cost of licensing cost of equipment Permit / right of ways No multiple service (bundle) Whitespace 50 700 MHz November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 17
Scenario 1 One hop Trona Airport to RS3 Ridge to Homewood Canyon Antenna GPS COORDINATE 35 57' 20 N / 118 1' 4.6 W LINK 1 LINK 2 KM North North October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Presentation 18
Trona Airport One hop Link 1 RS 3 October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Presentation 19
One hop Link 1Total Speed Bad Condition (bad weather, very limited visibility) Good Condition October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Presentation Perfect Condition (clear weather, unlimited visibility) 20
TV White Space free Internet to rural areas? http://escrbconsortium.org/understanding-tv-white-space PROs Coverage - Low frequency = bend around hills and can go through/around trees and buildings Range Less expensive than Satellite Lots of application: public safety Google a big believer in technology (cap Town, public Wi-Fi of West Virginia University ) CONs Max Speed: 29 Mbps (10 Mbps more realistic) No so competitive price: $54.95 per month with speeds of around 2 to 4 mbps (Cal.net) November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 21
Satellite Better than nothing http://escrbconsortium.org/understanding-tv-white-space PROs Low frequency bend around hills and can go through/around trees and buildings CONs Max Speed: 10 to 15 Mbps Very Expensive - ~ 80$ / month Latency issue November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 22
Extremely Rural Broadband Technology Fiber Copper / Coax Cellular Fixed Wireless Super Wi-Fi TV White Space Satellite Dial-up November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 23
Extremely Rural Broadband Funding GRANT, GRANT, GRANT! BEST SOURCE UNSERVED areas are the focus of many programs: CPUC / CASF Telehealth USDA Community Connect Broadband Grant And more Cost, Time, Expertise, Paperwork, Uncertainty, November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 24
Extremely Rural Broadband Funding LOANS (only for Business Model) SBA loans - 7(a) Loan Program USDA - Rural Development Loan Assistance Traditional Lending Get in touch with your SBA Small Business Development Center November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 25
Extremely Rural Broadband Funding FUND RAISING (Non Profit / Service District) members of a community pre-sign up for service. Crowdfunding Using your Social Network November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 26
Last Secret Ingredient Local government leadership is key to closing the Digital Divide and sustaining digital inclusion - Sunny Mc Peak - CETF low or no cost access to government buildings Anchor institutions environmental, cultural, scenic, and building code requirements. October 2013 Homewood Canyon Broadband Meeting 27
Conclusion Satellite best bet at the moment Encourage your local officials to reach out outside of their district. Homewood Canyon needs Broadband to Trona. The Model Extremely Rural Operating Models Extremely Rural Technology Extremely Rural Locations Considerations Extremely Rural Funding November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 28
Right of Ways, Permits To place antennas, radios and solar power equipment, you need to apply for right of ways For more information contact the appropriate agencies Each agency has their own rights of way policies, some requires an annual fee A Wilderness Area is a region where the land is in a natural state; where impacts from human activities are minimal may be more challenging to get Right of Way November 18 th 2013 Inland Empire Meeting 29