2010 Buyers Guide - Broadband Properties

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In a Remote County, FTTH Is A Lifeline to the World For Cook County, Minn., fiber to the home represents the best hope for keeping isolated communities viable. By Masha Zager ■ Broadband Properties If there were a prize for the most remote area in the United States, Cook County would be in the running. About 5,000 people, or four per square mile, live in this northeastern corner of Minnesota, with Ontario to the north and Lake Superior to the east. There is only one town – the county seat, Grand Marais – and only one industry, tourism. Half the county is under water, ninetenths of the dry land is owned by the federal or state government and winter temperatures routinely drop to 30 below zero. The closest city of any size, Duluth, is more than 100 miles away. The Internet was slow to reach Cook County. Until 1995, when community members founded a cooperative ISP, not even dial-up service was available. Today, except for small pockets of wireless and DSL access, most of the county still has no broadband, and the condition of the telephone network is so poor that dial-up speeds are often limited to 10 to 20 Kbps. The Minnesota Ultra High- Speed Broadband Task Force called Cook County the most underserved county in the state. No Broadband, No Visitors Despite the cold and the remote location, Cook County residents were able to eke out good livings, because the county’s spectacular scenery and its recreational opportunities – kayaking, climbing, hiking and more – drew summer visitors. But as the world became more connected, the costs of isolation grew steeper and the county’s economic future began to look bleak. According to county IT director Danna MacKenzie, hotels, inns and Without broadband, the residents of Cook County are becoming increasingly isolated. lodges report that guests are no longer willing to stay in places without broadband, and that college students will not take summer jobs if it means losing touch with the world. The owners of these accommodations cannot participate in online booking systems, offer video tours, order goods online or do their banking online. As commerce moves to the Web, they are increasingly shut out. Second-home buyers, too, hesitate to buy in the area. Local realtors say many sales have fallen through when potential buyers learned they could not obtain broadband. For example, a pair of Mayo Clinic doctors looking for a summer home showed interest in a Cook County house until they realized they could never work remotely. Cook County natives who have moved to the Twin Cities often inquire about returning to the place where they grew up, now that their employers – insurance companies or other large corporations – have seen the benefits of telecommuting and are willing to let them work from anywhere. “I get calls about that frequently,” MacKenzie says. “It’s increasingly common in the last two years.” She has to tell them they can’t do it. No Broadband, No Services The residents of Cook County are becoming more isolated while the rest of the country becomes more connected. In-person services that they once took for granted are disappearing. The state government is consolidating health care services to save costs, which means that residents (and visitors) will have to drive more than 100 miles each way for anything more than a routine medical appointment. The state is also centralizing the courts, making access to the legal system more difficult for residents. The antiquated telephone network is cutting people off from the world and making life more difficult and dangerous. Local businesses lost 21 days of telephone service last spring, MacKenzie says – three weeks when they couldn’t accept reservations, issue permits, or even call 911. During a recent forest fire, the Forest Service could not secure enough bandwidth for emergency cell phone coverage for first responders. The local clinic has trouble communicating medical records to its satellite offices and had to locate its H1N1 flu vaccination clinic in one of the few broadband-enabled About the Author Masha Zager is the editor of Broadband Properties. You can reach her at masha@ broadbandproperties.com. 62 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | November/December 2009
areas because the CDC requires that records be kept online. “Just a couple of years ago they came around with paper folders,” MacKenzie says. The media, too, are abandoning Cook County. The regional newspaper terminated home delivery last year. Broadcasters failed to rebuild in the area after the conversion to digital signals. Without over-the-air television news, residents have no access to emergency information or information about weather-related closings. Even the few high-speed links with which Cook County compensated for its isolation are becoming obsolete. MacKenzie reports that an acquaintance with a medical emergency waited over an hour to get advice from the Duluth hospital about stabilizing treatment, because of the time needed to transmit medical images. Innovative education and health programs also require upgraded connections. For 10 years, Cook County Higher Ed (a private agency, despite the name) has partnered with community colleges and universities to provide distance education for nurses and hospitality managers, but today, as MacKenzie puts it, “Our one T1 line doesn’t quite cut it.” Similarly, a pilot program for remote psychotherapy succeeded as a proof of concept, but the quality of the video was so poor that the program cannot be expanded without more bandwidth. Fiber to the Rescue When Cook County officials realized a countywide fiber-tothe-premises network would enable residents to continue living and doing business in the county, they began planning to build one. Earlier this year, they completed a feasibility study (as reported in the April issue of this magazine) and conducted a survey in which 90 percent of residents said they would subscribe to a local telecom provider and another 8 percent said they would consider subscribing. Business owners also strongly support the FTTP initiative. In a November referendum, voters approved a sales tax to help pay for the network and authorized the county to construct a telephone exchange. In August, the county applied for an RUS grant under the ARRA broadband-stimulus program to finance those portions of the network that are in completely unserved areas; as of this writing, RUS had not ruled on the application. The project will be carried out through a public-private partnership. The county will own the infrastructure; Arrowhead Electric, a local electric cooperative, will build and operate the network; and Boreal Access, the local ISP cooperative, will provide the video, voice and data services. More Bang for the Buck “I really believe we will see a bigger bang for the buck than the average,” MacKenzie says. “It will make all these services accessible.” Cook County Higher Ed will finally be able to upgrade its distance-learning programs. Other educational services will benefit, too, including the program that helps keep alive Anishinabe, the language of the local Grand Portage Indian tribe. The school district will be able to train high-school students in videography, giving them a salable skill and allowing them to produce local content for the network’s video service. The local public radio station will use the network to alert residents about evacuating the area during forest fires. The clinic will expand its electronic medical records system to remote locations, including the Grand Portage Reservation. And residents with medical emergencies will be able to get real-time help from the hospital in Duluth without waiting in anguish for medical records to download. With high-speed broadband available throughout the county, the tourist industry should rebound. MacKenzie expects to see a rise in telecommuting, and she hopes the area will attract young entrepreneurs who want to start home-based tech businesses and also go rock climbing and kayaking on the weekends. Unlike many municipalities, Cook County isn’t looking for a lot of economic development – residents don’t want to spoil the character of the place. It needs just enough to keep the region alive. MacKenzie says, “People sometimes make the argument that you have to make choices” – meaning that those who want to live in a remote and beautiful place should expect to give up certain perks of civilization. “That’s true to a certain extent,” she says. “But this community is a treasure for all of Minnesota. Some people need to be living here to provide services. The people who visit here want medical and hospitality services. We just need to maintain a balance so it can remain stable.” BBP SPECIAL EARLY BIRD OFFER REGISTER TODAY $390 USE VIP CODE: EARLY2010 Good until 12/18/09 www.bbpmag.com, CLICK REGISTER April 26 – 28, 2010 InterContinental Hotel – Dallas Addison, Texas The Leading Conference on Broadband Technologies and Services To Exhibit or Sponsor, contact: Irene Prescott at irene@broadbandproperties.com, or call 316-733-9122. For other inquiries, call 877-588-1649, or visit www.bbpmag.com. November/December 2009 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 63
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2010 Buyers Guide - Broadband Properties

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