Amador County - The Amador County Board of Supervisors granted approval this week to draft a letter of support for regional efforts to bring full broadband internet access to rural areas in the foothills region. Howard Stohlman, Chief Information Officer for Calaveras County, asked Supervisors to support a plan he is helping to coordinate called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Round II Middle Mile Broadband Project. The lengthy title refers to efforts by the Central Sierra Economic Development District, which represents Amador, Alpine, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, to seek ARRA funding to expand regional broadband connectivity. Once received, the money would be distributed by the District to private companies to fund the extension of fiber-optic infrastructure up from the Stockton area so that broadband service can eventually be distributed among foothill counties via microwave transmission in Phase III. Stohlman asked the Supervisors to join in issuing a resolution of support and/or becoming anchor tenants, which would list them as participants in the grant application. Anchor tenants can also include organizations like schools, hospitals or the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, which at the same meeting presented an 18-month, $250,000 study to gather information on how rural counties can gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet. Stohlman said “the idea is that those anchor tenants would be allowed bandwidth access at a considerably lower price.” District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster said he is concerned about “jumping over midrange or smaller providers that are competitive in the market.” Stohlman said the end result of all this will be a robust 3G broadband network that can be used by the private sector, not a publicly run network. Eric Shippam, a representative of Mother Lode Internet in Sonora, said that once infrastructure is in place, interested parties have discussed a “stipulation that participating companies’ reach an agreement for operations that…keeps competitive pricing low.” He said the concept of having counties participate as anchor tenants “ensures viability.” He said the economic impact of such a project will be good for the region and will add “over 100 new construction jobs at union wages.” Shippam said there is still much to be worked out between private service providers “as far as everyone working together.” Forster made a motion seconded by Supervisor John Plasse to become anchor tenants as well as draft a “letter of support for a local network that is sustainable to all internet service providers.” The motion passed unanimously. Stohlman said the approval was needed as soon as possible because the ARRA application must be submitted online by March 15th. He said funding could be as much as $30 million, but depends on how many counties participate. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
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Amador County - The Amador County Board of Supervisors granted approval this week to draft a letter of support for regional efforts to bring full broadband internet access to rural areas in the foothills region. Howard Stohlman, Chief Information Officer for Calaveras County, asked Supervisors to support a plan he is helping to coordinate called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Round II Middle Mile Broadband Project. The lengthy title refers to efforts by the Central Sierra Economic Development District, which represents Amador, Alpine, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, to seek ARRA funding to expand regional broadband connectivity. Once received, the money would be distributed by the District to private companies to fund the extension of fiber-optic infrastructure up from the Stockton area so that broadband service can eventually be distributed among foothill counties via microwave transmission in Phase III. Stohlman asked the Supervisors to join in issuing a resolution of support and/or becoming anchor tenants, which would list them as participants in the grant application. Anchor tenants can also include organizations like schools, hospitals or the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, which at the same meeting presented an 18-month, $250,000 study to gather information on how rural counties can gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet. Stohlman said “the idea is that those anchor tenants would be allowed bandwidth access at a considerably lower price.” District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster said he is concerned about “jumping over midrange or smaller providers that are competitive in the market.” Stohlman said the end result of all this will be a robust 3G broadband network that can be used by the private sector, not a publicly run network. Eric Shippam, a representative of Mother Lode Internet in Sonora, said that once infrastructure is in place, interested parties have discussed a “stipulation that participating companies’ reach an agreement for operations that…keeps competitive pricing low.” He said the concept of having counties participate as anchor tenants “ensures viability.” He said the economic impact of such a project will be good for the region and will add “over 100 new construction jobs at union wages.” Shippam said there is still much to be worked out between private service providers “as far as everyone working together.” Forster made a motion seconded by Supervisor John Plasse to become anchor tenants as well as draft a “letter of support for a local network that is sustainable to all internet service providers.” The motion passed unanimously. Stohlman said the approval was needed as soon as possible because the ARRA application must be submitted online by March 15th. He said funding could be as much as $30 million, but depends on how many counties participate. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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