Amador County – During their meeting Tuesday, the Amador County Board of Supervisors gave partial support to Mother Lode Internet for its pursuit of federal funding for regional broadband expansion. Titled the Mother Lode Broadband Project, the plan would eventually bring high-speed internet access to most of the rural areas of our region. MLI CEO Ben Hulet said it is important to act now while American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the estimated $30 million, 3-year project is still available. He said “it is such a challenge to create coverage because of infrastructure costs.” He said the project could provide a “significant injection into the local economy” in the form of money and jobs. MLI has already received $2.8 million in State funding and is set to receive another $3.1 million in order to “build a regional Community Network that includes a robust Middle Mile component to bring low cost bandwidth from Stockton and Sacramento.” The project is different from a similar undertaking supported by the Central Sierra Economic Development District and spearheaded by Calaveras County Chief Information Officer Howard Stohlman. Hulet said it is vital that MLI be involved in any local Middle Mile project or grant application because “competing applications will only fragment the grant application effort and reduce funding for each project.” He urged the Supervisors to approve a letter of support he drafted that lists the county as “Anchor Tenants,” or participants in his company’s grant application. Anchor tenants can also include schools, hospitals or organizations like the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, which last month presented a $250,000 study to gather information on how rural counties can gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet. Supervisor Richard Forster said he did not want to be an “Anchor Tenant” and “tie ourselves to just one provider.” The Supervisors expressed support for keeping the market competitive. Hulet said supporting MLI does not mean they do not support other ISPs. He stressed his belief in the importance of investing in locally-based businesses like his own rather than “out-of-town national providers.” He asked the county to pledge to purchase services from MLI instead of AT&T so the money remains local instead of “going through a call center in Texas.” Chairman Brian Oneto simply said he needs to do “more looking at it and thinking about it.” Supervisor Louis Boitano suggested they have county staff redraft the letter in order to “soften up” the statement about giving full support and then revisit the item at next week’s board meeting. Forster said there are “no guarantees that the county is only going to be working with one provider.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 03:41
Mother Lode Internet Seeks BOS Approval for Broadband Expansion Plan
Written by Tom-
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Amador County – During their meeting Tuesday, the Amador County Board of Supervisors gave partial support to Mother Lode Internet for its pursuit of federal funding for regional broadband expansion. Titled the Mother Lode Broadband Project, the plan would eventually bring high-speed internet access to most of the rural areas of our region. MLI CEO Ben Hulet said it is important to act now while American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for the estimated $30 million, 3-year project is still available. He said “it is such a challenge to create coverage because of infrastructure costs.” He said the project could provide a “significant injection into the local economy” in the form of money and jobs. MLI has already received $2.8 million in State funding and is set to receive another $3.1 million in order to “build a regional Community Network that includes a robust Middle Mile component to bring low cost bandwidth from Stockton and Sacramento.” The project is different from a similar undertaking supported by the Central Sierra Economic Development District and spearheaded by Calaveras County Chief Information Officer Howard Stohlman. Hulet said it is vital that MLI be involved in any local Middle Mile project or grant application because “competing applications will only fragment the grant application effort and reduce funding for each project.” He urged the Supervisors to approve a letter of support he drafted that lists the county as “Anchor Tenants,” or participants in his company’s grant application. Anchor tenants can also include schools, hospitals or organizations like the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency, which last month presented a $250,000 study to gather information on how rural counties can gain 100 percent coverage for high speed internet. Supervisor Richard Forster said he did not want to be an “Anchor Tenant” and “tie ourselves to just one provider.” The Supervisors expressed support for keeping the market competitive. Hulet said supporting MLI does not mean they do not support other ISPs. He stressed his belief in the importance of investing in locally-based businesses like his own rather than “out-of-town national providers.” He asked the county to pledge to purchase services from MLI instead of AT&T so the money remains local instead of “going through a call center in Texas.” Chairman Brian Oneto simply said he needs to do “more looking at it and thinking about it.” Supervisor Louis Boitano suggested they have county staff redraft the letter in order to “soften up” the statement about giving full support and then revisit the item at next week’s board meeting. Forster said there are “no guarantees that the county is only going to be working with one provider.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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