Broadband solutions

If the current talks between local, state and federal officials and AT&T fall through for an answer to broadband for Todd County, then the next best solution might be looking into (affordable) delivery over power lines:

The following was posted last week on The Rural Blog:

Phone, cable companies want broadband stimulus money to extend networks to remote areas Big telephone companies and some cable-TV operators say President Obama's goal "of blanketing the country with high-speed Internet can't be accomplished without significant investments in so-called 'backhaul' networks that stretch to hard-to-reach communities," reports Fawn Johnson of Dow Jones Newswires. "There is some debate, however, about whether those networks should be financed with government money or private sector investments. Extending cable to rural communities can be prohibitively expensive for Internet carriers, which is why those areas tend to have few connectivity options."

A senior Obama adviser said today that backhaul networks, often defined as the connections between an antenna and a switching facility, should be eligible for the $7.2 million in stimulus money for rural broadband. "Investments in backhaul networks, particularly in rural communities, will likely be particularly helpful," Susan Crawford, a member of the National Economic Council and a special assistant to the president, said at a briefing sponsored by the Media Access Project. However, it should be noted that there are other ways to get affordable broadband to homes in remote areas: via power lines or, in relatively flat areas, wireless networks.
Posted by Al Cross at 4/29/2009 04:12:00 PM

If the White House is behind backhaul networks then wouldn't it be simpler to go through an already existing entity like Pennyrile Electric? PRECC is a co-operative and has lines in all of Todd County (as well as a good part of Christian, Trigg and parts of Logan and Muhlenberg counties).

Pennyrile has lines that run to the deepest backwood and as the recent ice storm proved, it stays up on technology and keeps its lines well maintained.

Just as the Logan Telephone Co-operative has helped blanket that county by using existing lines to run broadband Pennyrile Electric could actually bring more broadband to more people in this area than a massive company like AT&T. Also, having the price of the broadband controlled by the co-op board would make everyone sleep a little easier at night.

No mater what, Todd County is now about 5 months behind on having broadband service for a high school full of students who have top-shelf laptops and dial up service at home.

Not exactly a shining example of a community supporting its students, is it?