I've been putting some thought in to the idea of how best to use
stimulus money or even obtain any of it for the average WISP. The buzz words
that get the politicians happy and make them jump through hoops to give you
money seem to be public/private partnerships, shovel ready projects, and
fiber. If WISP's were to make contact with their local city and county
government agencies, they might find some sort of fiber projects in the
works. Typically these are to connect schools and government buildings
together. If a WISP were to partner up with them and bring in the element of
taking that fiber speed and bringing affordable bandwidth to the general
public, the fiber projects gain a lot more traction in the eyes of the folks
giving out the money. As a WISP, especially in the rural markets, long term
access to affordable bandwidth will be key to survival. While your wireless
over the air equipment and technology may change every few years, the desire
for the bandwidth to the internet will not change, and an investment in
fiber backhaul will be easy to justify for more than 24 months.
Major backhaul to rural communities is a serious project to undertake
and requires a lot of money. This I believe is one of the key focus elements
to bringing broadband to the masses. Even if a public private partnership
did nothing more than give you dark fiber that reaches back to markets where
you can buy cheap bandwidth, it would be something you might not be able to
achieve on your own. Having access to good reasonable priced bandwidth might
also help justify small pockets of fiber to the home efforts in small
communities where it might now make sense. Putting some of your densely
located customers on fiber might also allow you to squeeze more out of your
wireless system.
I guess what I am trying to say is that WISP's should be looking at long
term investment in infrastructure that will serve a changing industry for 10
to 20 years. You can bet that is what the Telco and cable operators are
doing. This type of effort might also be just the thing to do together with
other WISP's in an area.
Thank You,
Brian Webster
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