Tom,
I think you misunderstood my position. I have reviewed many of connected
nations' completed projects and their mapping methodologies. In other
aspects of taxpayer funded mapping efforts, the resulting data has been put
in the public domain because the taxpayers own the right to the results.
Having connected nation do a mapping effort funded by the taxpayers, and
then not give anyone access to the data except for a pdf map, is not in the
public best interest. We saw the board makeup of connected nation when they
asked if WISPA wanted to join. As we all discovered, those board members are
largely made up of people from the Telco and Cable companies. That is where
they get their clout. That is also why they stick to their guns and map the
broadband data under NDA and won't release the results.
I am not against the broadband mapping initiative at all. I support the
concept of mapping, just not the way connected nation has done it in the
past. I also feel it is dangerous putting the projects in the hands of
organizations who could be subject to the perception of not being completely
objective. There are many states that have already done a good job of
mapping broadband or are well on their way. California did a nice one
(http://www.calink.ca.gov/taskforcereport/), Maine and others have also put
a lot of work in to their programs. It's important to read and understand
each projects mapping methodologies to establish how much of a statistical
margin of error their results can contain. Nothing is going to be perfect,
but it can also be said that it's easy to sway results depending on how you
report data in statistical form. From a rural broadband perspective, a
simple overstatement of a service area by say 5 or 10 percent can lock out a
large number of households that might be the difference in making a rural
WISP or other ISP business case possible. In the case of KY or OH, there are
no provisions for others to view the comprehensive data sets for either
broadband studies or other purposes. The only result provided was a pdf map
and a web site where you can inquire based on a single address point. If
connected nation has not figured out how to map broadband in a manor where
they can release the data when finished, then the taxpayer is not getting
their best value.
Thank You,
Brian Webster
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom DeReggi [mailto:wirelessn...@rapiddsl.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 4:02 PM
To: bwebs...@wirelessmapping.com; WISPA General List
Subject: Re: [WISPA] NTIA mapping
Brian,
Thats where I disagree. I'm surprised to hear it come from you.
Quick Note: Just two years ago, CN was nobody. They have gotten clout
because they got off their hind side and started working on a solution to
the problem. But CN has had lots of critisim, they are not invincible.
What you should be doing is writting your ticket to financial freedom, by
preparing plans for WISPs.
Grant awardees can't write checks to themselves, but they can write checks
to their solution providers and contractors necessary to fullfil their
obligations of and goals for their grants.
Brian, many WISPs like your work and see the value, but aren't paying you
now for services because they simply don't have the budget for it. The grant
program is an opportunity to get in "in the budget". If mapping isn't
included in their grant apps, it won't likely be in their budget after their
award either.
It might be hard to get a seperate grant for mapping. But its real easy to
add a line item to an existing application. If I were you, I'd be putting
togeather the "deluxe" package for WISPs to include in their applications,
and it doesn't have to be "cheaper".
Tom DeReggi
RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc
IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Webster" <bwebs...@wirelessmapping.com>
To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 10:09 PM
Subject: Re: [WISPA] NTIA mapping
> Amen Rick!!!!
>
> I've always maintained the thought that the 350 Million was another back
> door political payback to the Telco and cable companies via Connected
> Nation. With the fact that this funding gets put out there and then the
> data
> never really becomes available because of the NDA's signed, it just smells
> like a pork barrel project to me. Your explanation just backs up that
> idea.
>
> If you want to map broadband, go to a small organization like myself. We
> can
> do the work for tenths of a penny on the dollar these guys are quoting.
> You
> just build that cost in to the rest of your stimulus project and move on.
> Trying to take on Connected Nation is a losing battle. Just step around
> them
> and move forward......there are plenty of ways to map the competitive
> broadband in a market without proprietary data and you can successfully do
> it to convince the organizations that are handing out money.
>
>
>
> Thank You,
> Brian Webster
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org]on
> Behalf Of Rick Harnish
> Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:23 PM
> To: ccoo...@intelliwave.com; 'WISPA General List'
> Subject: Re: [WISPA] NTIA mapping
>
>
> Chris,
>
> It is my understanding that this bill was specifically written for
> Connected
> Nation. In a conversation today in Indianapolis I was told that if you
> divide $350 million by 50 states you get $7,000,000 per state. This is
> approximately 80% of the $9,000,000 contract they recently signed with
> Ohio
> or Tennessee. The 80% number coincidentally matches up with the current
> thinking on the Broadband Stimulus Grants with 20% coming from the
> awardees
> and 80% coming from the Federal Government. If this assumption is
> correct,
> it didn't take Connected Nation long to come up with a number to present
> to
> the legislators that sponsored the bill.
>
> I'm not saying that this funding won't be allocated to other grantees but
> I
> have been told that it will be extremely difficult to buck this
> legislation
> given the current political clout that Connected Nation seems to have.
> That
> is not to say that the states themselves will get control of the funding
> and
> will make those decisions separately.
>
> Respectfully,
> Rick Harnish
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On
> Behalf Of chris cooper
> Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:01 AM
> To: 'WISPA General List'
> Subject: [WISPA] NTIA mapping
>
> There is a $350 million mapping component set aside under BTOP. Will
> this funding be available in smaller chunks to successful grantees to
> map their expanded networks? Will it be available to all wisps to map
> their existing networks in an effort to add to the overall national BB
> map?
>
>
>
> Chris Cooper
>
> Intelliwave
>
>
>
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