On Thu, 29 Sep 2005, Don Renner wrote: >Your Confirmation Number is: '2005929853326 ' >Date Received: Sep 29 2005 >Docket: 04-186 >
Your Confirmation Number is: '2005101874059 ' I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue. I hope that you are able to hear the voices that I have seen speak out here. Many of these voices, like mine, are small, independent ISPs. We don't have thousands of dollars to spend on lobbying efforts. Nor do we have millions of customers. At least we don't have these things individually. As a group, however, WISPs have done some pretty amazing things with too little money and too little spectrum. The spectrum we have been using is overcrowded and, with the small EIRP allowed, only of limited usefulness. We (as a group) have, however, made extremely efficient use of this spectrum. We have connected MILLIONS of rural Americans to the internet with HIGH SPEED Broadband. Following the Katrina and Rita disasters, it was WISPs who first put communication networks in place so that victims of these storms were able to communicate via VOiP with their relatives. WISP volunteers are STILL working to bring telephone and internet access to the shelters in the affected areas. With the spectrum in question with the 04-186 proceeding, WISPs would have the ability to provide better coverage in the many underserved ares where we are already attempting to cover. There are a multitude of problems that WISPs face daily with respect to the current spectrum that has been allocated for our use. Among these are interference, low power and lack of penetration/LOS issues. As you are all aware, the lower frequency of the unused TV band will provide us with a means to provide broadband internet access much more consistently with the low power requirements imposed on us. WISPs have a track record of providing broadband internet access to largely unserved areas. Due to the low population density of these areas, it is often not cost effective to build out enough towers to provide this near 100% coverage. The use of this currently unused band would make that problem a thing of the past. Finally, I would urge the commission to allow unlicensed use in this band, even if it is on a managed basis. This band is important to the commission's own stated goal of bringing broadband access to all Americans. It is WISPs that are fulfilling that goal in areas that the RBOCs and cableops are not willing to invest in. WISPs are, individually, not large operators, but taken as a whole, we have shown that we can deploy quickly and effectively. Given access to a band such as this, we can grow even more quickly. Given access to a band such as this, we CAN and WILL bring broadband to Americans that will otherwise have NO chance of exceeding dialup. Butch Evans, BPS Networks -- Butch Evans BPS Networks http://www.bpsnetworks.com/ Bernie, MO Mikrotik Certified Consultant (http://www.mikrotik.com/consultants.html) -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
