FWIW -- there is a WISP in contact with the Lt Governor's Office and Crain's about servicing this customer (they have a tower ~ 4 miles from the physical location)
-Charles ------------------------------------------- CWLab Technology Architects http://www.cwlab.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pete Davis Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 8:40 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] [Fwd: Illinois' broadband gap squeezes small businessfrom Crain's] He must share a t1 with 12 other tenants and its barely faster than dialup? If I had to buy a t1 for every 12 broadband subscribers, I would go broke! Someone needs to manage that t1 or clean viruses on 13 computers, or something.. pd John Scrivner wrote: > Can someone in the Chicago area please serve this guy? If you get him > a wireless connection please let me know and I will have a press > release prepared and sent out. > Thanks, > Scriv > > PS. If you are in Illinois and have not done so yet, please join the > [EMAIL PROTECTED] email list server for Illinois specific > information. http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/illinois > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Illinois' broadband gap squeezes small business from Crain's > Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:18:16 -0500 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >> From Crain's > Illinois' broadband gap squeezes small business > By Julie Johnsson > April 16, 2006 > Even the cheapest DSL service is out of Steve Zaransky's reach. > > The line providing high-speed Internet access from AT&T Inc. stops 600 > yards short of his company, Airways Digital Media. Comcast Corp. > doesn't serve his neighborhood, an industrial corridor on the city's > Far Northwest Side. > Broadband remains elusive for some Chicagoans living or working in > industrial areas - as Mr. Zaransky learned when he moved his > three-employee Web development firm from the West Loop last summer. "I > just assumed that anywhere in the city, you'd be able to get > broadband," he says. > > That's not the case. Illinois ranks 21st nationally for broadband > lines per capita, trailing California, Massachusetts and even sparsely > populated Nevada and Alaska. In a world of instant information, that's > a serious disadvantage for small business owners like Mr. Zaransky, > who can't afford the T-1 lines larger companies use to tap into the > Internet. > > "It creates a struggle to do business here, rather than making it > simple. It doesn't bode well for economic development," says Janita > Tucker, executive director of the Peterson Pulaski Business and > Industrial Council, which represents 22 businesses employing about > 2,000 people in the industrial corridor including Mr. Zaransky's > business. Most of them don't have access to digital subscriber line > (DSL) or cable modem service, she says. > > That's ironic in a city that boasts one of the richest fiber networks > in the country. Illinois had 1.85 million high-speed Internet lines as > of June 30, the fifth-highest total of any state, according to new > Federal Communications Commission data. Much of that broadband is > clustered in downtown Chicago, a major Internet hub. > > However, gaps in the network are a problem elsewhere, leaving Illinois > with one broadband connection for every 6.70 residents, according to > an analysis by Crain's that compared the FCC tally of broadband lines > to population figures from the 2000 U.S. Census. The District of > Columbia and Connecticut, with the best coverage nationally, have > broadband connections for every 4.52 and 4.97 residents, respectively. > > "We do have large areas of the city and many suburban areas that don't > have basic broadband availability," says Scott Goldstein, > vice-president for policy and planning at the Metropolitan Planning > Council. "All sectors of the economy are going high-tech, not just > large companies. That's where Chicago needs to compete." > > The problem is a hangover from the 1990s, when Chicago's dominant > phone and cable companies were slow to upgrade networks that were > later acquired by AT&T (formerly known as SBC Communications Inc.) and > Comcast. > > NO RESIDENCES, NO COVERAGE > > Philadelphia cable giant Comcast has made cable modem available to > about 99% of homes in its Northern Illinois service area, but it > doesn't provide service to office parks and industrial areas where > there are no residences, a spokeswoman says. DSL service, provided by > phone companies, reached only 77% of Illinois phone customers as of > June 30, 2005, according to federal data. > > In Florida, the state with the widest DSL availability, some 85% of > customers could hook into the service as of mid-2005. New York's DSL > network reached 81% of the state. > > An AT&T spokesman says 80% of its Illinois customers had access to DSL > by the end of 2005. He can't say when the company's DSL coverage will > approach 100%. "Our goal is to get to these areas as soon as we can, > and we're working at it." He says the network will reach Mr. > Zaransky's neighborhood this year. > > Texas-based AT&T also plans to begin wiring area homes for fiber-optic > lines capable of providing television programming and ultra-fast > Internet service later this year. > > State and city of Chicago officials acknowledge broadband coverage is > a problem, but they have been slow to find solutions. The Illinois > Broadband Task Force, established by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is drawing > up plans to study service gaps and create an entity to provide > broadband in underserved areas. > > > > Chicago, meanwhile, is proceeding with plans to establish citywide > Wi-Fi service. Requests for proposals for the project will be issued > later this spring, with the first service deployment beginning in > 2007, says Hardik Bhatt, the city's chief information officer. "It > should cover the industrial zones or disadvantaged neighborhoods that > are not fully connected by existing providers." > > T-1 SPLIT 12 WAYS > > That's little comfort to residents and business owners who need such > connections immediately. For now, Mr. Zaransky must share a T-1 line > with 12 other tenants of his building at 4055 W. Peterson Ave. The > line provides access at speeds barely faster than dial-up. He sends > large files from his home in suburban Forest Park, where he has full > broadband access. "It's a productivity cost," he says. "It takes a lot > of time. I have to take them home, unload them from home." > > For Dwight Curtis, the lack of DSL or cable modem service means not > having any backup during the not-infrequent outages that plague the > two T-1 lines serving his 100,000-square-foot distribution center on > the Northwest Side. > > "If that last-mile connection is down, we're out of business," says > Mr. Curtis, president of Chicago-based American Labelmark Co. > > Carolyn Brown Hodge > Director of Rural Affairs > Office of Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn > 414 Stratton Building > Springfield, Illinois 62706 > (217) 557-9469 > FAX (217) 782-9879 > > -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
