well....
John's is a wonderful story.
With $8billion, I see no reason why as an industry we can't replicate John's
story 26,000 times.
There are obstacles and risks in everything in life. But battles can be won. We
already wons several battles on the terms of the new stimulus bill.
I see no reason why we can't win more battles shaping the bill.
The biggest advantage a WISP has is they have a pre-existing self sustaining
business already, to build upon.
That should increase the chances that an existing WISPs will win grants.
It also means we have to ask for the money, because if we don't, someone else
will.
Tom DeReggi
RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc
IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband
----- Original Message -----
From: Travis Johnson
To: WISPA General List
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 1:47 AM
Subject: Re: [WISPA] It can mean everything
John,
What you did for the community and the individuals in that area is very cool.
Something you should be proud of for the rest of your life.
However, let's play the other side of this Broadband Stimulus package. What
if, because of all this "free" money, two new competitors come to this area?
And what if they all deploy 900mhz? They really have nothing to lose because
they don't have any customers right now anyway. And it's not their money that
is having to pay for all the equipment, etc. so even if it doesn't work, they
don't care.
So, what if this new money brings all these "government leaches" out, right
into the wireless broadband market? What if you wake up tomorrow and have 2 or
3 new competitors in your area? What about if they start using 3.65 along with
all your deployments? Again, they have nothing to lose because it wasn't their
money and they don't care if they cause problems for anyone else, because they
are collecting $250k per year salaries and they will ride it until it dries up.
This whole "package" could be a HUGE mess for our entire industry. :(
Travis
Microserv
John Scrivner wrote:
I used to say our government had no place in broadband. One thing happened
that changed my thinking to some degree. A small rural town called Bluford,
Illinois used to have no broadband until a few years ago. At that time I
never used 900 MHz gear because it was out of my budget. Bluford was full of
trees. It is a very poor community which led me to believe they could not
afford the high price of 900 MHz CPEs. Basically Bluford defined the
"Digital Divide". My attitude toward USDA grants was "They should stay out
of this but if someone will get the money it might as well be me". I shot
for the moon. I budgeted for Waverider 900 MHz (The only 900 MHz gear
available at that time) and a new tower. I asked for free installs for all
residents. I ran surveys of every person in town. In short I did everything
the USDA required of the grant and then some. I even went to broadband
conventions and told others how to apply for grants.
Then a miracle happened.
My grant was funded. I received $310K to build service into Bluford. It was
the nicest setup I had ever done. The people of Bluford were ecstatic. Over
60% of all residents bought service. We built a free community technology
center at the local grade school. We gave free broadband to the schools, the
village hall, the fire department, etc. as a condition of the grant. Bluford
was doing great. Still, this had not really changed my thinking that Uncle
Sam should keep out of the broadband business.
One child did change my mind.
An 8 year old boy in Bluford got leukemia shortly after we setup the new
broadband there. Dad and son, alone, faced the dark days ahead. These people
were poor folks facing the horrors of cancer. Despite all this adversity and
gloom the boy had only one major mental obstacle which really cut to the
core for him. He could not face the prospects of having to be held back a
year of school. You see, he was forced into isolation from killing off his
immune system as a consequence of the bone marrow being destroyed and
replaced. He desparately wanted to finish school with his class. The schoool
called me and asked if we could help with the broadband grant program we had
won. We did. We bought a pan-tilt-zoom camera and set it up on a roll around
cart along with a speakerphone in his classroom. We installed broadband in
his home for free using 900 MHz radios to bust through the trees. The boy
attended classes virtually through this system. He beat his cancer. He also
finished his year with his fellow students.
How much is this worth?
It seems to me that this particular broadband application is much like the
"Priceless" description we see in those VISA commercials. But let's try to
put a dollar amount on it. Is it worth $310K to be able to do this? Is it
possible that this one boy's hope alone is worth $310K and the fact that the
whole town now has broadband is a bonus?
Maybe it is ok to let our leaders lead for a change.
I have seen many bad things come from bad government in my 43 years on this
earth. I have been fortunate enough to see some good things too. Until
recently I thought cynicism was going to rule the day forever in regard to
government. I thought patrotism was dead. I thought the American Dream had
faded and spoiled into a nightmare. Sadly the government has done much to
amplify those feelings. Regardless of your politics you have to be worried.
Maybe it is ok to have hope too. Maybe we should try for once to say that we
will take our leader's lead and try to stimulate our economy through
broadband deployment. I am willing to give it a shot. Maybe this will not
work but maybe it will. What if success or failure of this program is more
dependent on how we make use of this program than whether or not the program
is right or wrong? This is possibly the most unique opportunity of our
lives. The government is basically telling us they want us to save the
country. They are opening up the bank and saying to us, "What would you do
to make broadband a stimulating force to aid this country's economy if money
was not a barrier to your success?" I am going to have to step up and be
part of the solution. I hope all of you do the same.
John Scrivner
President - Mt. Vernon. Net, Inc.
Trweasurer - WISPA
On Sun, Feb 15, 2009 at 11:16 PM, <rea...@muddyfrogwater.us> wrote:
Not me. If it's wrong, it's wrong. I'm not going to say "it should not
be
done" and then go after the money for myself. I'd have to hide my face
forever. Money comes and goes. Conscience is forever.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
<insert witty tagline here>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marlon K. Schafer" <o...@odessaoffice.com>
To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: [WISPA] What does this mean to wisps?
Me? I'm gonna go for as much grant money as I can get. What else can we
do?
marlon
Well, whatcha gonna do?
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