One thing I've always wondered is why they only want to know what areas you have customers in, not what areas you can service.
---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Edward Spoon <edsp...@gmail.com> Reply-To: WISPA General List <wireless@wispa.org> Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:28:30 -0600 >Which is probably why my state just started their own required bi-annual >broadband filing report. The preferred method was census BLOCK, luckily that >was optional and tract was acceptable. Hopefully it stays that way! I spent >over 30 man hours (much of it after hours, and with Brian's help) getting >the tract data / correct format the first time, but since we are now >maintaining it I have already completed the March 1 FCC filing - took less >than 1 hour! > >I refuse to let my brain contemplate starting from scratch again to get >block level data. Nope. Not happening. Forget it. No way, (You know we're >gonna have to eventually!!) > >Ed > > >On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 11:40 AM, Brian Webster < >bwebs...@wirelessmapping.com> wrote: > >> Yes there is a check box, that has been the problem with sharing the data. >> The FCC was even sued for a FOIA release of the From 477 data by The Center >> for Public Integrity in 2007. They were not required to release the >> information. >> >> >> >> Thank You, >> Brian Webster >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Ken Hohhof [mailto:khoh...@kwom.com] >> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 12:33 PM >> To: bwebs...@wirelessmapping.com >> Subject: Re: [WISPA Members] [Motorola II] WISP's are killing >> themselves!!!!- New FCC form 477 report is out, not looking good for Fixed >> Wireless >> >> >> Well, I can see how that's a problem. >> Is there actually a checkbox where you choose to protect or not protect >> your data? I don't remember that. But I haven't done the March 1 >> submission yet. >> If that's the case, and they are prohibited from sharing the data with >> other government entities doing broadband mapping, I don't have a solution >> for that. >> >> >> From: Brian Webster >> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 11:22 AM >> To: Ken Hohhof ; memb...@wispa.org >> Subject: RE: [WISPA Members] [Motorola II] WISP's are killing >> themselves!!!!- New FCC form 477 report is out, not looking good for Fixed >> Wireless >> >> >> The biggest problem with not providing the 477 data to the state or making >> it available to those seeking grants, is the fact that people who file the >> data have checked the box that requires the FCC to protect it under NDA >> (Marlon do you remember this issue? As I recall you were one of the >> cheerleaders on that topic). The WISP's were the ones insisting that that >> option be available before they would file. Now the same industry it >> bitching about the fact that the data is not being distributed...can't have >> it both ways. The FCC has shared the data with NTIA and RUS and those >> agencies are protecting that same NDA. Those agencies are using the data >> to >> cross reference grant applications and challenges. >> >> >> >> >> >> Thank You, >> Brian Webster >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Ken Hohhof [mailto:khoh...@kwom.com] >> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 12:03 PM >> To: bwebs...@wirelessmapping.com; memb...@wispa.org >> Subject: Re: [WISPA Members] [Motorola II] WISP's are killing >> themselves!!!!- New FCC form 477 report is out,not looking good for Fixed >> Wireless >> >> >> Brian, this thread leaves me puzzled about a few things. >> >> 1) Why are we so worried about the US "falling behind" the rest of the >> world in broadband, while the fact that China is leaving us in the dust in >> high speed rail generates a mere yawn? (same with solar and wind power ... >> technology, manufacturing, and deployment) >> >> 2) Does anyone really believe this is about high speed pipes for >> telemedicine, or kids doing their homework? What is the national security >> issue with making sure every house is wired for 4 simultaneous streams of >> on-demand high definition 3D entertainment? Are we afraid of falling >> behind >> the Chinese in the couch potato race? >> >> 3) This is a census year. Why is the census not being used to get this >> data directly from end users? Think of the questions you could ask, not >> just about what speeds people have, but why they don't have higher speeds. >> (unavailable? too expensive? not needed? don't even have a computer? >> only use the Internet for texting and tweeting from their cellphone?) >> >> 4) Any other statistical survey would correct for known measurement >> errors. For example, by checking a sample of the data against >> independently >> obtained data known to be accurate. Or correcting for known measurement >> inaccuracies. Like if you know that only 10% of Amish households have >> phones while 90% of the general population does, you might want to multiply >> the Amish responses in a phone survey by 9. So if they know only 50% of >> WISPs are submitting Form 477, wouldn't it make sense to multiply the >> numbers by 2? It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be more accurate than >> making decisions based on clearly wrong data. >> >> 5) Why is a fortune in stimulus money being handed out in state mapping >> grants, for a one-time measurement, and for results that won't be available >> in time for the broadband plan next month? >> >> 6) Why is no one cross referencing Form 477 data to state mapping >> projects? I look at the Connect Illinois map, and it clearly does not >> include some of the biggest WISPs in my area, for example T6 Broadband. >> Yet >> those WISPs are in the dropdown box for Form 477, so evidently they >> submitted Form 477 data. If they have a bunch of customers in a certain >> census tract, apparently they have coverage in that census tract. Would it >> not make sense for the state map to include this data, even if the WISPs >> chose not to give Connected Nation a spreadsheet of all their APs to >> independently generate a coverage map? I mean, come on guys, decisions are >> being made on the basis of data that someone can easily demonstrate is very >> wrong. It's like saying my sister doesn't exist and making decisions based >> on her non-existence, just because she didn't send me a Christmas card. >> >> 7) If insufficient broadband speed is such a monumental problem, why is >> it proving so difficult to obtain the data to back it up? >> >> I think maybe we're obsessing too much about the people who can only get >> 3M DSL or 6M WiMAX or 10M cable, but to prove whose dick is bigger we want >> them to get 100M or 1000M because we heard on TV that everybody in Hong >> Kong >> has that. So far the free market has done a pretty good job of getting >> those people faster and faster speeds. And if we're trying to determine >> who >> CAN'T get broadband, we're going about it backwards by having providers >> tell >> us everyone who CAN and then seeing who got left out. >> >> I'll tell you how to quickly identify all the unserved areas in the >> country. Get a list of street addresses from Hughesnet of all their >> customers. Anywhere you have a concentration of Hughesnet dishes, clearly >> those people have no other choice. It's like someone announced, hey >> everybody who can't get high speed Internet, stick a big ugly dish on your >> roof so we can identify you easily from space. >> >> >> From: Brian Webster >> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 2:37 PM >> To: motor...@afmug.com ; WISPA List ; WISPA Board ; memb...@wispa. org >> Subject: Re: [WISPA Members] [Motorola II] WISP's are killing >> themselves!!!!- New FCC form 477 report is out,not looking good for Fixed >> Wireless >> >> >> As many of you know I participated on a panel last week with 2 FCC >> staffers. Here is the text of an email I just sent to them: >> >> Paul and John; >> I just reviewed the latest form 477 report. I am dismayed by the >> results for the fixed wireless industry. I cannot believe, and I am sure >> you >> don't either that there was a 39.6% decline in subscribers over 6 months >> when there were 112 more operators reporting. The only conclusion I can >> draw >> is that fixed wireless operators who reported in the past using the zip >> code >> method, did not file when they were required to report by census tract. >> Many >> of those operators must have had a large customer base. >> As I mentioned on the panel, I have assisted some WISP's file their >> 477 reports by mapping their customer databases and assigning the proper >> tract data to each record. In talking with most of them, it became apparent >> that the FCC did not provide an adequate tool to help those people file. >> While it is possible to look up a single address and get the tract data, >> there were no provisions to allow for a bulk upload and query to assign >> this >> information. Many of the 20 or so WISP's I helped had databases of 1,200 to >> 1,400 records. That would be a very time consuming process to do one at a >> time. >> Most small WISP's do not have the GIS skills or tools to deal with >> this issue that major carriers already have on staff. Zip codes were easy >> because it was already part of the information they had on hand. If >> possible >> there should be a tool to address this issue which should increase the >> reporting numbers from those who had participated in the past. >> >> >> >> Thank You, >> Brian Webster >> 214 Eggleston Hill Rd. >> Cooperstown, NY 13326 >> (607) 643-4055 Office >> (607) 435-3988 Mobile >> (208) 692-1898 Fax >> Skype: Radiowebst >> www.wirelessmapping.com >> -----Original Message----- >> From: motor...@afmug.com [mailto:motor...@afmug.com]on Behalf Of >> Peter >> Kranz >> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 1:50 PM >> To: motor...@afmug.com >> Subject: RE: [Motorola II] WISP's are killing themselves!!!! - New >> FCC >> form 477 report is out, not looking good for Fixed Wireless >> >> >> Maybe they can keep making this report harder and harder to fill out >> so we all just stop doing it.. >> >> >> >> That report is a huge waste of my staffs time. And based on the >> underlying edits and validations you can tell their system computes the >> census tracks internally to verify it matches the one you provide. The >> system should accept data in a way that is simple for a WISP to provide and >> derive the census tracks, etc.. maybe then more people would provide the >> data. >> >> >> >> Peter Kranz >> Founder/CEO - UnwiredLtd >> www.UnwiredLtd.com >> Desk: 510-868-1614 x100 >> Mobile: 510-207-0000 >> pkr...@unwiredltd.com >> >> From: motor...@afmug.com [mailto:motor...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of >> Chuck McCown >> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 10:41 AM >> To: motor...@afmug.com >> Subject: Re: [Motorola II] WISP's are killing themselves!!!! - New >> FCC >> form 477 report is out, not looking good for Fixed Wireless >> >> >> >> Brian, >> >> Could you find a list of the fixed wireless companies so we can all >> verify we are on the list? >> >> >> >> From: Brian Webster >> >> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 11:36 AM >> >> To: WISPA List ; memb...@wispa. org ; WISPA Board ; Motorla List >> Beehive >> >> Subject: [Motorola II] WISP's are killing themselves!!!! - New FCC >> form 477 report is out, not looking good for Fixed Wireless >> >> >> >> The latest FCC report on form 477 broadband data is out >> (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296239A1.pdf). >> While >> I don't see a whole lot of useful data in it, I do see where WISP's are >> killing themselves and the industry, why? >> >> >> >> a.. In the periods prior to the December 2008 report, fixed wireless >> has shown a steady increase in subscribers. The last reporting period the >> number of subscribers dropped from 808,000 to 488,000!!! That's a 39.6% >> drop >> in the actual data that had been previously reported. Know I know that most >> of the problem is the fact they now require census tract reporting rather >> than zip codes, but dropping like this does not help the industry as a >> whole. >> b.. Because of the low number of reported subscribers, the reporting >> by technology portions of the report does not even earn fixed wireless a >> spot on the charts in it's own category. It's lumped in with the 1.4% total >> of all other technologies compared to the rest of the broadband industry. >> Hell Satellite has their own category with .9%. >> c.. The total number of fixed wireless providers reporting is 617. >> That means there are a huge number of WISP's not filing form 477 and those >> that didn't report must have a large number of subscribers. The previous >> period where fixed wireless had 808,000 subscribers had only 505 WISP's >> report! Matt Larsen and the WISP directory have around 1,800 WISP's >> registered. I've heard other estimates between 2,000 and over 4,000. Only >> 617 fixed wireless operators reporting is not helping the cause at all. >> d.. The National broadband plan is being formulated as we speak, >> looking at those statistics it appears the WISP industry is in a serious >> decline and that as a total percentage of broadband provided to consumers >> nationally, they make no significant difference. >> If you were a government policy maker, would you even pay attention to >> WISP's. I certainly would not. They have to make decisions based on data >> and >> that benefit the majority of the country. WISP's have thumbed their noses >> at >> providing this data for years. I think it is really going to bite them in >> the butt now. Fiber to the home is coming liking it or not. USF reform is >> coming like it or not. USF reform is going to subsidize broadband to the >> very markets wireless serves more economically today. Removing that >> advantage is going to put the WISP industry in serious trouble. >> >> >> >> The manufacturers are killing themselves as well. In their quest to >> just sell radios, they have missed the importance of keeping the industry >> healthy. If the WISP's cannot compete and/or show that they are a >> significant option to the overall broadband infrastructure in the US, how >> will they continue to sell product. If anyone knows the true number of >> WISP's out there it is the manufacturers. They should be leading the charge >> with groups like WISPA to make sure ALL WISP's stand up and get counted. >> How >> hard would it be to stuff each shipment with educational material on the >> importance of filing form 477? >> >> >> >> The current FCC is very open minded but the results of this type of >> report force them to make decisions that benefit the most people. 488,000 >> is >> a very small portion of over 129 million homes. >> >> >> >> All I can say is ouch........ >> >> >> >> Thank You, >> >> Brian Webster >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> WISPA Membership Mailing List >> >> ----------------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! 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