Rural Areas Go It Alone on High-Speed Internet Page 1 of 5

Rural areas go it alone on high-speed Internet Page 1 of 5

Traffic: See current conditions on all Valley freeways September 18, 2005 PHOENIX 86° Tucson 87° Flagstaff 64° Traffic | Weather

JOBS Print This Email This Most Popular Larger Type Smaller Type Subscribe to The Republic AUTOS REAL ESTATE RENTALS Rural areas go it alone on high-speed classified Internet local shopping Small towns giving up waiting for providers to install service newspaper ads coupons phone book Lisa Nicita The Arizona Republic Sept. 18, 2005 12:00 AM

Tim Koors / The Arizona A&E Fewer than half of Arizona's rural residents have access to high-speed Internet. Republic CareerBuilder Jason Vassel works on his

Travel & Explore Tired of waiting for big telecommunications companies to bring broadband laptop using a free wireless Viewpoints internet service offered to access to them, small communities throughout the state are going after it customers at Rich Aroma themselves. Coffee Co. in Queen Creek.

Arizona's Government Information Technology Agency estimates that about one- Food & Drink quarter of Arizona's towns with more than 500 residents have no access to Home/Real Estate High-speed broadband. And in towns counted as having broadband, only half of the Movie Preview snapshot residents are able to access it. Wheels Yes advertisement "There are several A survey of nearly 300 households in the Queen communities that don't Creek area found that 268 have what they need had computers. Here are for services," said some highlights of the Ahwatukee David Evertsen, a survey's results, which are Chandler consultant with being used to help improve Gilbert high-speed capabilities Municipal Solutions, throughout the town. Glendale/Peoria which specializes in Mesa rural Phoenix telecommunications • 64 percent have access Scottsdale to the Internet. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0918ruralinternet.html 9/18/2005 Rural areas go it alone on high-speed Internet Page 2 of 5

Southwest Valley development. "Some Sun communities are just off the superhighway." Cities/Surprise • 24 percent still use dial- up access. Tempe More than 850 rural communities across the nation have established their own ¡Extra! municipal high-speed systems. • 73 percent of the Small and growing Arizona communities from Wellton to Flagstaff and Littlefield computer owners have more than one computer in to Queen Creek are also using innovative ways to gain the faster Internet access Sunday the house. they need. With the improved capabilities, schools could gain access to online Monday research materials, businesses could reach a broader audience and residents Tuesday could better keep up with breaking news. • 22 percent pay more than Wednesday $40 a month for Internet Thursday service, with some paying Friday "Access to these kinds of services in the world of today is as important as it is to as much as $90 a month. Saturday other utilities," said Queen Creek Town Manager Cynthia Seelhammer. "If we want to stay competitive and attract good business, good industry and build strong neighborhoods, this is something we want to have in place." • 24 percent of businesses said they will need five times their current capacity Galen Updike, a telecommunications development manager for GITA, said within the next year. planning is key to a town's success no matter what option it chooses for high- speed access. "Gone are the days where they build and they shall come," Updike said. "It doesn't happen anymore. It's too expensive." Stream this article or He said government officials need to start viewing high-speed Internet access as Download a necessity rather than a perk, especially in rural areas. • Audio and story links • Subscribe to podcast RSS

feeds "We have not elevated broadband connectivity to the level of what we call critical • Frequently asked questions infrastructure requirement yet, and we need to," he said.

Several Western congressional leaders are working to do just that. • Supervisor denies conflict • The cash business Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has sponsored, and Sens. Jon Kyl, and John • Pima County may put limits McCain, both R-Ariz., have co-sponsored, a bill that would designate funds to on payday loan centers • Doctor ready to do the 1st supply broadband access to everyone. face transplant • Iran chief defends uranium The bill, called the Rural Universal Services Equity Act of 2005, has been program referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. It more breaking news is similar to the Universal Connectivity Fee, which charges a fee to all telephone customers to assure every American has affordable access to telephone service. Related news from the Web GITA estimates the cost of laying fiber in rural communities to be between Latest headlines by topic: $25,000 and $65,000 per mile. However, costs of permits and legal issues can • Fire Powered by Topix.net easily double or triple the cost of the entire project.

Scottsdale-based Telespectra recently used funding from a federal grant to wire the town of Wellton, population 1,900. Enter your email address to get Breaking News The company is offering residents in-home competitive rates for high-speed newsletters. access and has provided two years of free service for the town's library, school http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0918ruralinternet.html 9/18/2005 Rural areas go it alone on high-speed Internet Page 3 of 5

system and for first responders such as fire and police.

Judy Reynolds, branch manager at the Wellton Library, said more people are

coming to the library now that is has high-speed capabilities.

"By all means, it made all the difference in the world," Reynolds said. "It was a Century 21 Tradin' Places great, great blessing." Free Market Analysis

But just six miles outside of town, Antelope Union High School still can't log on, Ironworks Restaurant Principal Randy O'Donnell said. 10% Off Total Ticket*

Kisti Simmons, Telespectra's vice president of business development and Bellagio Special rates! marketing, said big telecommunications companies are in a bind when it comes to servicing rural communities. C-Fu Gourmet Dim Sum Appetizer "Being a company, you have to recoup your costs," Simmons said. "A lot of Platters these communities, they're sparsely populated." Stratosphere Hotel And Seeing a deficiency in its industrial hub, Flagstaff is beginning to look at how to Casino better connect its east side to a high-speed network, according to Evertsen. Rooms For Only $37 Per Night

Mesquite, Nev., is considering offering high-speed access as a municipal utility, Subway City Manager Bryan Montgomery said. He said the local carrier hasn't shown $1 Off much interest in offering access to its 18,000 residents.

"It may not make sense for a private company to come in and lay down all that More coupons fiber, but it certainly would for the community," Montgomery said. "The cheapest Want more business? Put time is now." your coupon here

If the town takes that leap, the Arizona border communities of Littlefield, Beaver Dam, Scenic and Desert Springs may jump on board and provide their combined 4,000 residents high-speed access through Mesquite's system.

Gene Maughan, 64, of Beaver Dam,recently upgraded his home computer from dial-up to DSL. He said it's much faster for him.

But Evertsen said that while a digital subscriber line, may be fast enough for home computers, it's not sufficient for medical facilities or public safety agencies needing to transfer files and photos.

A high-speed audit of Queen Creek, which Evertsen recently conducted at the request of town officials, found that nearly half of the fast-growing town is underserved when it comes to broadband access. Evertsen found that a section of the town designated for industrial growth doesn't have high-speed access, and that nearly a quarter of town's Internet subscribers still use dial-up.

Queen Creek is considering several options, including offering high-speed or wireless access as a municipal utility, or requiring builders to lay adequate http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0918ruralinternet.html 9/18/2005 Rural areas go it alone on high-speed Internet Page 4 of 5

conduit for high-speed fiber.

Long-time Queen Creek resident Jason Vassel liked the idea of a wireless town. A computer systems contractor, Vassel often visits Rich Aroma Coffee Co., where he and other Internet users can hook up to free wireless access.

"I could go wherever I want," Vassel, 28, said. "It would be awesome to have it. I would like to try other places and pull out my laptop."

Councilman Jon Wootten, who often telecommutes for his job at Intel, also liked the idea of a wireless Queen Creek. He's happy the town is going after what it wants now, instead of waiting for the telecommunications companies.

"I think we serve a much better good to say this is how we want to do things and who's going to help us," Wootten said.

Sponsored Links Arizona's $9.95 ISP Free support, Webmail, IM and more! Reliable Internet Access since 1994 www.LocalNet.com

High Speed DSL-Free Trial 1st Month--Completely Free! No Contracts. Free Modem, Support www.USFamilyHighSpeed.Net

Covad High Speed Internet Get Fast Internet Service. Rebates for Business! www.covad.com

Shopping: ShopLocal.com | Network Member

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0918ruralinternet.html 9/18/2005