{"id":23305,"date":"2022-12-10T09:53:18","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T14:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=23305"},"modified":"2022-12-10T09:53:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T14:53:18","slug":"video-windstream-proposed-rural-fiber-internet-lcc-rural-internet-2022-11-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2022\/12\/video-windstream-proposed-rural-fiber-internet-lcc-rural-internet-2022-11-07.html","title":{"rendered":"Video: Windstream Proposed rural Fiber Internet @ LCC Rural Internet 2022-11-07"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\r\nIt&#8217;s good Lowndes County is finally doing something about Internet access.\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%;font-style:italic\">\r\n<a title=\"Windstream presenter, map, Lowndes County officials\" name=\"Still:Windstream-presenter-map-Lowndes-County-officials\" href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/govt\/loco\/2022-11-07--lcc-broadband\/sddefault.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/govt\/loco\/2022-11-07--lcc-broadband\/sddefault.jpg\"  alt=\"[Windstream presenter, map, Lowndes County officials]\"><\/a>\r\n<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/govt\/loco\/2022-11-07--lcc-broadband\/sddefault.html\">Windstream presenter, map, Lowndes County officials<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nIt took a pandemic to impress upon the county that fast Internet access for everyone really is necessary,\r\nand Windstream volunteering, plus state funding,\r\nbut something is apparently finally happening.\r\nLowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter thanked state Senator Russ Goodman for helping.\r\n<p>\r\nSlaughter also made it clear that Windstream would be making all the decisions about deployment.\r\nSlaughter emphasized that the county would be working closely with windstream,\r\nbut apparently the county&#8217;s role is mostly telling people about it.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nSlaughter said information about this program would be available on the county&#8217;s website,\r\nbut I can&#8217;t find anything on lowndescounty.com.\r\n<p>\r\nHere&#8217;s\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiECn-JPRuBAxe3AKZ18U8Ek\">\r\na LAKE video playlist:<\/a>\r\n<\/p><!--more-->\r\n\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLshUv86fYkiECn-JPRuBAxe3AKZ18U8Ek\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<br>\r\nVideo: Windstream Proposed rural Fiber Internet @ LCC Rural Internet 2022-11-07\r\n<br>\r\nLowndes County Commission Chambers, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, November 7, 2022.\r\n<br>\r\nVideo by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nAccording to Terry Richards, Valdosta Daily Times, November 8, 2022,\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.valdostadailytimes.com\/news\/local_news\/lowndes-tapped-for-40m-broadband-project\/article_bd1eb870-5efd-11ed-b775-33388f22b324.html\">\r\nLowndes tapped for $40M broadband project<\/a>,\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nOf the $40 million price tag, Windstream is putting up $18 million\r\nwhile state grants will cover the remaining $22 million, said\r\nMichael Force, who oversees Windstream operations in Georgia.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nSlaughter said the project aims to provide broadband internet access\r\nto 18,000 homes in rural Lowndes County that are &ldquo;unserved or\r\nunderserved.&rdquo;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%;font-style:italic\">\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.valdostadailytimes.com\/news\/local_news\/lowndes-tapped-for-40m-broadband-project\/article_bd1eb870-5efd-11ed-b775-33388f22b324.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kinetic by Windstream High Speed Internet for Lowndes County speeds up to 1 Gig\" style=\"border:none\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/valdostadailytimes.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/0\/7a\/07ad9e6a-5efe-11ed-88ef-27593d14312c\/6369a5e67784d.image.jpg\">\r\n<br>\r\nThis map shows where a new $40 million project plans to roll out fiber optic broadband Internet in Lowndes County.\r\n<br>\r\nBy Terry Richards terry.richards@gaflnews.com<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nAccording to Bill Slaughter, &ldquo;The target goal is 2026.&rdquo;\r\n<p>\r\nThe VDT story says:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nThe deal with Windstream is not exclusive, meaning other service\r\nproviders are free to operate in the same coverage areas, he said.\r\nIn decades past, County Commission had offered exclusive franchises\r\nto cable TV systems which locked out competitors.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nPricing will be &ldquo;consistent with market pricing&rdquo; and\r\ninstallation will involve both above-ground and below-ground work,\r\nForce said.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nIn the meeting somebody else from Windstream said\r\nthere is an Affordable Connectivity Program that offers $30\/month.\r\n<p>\r\nAccording to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/acp\">\r\nU.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)<\/a>,\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nThe Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that\r\nhelps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for\r\nwork, school, healthcare and more.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward\r\ninternet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for\r\nhouseholds on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also\r\nreceive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop,\r\ndesktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they\r\ncontribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase\r\nprice.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly\r\nservice discount and one device discount per household.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight:bold\">Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program?\r\n<p>\r\nA household is eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program if\r\nthe household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty\r\nGuidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least <em>one<\/em> of\r\nthe criteria below:\r\n<p>\r\n&#8230;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can apply online:\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.affordableconnectivity.gov\/\">\r\nhttps:\/\/www.affordableconnectivity.gov\/<\/a>\r\n<p>\r\nMichael Force of windstream said, &ldquo;It will be all fiber&#8230; multi-gig-capable.&rdquo;\r\n<p>\r\nNote &#8220;capable,&#8221; not that they will actually deliver that.\r\n<p>\r\nAlso stay tuned as to whether this will become another tool for the county to drive subdivisions into rural areas,\r\nlike water and sewer and roads.\r\nWireless would be less amenable to that misuse.\r\n<p>\r\nBut at least they&#8217;re doing something.\r\nThat&#8217;s a big change.\r\n<H4><a name=\"bbhistory\" href=\"#bbhistory\">Some History<\/a><\/H4>\r\n<p>\r\nBack in February 2013 Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter told the Valdosta-Lowndes Industrial Authority that\r\nbroadband is\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-one-of-the-number-one-issues-bill-slaughter-vlcia-2013-02-19.html\">&ldquo;one of the number one issues.&rdquo;<\/a>\r\nThis was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html\">in a VLCIA meeting<\/a> where:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nInternet access (as &quot;telecommunications infrastructure&quot;)\r\ncame up in Project Manager Allan Ricketts&#038;http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#39; report as a requirement for\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Service\">\r\na Fortune 500 customer service operation<\/a>\r\nand\r\nfor a\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Health\">\r\nNational health care service provider<\/a>,\r\nboth considering locating here,\r\nalso as\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Bandwidth\">bandwidth<\/a>,\r\nas a requirement for\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Jobs\">jobs<\/a>.\r\nThat was the main theme of\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Schruijer\">\r\nExecutive Director Andrea Schruijer&#038;http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#39;s report<\/a>,\r\nespecially in rural parts of our county,\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sYkgNuSmeh0&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiHaEK5PhHJ7p1RCtOz1PgWy\">\r\nespecially for a home-based call center.<\/a>\r\nEven <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html#Rotary\">Rotary Clubs<\/a>\r\nneed broadband.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nIn October 2013 he had backslid to\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/open-house-at-mildred-hunter-on-common-community-vision-vlmpo-2013-10-23.html\">&ldquo;We have broadband.&rdquo;<\/a>.\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nAbout the Internet, Slaughter said &#8220;We have broadband&#8221; and\r\n&#8220;his researches&#8221; show that the only problem is when lots of people\r\nuse it it gets slow connecting to the rest of the world.\r\nIn answer to a question from Bill Branham, Slaughter said yes we have\r\n4G (we do,\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/07\/coverage-t-vs-vz-for-4g-lte.html\">\r\nbut that doesn&#8217;t mean everybody has it<\/a>)\r\nand we even have 5G (which was quite puzzling,\r\nsince\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.laptopmag.com\/5g-coming-2020\">\r\nthat isn&#8217;t expected anywhere until 2020<\/a>).\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nWell, we sort of have 5G now, but that still doesn&#8217;t solve the problem,\r\nbecause still not everybody has it.\r\nIt might solve the problem if it was more widely available and affordable.\r\nWhich the county could promote by offering for example educational subsidies and provoking providers to bid against each other.\r\nBut they didn&#8217;t.\r\n<p>\r\nAlso back in 2013:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/general-broadband-adoption-improves-rural-economic-health.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"General broadband adoption improves rural economic health\"\r\nstyle=\"float:right;border:none;\" src=\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7393\/10036022214_a877058aff_n.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nActual rigorous research shows that for\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/general-broadband-adoption-improves-rural-economic-health.html\">\r\nincome, jobs, and creative workers we need\r\nas many people as possible to use fast affordable Internet connections\r\nadoption matters more than availability, and speed matters for creative workers.<\/a>\r\nThat research demonstrated causality.\r\nIn addition, a smaller study showed\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/broadband-fiber-correlates-with-increased-house-prices.html\">\r\na correlation of broadband fiber with higher house prices<\/a>,\r\nwhich maybe means some people do care about fast Internet access\r\nas part of a house purchase package.\r\nAnd no, most people around here don&#8217;t have broadband;\r\nmany don&#8217;t have Internet access at all because they can&#8217;t afford $60\/month.\r\nEven those who do have 6 Mbps Mediacom links don&#8217;t really have\r\nbroadband of a speed that creative workers need.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nIn February 2014 Chairman Slaughter said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/broadband-outsourcing-trash-and-fire-lcc-2014-02-28.html\">he had a five year goal of making broadband available<\/a>,\r\npossibly including a fiber ring,\r\nand he was working with the City of Valdosta.\r\n<p>\r\nFive years later, in April 2019, was the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2019\/05\/georgia-broadband-deployment-initiative-2019-04-26.html\">\r\nGeorgia Broadband Deployment Initiative 2019-04-26<\/a>.\r\nIt was a bit myopic, not including the general population among stakeholders,\r\nbut it did include something Lowndes County usually omits: &#8220;or wireless.&#8221;\r\nBack in January 2013 I posted a plan by industry expert Susan Crawford on\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/01\/how-to-get-fast-internet-service-susan-crawford.html\">\r\nhow to get providers to actually compete<\/a>\r\nand how that plan could be adapted to a county or regional plan.\r\nI askled,\r\n&ldquo;Who among our elected leaders, or other organizations such as the Chamber, is willing to step up and start an open process to get us fast Internet access?&rdquo;\r\n<p>\r\nSo far, nobody.\r\nIt&#8217;s good Lowndes County is finally doing something, but it doesn&#8217;t seem to include wireless,\r\nand this was a telling, not an open process.\r\n<p>\r\nMe?\r\nDespite AT&amp;T running fiber down Hambrick Road within 900 feet of my farm workshop,\r\nno, we can&#8217;t have access to it.\r\nWe have AT&amp;T&#8217;s DSL, which is allegedly 3 Mbps, but usually isn&#8217;t, and has frequent and increasing outages.\r\nAlso, they don&#8217;t really support it anymore.\r\nWe tried Verizon&#8217;s Home Fusion 4GL service, which is flaky.\r\nFinally something that mostly works:\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/blog\/2022\/01\/starlink-dish-2021-12-27.html\">\r\nStarlink<\/a>.\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-size:80%;font-style:italic\">\r\n<a title=\"Small longleaf\" name=\"Pics:Small-longleaf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/pictures\/2021-12-27--starlink\/20211227_113257.html\"><img decoding=\"async\"  width=\"600\"  border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/pictures\/2021-12-27--starlink\/20211227_113257.jpg\"  alt=\"[Small longleaf]\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\r\n<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/pictures\/2021-12-27--starlink\/20211227_113257.html\">Small longleaf<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nSure, it&#8217;s a bit pricey, at $110\/month and $500 for the equipment.\r\nAnd I did have to chainsaw half a dozen sweetgum trees (like sawing gum).\r\nBut it&#8217;s fast, and it&#8217;s dependable.\r\nIt still has occasional few-second dropouts from time to time because of other trees,\r\nbut that&#8217;s way better than minute-long and worse outages with the other two much slower services.\r\nAnd it doesn&#8217;t cost much more than a phone line and DSL.\r\n<p>\r\nStarlink is still too expensive for widespread use.\r\n<p>\r\nBut until this kinetic by Windstream project brings fiber that I can use,\r\nor something else happens, I&#8217;m sticking with Starlink.\r\n<p>\r\nAlso, back in 2013, VLCIA determined that solar power was something everybody wanted\r\nand was beneficial to industry, education, etc.\r\nThus far Lowndes County has looked the other way on that.\r\n<p>\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center;font-style:italic\">Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research.  You can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/donate\">donate to LAKE today<\/a>!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s good Lowndes County is finally doing something about Internet access. Windstream presenter, map, Lowndes County officials It took a pandemic to impress upon the county that fast Internet access for everyone really is necessary, and Windstream volunteering, plus state funding, but something is apparently finally happening. Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter thanked state Senator [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15,41,19,132,178],"tags":[258,506,969,8705,6643,8701,10,8709,8741,11942,8702,12,7,11941,11128,4387,6,8749,11940],"class_list":["post-23305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-health-care","category-history","category-internet-access-speed","category-vlcia","tag-bill-slaughter","tag-broadband","tag-economics","tag-education","tag-fcc","tag-georgia","tag-gretchen-quarterman","tag-history","tag-internet-access-speed","tag-kinetic","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-michael-force","tag-pandemic","tag-public-health","tag-valdosta","tag-vlcia","tag-windstream"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-63T","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23305"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23308,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23305\/revisions\/23308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}