Rural broadband infrastructure a big priority

DAYTON– The Port of Columbia was approved for a grant of $26,625 in March of 2019 for a Feasibility Study to examine existing broadband networks, after requesting an initial grant of $30,000 from Washington State Department of Commerce Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB). The funds are to identify additional needs, determine if a Port-owned broadband network is the right solution for our community, and whether the necessary infrastructure investment is financially feasible and sustainable.

A completed contract was signed in July 2019, and work on the project began in August 2019. The grant is reimbursable; therefore, funds will be received when costs have been incurred or billed. Although this timeframe is different from what was proposed by the Port in their CERB application, the timeframe is more realistic.

The broadband network would consist of dark fiber optic. Dark fiber refers to unused fiber-optic cable. Sometimes companies lay more lines than what’s needed in order to curb costs of having to do it again. The dark strands can be leased to individuals or other companies who want to establish optical connections among their own locations.

Currently, most residents of Columbia County receive a form of high-speed internet in the following transmission methods: Digital Subscriber Line, known as DSL from CenturyLink; cable (and some fiber optic) from Touchet Valley TV; and wireless from Columbia iConnect or major cell phone providers such as AT&T or Verizon.

Columbia County intends to follow the example set by Whitman County by building a dark fiber infrastructure. The advantage to having the fiber infrastructure is speed, capacity, and reliability. DSL speed by CenturyLink does not provide the high speed that fiber optic can. It was emphasized that CenturyLink is not planning any upgrades.

Cable internet as offered by Touchet Valley TV is not available in all areas. Fiber Optic can transmit at speeds faster than cable. Although wireless can transmit at speeds as fast as fiber optic, in wireless systems more users create congestion which affects the speed of wireless. However, wireless can reach more rural areas where cable might not be installed.

Fiber Optic can carry more data at faster speeds. If the fiber optic infrastructure is installed, all of the current internet service providers could offer the broadband fiber optic service by leasing the lines from the Port, and thus customers would not have to change service providers. But depending on the lease rate from the Port, the fiber optic broadband service may, or may not be, more expensive than existing service from those providers.

Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson illustrated a future requirement expressed by Shane McGuire, Chief Executive Officer of Columbia County Health System from a hospital meeting. McGuire stated that the future of health care is that insurance companies want to keep people in their homes longer, to “age in place.” Insurance companies will start requiring a high-speed fiber connection in homes for monitoring elderly residents. This was a complete surprise as this was not anticipated as a potential need.

Representatives from PocketiNet Communications appeared at a Port of Columbia meeting on October 9, 2019 to provide a tentative fiberline infrastructure map including the commercial area, the residential area, and areas spreading to North and South Touchet Roads. The final area mapping is depending on whether Columbia County is classified as “Economically Distressed”. Economically Distressed Counties are eligible for larger grants.

The advantage of laying a fiber optic infrastructure is that fiber optic cables can offer greater bandwidth than the other available options. An optical fiber offers low power loss, which allows for longer transmission distances. Fiber optic Internet sends data faster because it is delivered on a dedicated line, which facilitates more consistent speed. Because fiber optic Internet is made of glass, there is no electricity involved; and is less likely to go down during a power outage.

If the infrastructure is in place, current internet service providers, including providers used currently by Columbia County resident, can then lease these lines and provide county residents service with increased bandwidth at higher and more reliable speeds.

The desire is to have a potential hardwired fiber cable drop to every home or business within the defined area. First the backbone network must be built. Then fiber drops are provided to the homes or businesses that want the service. This means that after the backbone network is built, individual homeowners and business owners must decide whether to have the fiber drops installed on their respective properties.

Ultimately, the property owners will pay for the “last leg” installation, which is estimated at this time to cost up to $500. It is possible for the Port to subsidize part of the up to $500 cost of the last leg, but this would be a Port decision. It is more expensive to have a fiber drop installed by one or two homes later down the road. Current property owners may decide not to invest in a drop their property and instead keep their existing service even if it is not ideal.

On the other hand, investing in a fiber optic drop to your property does not mean you have to actually use it. The reason a property owner might want to consider obtaining the fiber optic drop is for resale value. A 2015 study commissioned by the Fiber to the Home Council Americas found that having access to fiber optic delivered internet can boost property values by more than three percent. On a $300,000 home, that’s a $9,000 boost. (Source: https://www.fiberbroadband.org/blog/study-shows-home-values-up-3.1-with-access-to-fiber) If a current property owner chooses to invest in the last leg install to boost resale value but does not subsequently use the fiber optic drop, the installation will be tested and proofed as it is installed to ensure it is a good installation and will work effectively for future owners of that property.

The financial model, which still needs to be done as part of the feasibility study, still needs to be sorted out. The financial issues that affect the Port of Columbia are the cost of installation, the cost of ongoing maintenance (the dark fiber would be owned by the Port of Columbia and thus would be responsible for maintenance), and the repayment of low interest loans. The financial issues for service providers are the lease rates from the Port for the dark fiber. Those lease rates need to cover the costs for the Port while at the same time providing reliable high-speed service at a price that allows the providers to make money while charging a price that property owners are willing to pay. Plus, the companies that will be providing the service via the fiber optics will be doing marketing efforts to get customers signed up. Three providers (PocketiNet, Inland Cellular, and Columbia iConnect) have expressed interest in leasing dark fiber. Lastly, the Port needs to decide how to charge late comers, those who decide to obtain a fiber drop later down the road. One or more contractors will need to be available to install those later fiber drops and the economy of scale will not be there.

There are two methods for installing this infrastructure. One method is the overhead method, which uses existing utility poles. This is the least expensive way to build a broadband distribution network. The other method is underground. This method is expensive. Most are the utility poles are through back alleys and can be easily done.

From the cost effectiveness over a period of time standpoint, which method is more cost effective is dependent on a lot of factors. There are pros and cons to either method. Most of the cost is the installation. With underground, if utilities are not located correctly and are accidentally dug up, it is costly to fix it. The fiber cable will be in a conduit that is underground. Underground distribution requires vaults. The underground fiber optic can be installed on both sides of a street, but then it needs to be trenched to the home or business and it may require going through parts of a property owner’s landscaping. On the other hand, an underground system is a better network because weather issues or branches falling will not break the cables. Using the overhead approach is a little unsightly, but it already exists and the cost is significantly less. On the overhead, the downside is a few breaks due to weather issues or branches that fall. Also, with overhead, there is a charge for using the utility lines. In this area it is $6 per pole with Pacific Power. Other areas are more expensive for overhead use.

The PocketiNet representatives estimated that the cost for building this initial infrastructure is approximately $2 million dollars. This would include the North and South Touchet areas shown on the map, and is based on an estimated 35% of property owners buying in. A tentative map of the proposed backbone installation is available at the Port.

This planned infrastructure will not cover the entire county. The Port is brainstorming for ideas to piggyback on other technologies, such as cell towers, to get service to the outer areas of the county. Kathryn Witherington, Port of Columbia Economic Development Director, illustrated an example where this would be useful. A farmer with broadband service using Precision Farming, also known as Precision Agriculture, technology was able to reduce chemical application by ninety percent.