To advance broadband rural deployment in the United States by means of wireless broadband options, either as stand-alone networks or as components of hybrid systems.

David Anderson
Director of Broadband Operations
Clarendon Foundation

Neil Brandvold
Member Service Associate, WCA
neil@wcai.com

• To be a forum for an exchange of ideas
• To use BRS as a model for the committee given its strong camaraderie, close-knit membership and ability to exchange ideas.
• To communicate that rural markets are unique and to define the differences.
• To establish a list-serve to provide a mechanism to broadcast information to committee members
• To meet on a monthly basis by conference call with a clear agenda and efficient timeframe and discipline to keep meetings on schedule.
• To meet twice yearly in association with WCA annual events
• To create meetings that would be hosted by a member for the purpose of sharing of best practices within the operator's environment.
• Leverage collective voice to negotiate with system vendors and define system requirements
• Kelley Dunne to use role on Board of Directors to communicate the rural broadband market issues vis-à-vis Sprint and ClearWire as large operators.

While broadband is readily accessible in most major American cities, a quarter of the country's population lives in rural towns where access can be both scarce and expensive. Rural broadband initiatives hope to bring broadband to more isolated regions with low population density, in the most cost effective manner. Advocates argue that without affordable access to the Internet, rural Americans are at a social, economic and public disadvantage. A number of solutions have been proposed and the Senate is currently reviewing an act to establish a Rural Broadband Office in the Department of Agriculture.

• The Rural Broadband Initiative Act of 2007 was introduced in the Senate on 3/29/07 and would Amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives, to be headed by the Secretary for Rural Broadband Initiatives.
• The USDA has set up a rural development loan program to aid the telecom industry in effecting adequate infrastructure for rural broadband expansion.
• The WCA has created a Rural Broadband Committee to organize industry outreach on this important issue.

USDA-RUS
Program Openings:

• Community Connect Broadband Grant Program 2007
• Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program 2007

FCC And USDA To Conduct Educational Workshops On Rural Broadband
FCC and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are holding free regional educational workshops on rural broadband.  Registration is open for the workshops held Sept. 18 in Austin, TX and Nov. 20 in Phoenix, AZ.  Workshops are designed to provide communities, organizations, and businesses in rural America seeking to bring the benefits of broadband to their communities with an opportunity to learn about the resources, programs, and policies of the FCC and USDA.  The topics include different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the Universal Service Fund, the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access.  The workshops will also provide communities and organizations an opportunity to share their experiences about broadband deployment in rural and hard-to-reach areas.  The deadline to register for the Austin workshop is Aug. 15, and for the Phoenix workshop is Oct. 10.  Details.

FCC Commissioner Congratulates Sioux Valley Wireless On WiMAX Launch In South Dakota
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein sent a letter to WCA member Sioux Valley Wireless, congratulating the company on the recent launch of its WiMAX network in Madison, SD.  “This is a cutting-edge technology with the potential to connect small towns and rural areas to broadband,” Adestein wrote referring to WiMAX.  “It’s an excellent alternative and also a supplement to wired cable or DSL connections.”  He added: “Deploying truly high speed, affordable broadband is one of the great infrastructure challenges of our time.  So, we need more broadband providers, like Sioux Valley Wireless, and more competition in South Dakota, and in fact across the nation.”  Joel Brick, the company’s wireless technical director and chairman of the WCA’s BRS Operators Committee, discussed the launch on the most recent Committee call this week.  He also spoke about the advantages of using WiMAX technology in rural regions and shared his tips for success with the rest of the group.

GAO Recommends Greater Oversight Of Universal Service Fund High Cost Program
A multibillion dollar, nationwide program aimed at ensuring affordable access to communications services in largely rural areas appears to suffer from inadequate oversight, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  The report questions the FCC’s oversight of the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) High Cost program and finds that USF funding is distributed in a manner that may cause disparities in the availability of telecommunications services in different rural communities.  The GAO report was requested by Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Joe Barton (R-TX), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and John Shimkus (R-IL), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.  The Members of Congress said the report highlights the need for a comprehensive review of the USF program.  GAO found that to strengthen management and oversight of the program, the FCC should establish short-term and long-term performance goals and measures.  GAO also determined that the FCC should implement mechanisms to ensure that expenditures are cost-effective.  Details.

Alvarion Earns USDA WiMAX Rural Development Acceptance
WCA member Alvarion announced that its 802.16e base stations received U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development acceptance, according to a company press release.  The acceptance covers the full RAN solution portfolio to include both micro and macro base stations, the variety of CPEs, antennas and mounting systems.  Rural Utilities Service (RUS) acceptance and “Buy American“ status from the USDA are required for operators requesting federal funds from the Rural Broadband Access Loan program for the purpose of purchasing and deploying broadband systems.  From 2001 through 2007, RUS has provided almost $6.5 billion in telecom grants, loans and loan guarantees for rural development.  “Rural Development acceptance of a licensed WiMAX system is something the USDA has never done before,” said DigitalBridge CEO Kelley Dunne, who is also WCA Director and Chairman of the WCA’s Rural Broadband Committee.  He continued: “Not only can 2.3 and 2.5 GHz operators across the U.S. now leverage the hundreds of millions of federal dollars available each year for rural broadband access, but they get to do it with the market’s benchmark WiMAX solution for these bands.”  WCA’s Rural Broadband Committee is scheduled to convene by conference call at 2 p.m. (Eastern U.S. Time) on July 10.  The agenda includes a planned name-change to the Emerging Markets Committee, with operator member reports on a major recent deployment and deal.  To join the committee and call, contact WCA Liaison Neil Brandvold (Neil@wcai.com).

Evertek, Inc Adds Two Additional Sites In Iowa Serving Rural Areas
Evertek, Inc. a wireless WISP since 1999 has added two additional sites in 2008. One site was added earlier this year in Aurelia, IA with 424 homes passed and an additional site was added in Sioux City, IA. Among some of the services offered to their wireless broadband customers are 2 meg services on PC cards, mobile, nomadic or fixed units. Evertek and it’s partners have over 40 sites in Northwest Iowa serving rural areas. Evertek uses Motorola Expedience on the BRS 2.5 licenses and owns the Fort Dodge, Sioux City and Mason City Basic Trading Areas in Iowa. www.evertek.net

Rural Broadband Committee Call Examines Recent Deployments And RUS Funding
Recent WiMAX deployments in emerging markets as well as key insights into various broadband funding sources such as RUS will be examined during a conference call of the WCA's Rural Broadband Committee (RBC) July 10 at 2 p.m. EST. The call will be led by DigitalBridge CEO Kelley Dunne, whose company recently launched the first commercially available Mobile WiMAX network using WiMAX Forum Certified 802.16e equipment in the U.S. with service in Jackson Hole, WY. For more information on the call, please contact WCA liaison Neil Brandvold.

"One of the benefits of the evolving WiMAX ecosystem is that it will support small and medium-sized towns as well as larger cities."
-- Kelley Dunne, CEO of DigitalBridge Communications, WCA Director and Chairman of WCA Rural Broadband Committee

Sioux Valley Wireless Deploys WiMAX Network In Madison, SD
Continuing its recent advances in WiMAX services in rural regions, WCA member Sioux Valley Wireless deployed WiMAX service to customers in Madison, making it the first city in South Dakota to have access to the technology, reported The Argus Leader. "Sioux Valley WiMAX will do for broadband Internet what cellular phones did for land-line telephones," said Sioux Valley Wireless General Manager and CEO Don Marker. People living within an eight-mile radius of Madison can sign up for the service. The network isn't fully mobile yet, but officials say laptop cards for mobile connections will be released during the first part of 2009. "WiMAX is a better choice for rural areas because you have so much land between people, and you don't have the same number of vertical assets like streetlights and telephone poles that you can hang Wi-Fi access points on," said industry analyst Craig Settles. Details.

United Kingdom Rural Regions Better Connected Than Cities, Regulators Report;
U.S. Senate Overrides Presidential Veto Of Farm Bill

FCC And USDA To Conduct Four Educational Workshops On Rural Broadband
The FCC announced that it and USDA will conduct four educational workshops in Blacksburg, VA, Saginaw, MI, Austin, TX and Phoenix, AZ focused on rural broadband during 2008.  The topics to be covered at the workshops include: the different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access.  Dates and registration information are contained in the public notice.

Wednesday April 23 VIEW PHOTOS

WCA Rural Broadband Committee Vendor Luncheon 12:15-1:30 Latrobe Room
(Attendance By Invitation Only)
Jim Connor, President, Altius Communications
Hosted by: ALTIUS Communications

Sponsor Profile: Headquartered in Phoenix Maryland, ALTIUS Communications supports the rapidly growing Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Market. We maintain a National and international presence through a network of customers and integrators from around the world. ALTIUS expects the BWA market and in particular the Rural Broadband Market to grow ten fold over the next 15 years and experience a multitude of technology advancements during that time period. We consider it our top priority to keep up with all the technology growth so our customers can focus on their top priorities.

ALTIUS has partnered with the best of breed manufacturers in the BWA space in support of service provider, government, and education initiatives. ALTIUS serves public and private sector clients with Wireless Technology solutions and onsite professionals in support of the three main disciplines of broadband wireless; Last Mile Connectivity, Back Haul and Mesh Networks.  We are committed to being our customer’s top vendor and our vendor partner’s top customer.  We accomplish this by fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust and with the “end users” best interest in mind.

ALTIUS is constantly monitoring technology advancements and improvements. We create relationships and partnerships with the current and future leaders in the Broadband Wireless industry. We consider it our responsibility to keep track of the wants, needs and future demands of the market place in general. Based on this information we help our manufacturer partners to steer their research and development efforts in the direction our customers require.

Read more on ALTIUS and Rural Broadband in Kentucky

The WiMAX Rural and Regional Opportunity 3:30-4:15
Berge Ayvazian , Chief Strategist, The Yankee Group, Moderator
P. Kelley Dunne, CEO, Digital Bridge Communications, WCA Director & Chairman, WCA Rural Broadband Committee* 
Sid Ganju, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, Key-On Communications
Mark Pagon, CEO, Xanadoo & WCA Executive Committee Member*

Rural Utilities Service Financing, Applications & Program Advisory Services

AT4 Wireless
CelPlan Wireless Global
ComSpec Corp.
EDX Wireless
EZ Transition Advisors
Hardin & Associates
PBM Networks

VENEMAN LAUNCHES $1.4 BILLION PROGRAM TO EXPAND TELECOMMUNICATION AND BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY IN RURAL AMERICA