Broadband Provider Report
for
Prepared by
August 7, 2012
1
Table of Contents
Description of CVII and Broadband Connectivity
3
Federal and State Broadband Objectives
8
What is the CVII Opportunity?
11
CVII Existing Infrastructure Overview
12
Provider Overviews
CenturyLink
19
Frontier
21
Arrowhead
24
Cooperative Light and Power
25
North East Services Cooperative
28
Lake County
30
Air Fiber
32
AT&T Wireless
34
Verizon Wireless
36
Excede/Wildblue
38
Hughesnet
40
Provider Comparison Charts
Bandwidth and Price
42
Data Cap
43
Latency
44
Technology Platforms
46
Conclusions and Recommendations
48
U-reka Broadband Overview
51
2
Description of CVII and Broadband Connectivity
CVII Overview
The following is the Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative overview of itself, sometimes it is best to
let the customer speak for themselves.
The townships of the Cloquet Valley Region of St Louis County, MN – Alden, Ault, Fairbanks,
Gnesen, Normanna, North Star, Pequaywan and two “unorganized townships (53-15 and 54-13)
- are working collaboratively on an initiative to improve internet access in our communities.
Major broadband internet projects, funding by the USDA’s RUS, are being initiated to the east
and west, with no plans to include our directly adjacent townships. Other internet providers
have some presence in some townships but thus far have not indicated commitment for
expansion or upgrade to true broadband. The townships have come together formally as the
Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative (CVII) Steering Committee to pursue a strategy of attracting
one or more providers of true broadband internet service for our citizens and businesses. We
realize that, thus far, rural townships have had less presence in the area of broadband funding.
The CVII is largely a citizen-based initiative that has gained solid backing from township
governments.
The following are our goals for implementation of broadband in our region:
Ubiquity: Our goal is that all residents and businesses and public offices (such as town offices
and fire halls) have access to high speed broadband. We believe it will be cost effective to
leverage advances in technology as they occur, which will achieve this goal in stages
Competition, Affordable, Neutrality and Interoperability: These goals are interdependent.
Competition will be advanced if the feasibility study assembles data that can be used by more
than one potential provider to consider upgrading broadband internet in the townships. The
CVII townships are vendor-neutral, since there is some presence of multiple vendors in the area
who may be convinced, by the results of the study and the internet incentive landscape, to
upgrade or advance new service in the CVII townships. We expect that any market analysis
would address affordable services. We are seeking affordable rates, comparable to broadband
rates in the region, for high-speed broadband, and we are seeking a network that is
interoperable so that new and future internet tools and services can be available to our
citizens.
Collaboration: The CVII townships recognize that partnerships are the only way that broadband
internet will be implemented in rural areas. Our townships continue to collaborate on the
strategy to enhance internet; we know that, alone, none of us has sufficient population to
attract enhanced broadband services. We are in the process of establishing a Steering
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Committee, comprised on one town supervisor and one or two interested citizens from each
township, to develop partnerships, joint power agreements, and advance the market analysis.
We have successfully brokered financial partnerships for this study with St. Louis and Lake
Counties, both with interests in promoting rural broadband. Given the limited administrative
capacity of rural townships, we must move forward with capable partnerships in the proposed
study and eventually in implementing a broadband network. We are also interested in
promoting or participating in some form of private – public partnership.
World Class Service: The CVII Team aspires to attract state of the art broadband services, not
just incremental improvements. We recognize that our citizens are currently underserved, and
any incremental improvement is welcome. However, we seek to attract broadband service that
will make future internet opportunities and capabilities available, not just services available
today. The State of Minnesota strategy for internet access indicates that 10 Mbps download / 5
Mbps upload is a capacity that will provide citizens with access to tools of the near future. We
seek to promote speeds that will truly make the future of internet available to our citizens,
businesses, governments and other organizations.
Options: At the present time, there are no broadband providers with active plans to build
systems across our townships. This preliminary feasibility study is an effort to identify the
capabilities and real opportunities for various technologies and providers to expand into our
townships. Because there are no real plans, our townships need to know the cost, level of
broadband speed, and advantages and challenges of various types of internet technologies at
the level identified by Minnesota’s state goals (or better).
Today’s Broadband Landscape: At present there is very little connectivity throughout the CVII
service area; and even those services could be debated do not provide the bandwidth required
for businesses and residences to access the Internet content required to participate in the
Internet economy. At even the lowest level of connectivity there are still large areas of the CVII
service area that have access to no landline or cellular data connectivity and must rely on either
dial-up services or satellite-based Internet services.
The map provided by Connect Minnesota gives an overview of what services are available
today, it should be remembered that this data is provided by the carriers and should always be
validated by community residents to validate that the carriers are providing accurate data. The
map does show where DSL, Cellular Internet and Unserved areas are in the CVII service area.
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Connect Minnesota Broadband Availability Map (768K Upstream and 256K Downstream) with CVII Service Area
Lavender-DSL
Blue-Wireless
Yellow-Unserved
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Existing Providers and the Doughnut Hole Issue-the largest issue for the CVII service area is
what is called the Doughnut Hole Issue. For rural townships they are often the furthest away
from a telephone company central office therefore making it more difficult to receive DSL
services. These rural areas have low customer densities that make it difficult for landline
providers to spend the capital required to achieve a return-on-investment that would allow it to
sell the upgrade to its corporate offices. In the CVII area the issue is exacerbated by the fact
that there are three different providers and four different exchange areas that serve the area
and the CVII area is often at the outer edge of those exchanges. This means in most cases that
the copper network infrastructure is not able to support the bandwidth requirements of nextgeneration broadband services without a significant capital investment in fiber optics for
backhaul and the installation of Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers (DSLAM). Also
finding which provider serves which township can be difficult because telephone exchange
boundaries don’t align to community boundaries. In the CVII service area telephone providers
include (a map of the exchange boundaries is available on the next page):
Local Carrier
CenturyLink
Exchange
Duluth
Frontier
Frontier
Two Harbors
Brimson
Arrowhead Communications
Cotton
CVII Townships Served
Gnesen, Normanna,
Northstar, Alden
Alden
Fairbanks, Ault, Pequaywan,
54-13
Gnesen, 53-15
These doughnut hole areas also have such low customer densities that cable television
providers would not even consider extending its services which are historically only located in
the most dense areas of a rural community leaving the responsibility for these services to the
telecommunications provider in the area. In the CVII service territory there are no cable
television providers providing internet services today.
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CVII Overlay of Minnesota Telephone Exchange Map (courtesy of Minnesota PUC)
7
Federal and State Broadband Objectives
The Federal Government has a long history of providing financial backing and mechanisms for
the provisioning of landline telephone services to ensure that rural areas would be on an equal
basis with their more urban counterparts. At this point the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) www.fcc.gov has focused on transferring the benefit of these dollars to
provision broadband services to rural areas; this is part of a larger nationwide movement to
create a globally competitive broadband infrastructure. Of particular interest to rural
customers are:
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The establishment of 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps Upload as the standard for rural
broadband-the FCC has created two different goals for its citizens. Urban areas are
looking to achieve 100 Mbps service (through the FCC “100 Squared “initiative which
would bring 100 Mbps service to 100 million households by 2020) while rural areas are
to be satisfied with a much lesser service.
The Connect America Fund-taking the dollars today used for landline telephone support
the FCC has created the Connect America Fund to incent carriers to improve rural
services to the 4 Mbps/1 Mbps threshold. Currently two of the telecommunications
providers in the CVII area (CenturyLink and Frontier) have committed to these phase
one dollars at $775.00 per unserved customer to improve its DSL services.
The Rural Utility Service (RUS) continues to provide low-cost loans to rural providers
through the farm bill program to assist in developing next-generation broadband
services to the most rural areas. These dollars most frequently go to incumbent rural
telephone companies and cooperatives.
The development of Broadband Stimulus projects funded by federal dollars that will
establish next generation fiber infrastructures for Cook County, Lake County, portions of
St. Louis County, and the Northeast Services Cooperative. While these networks do not
serve the CVII area they will show the need for next-generation broadband in rural
areas.
Mobility Fund Phase 1 Auctions
(http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=901) -there
are significant portions of the CVII area that are eligible for these FCC funds. The
auction will offer up to $300 million in one-time support to carriers that commit to
provide advanced mobile voice and broadband services in areas where those services
are not available. The carrier must provide 3G services within two years and 4G services
within three years of the award. A map of the eligible areas is provided on the next
page:
8
FCC Mobility Fund Phase 1 Auction Areas (in black) CVII area in red box
The State of Minnesota has also made significant progress in the development of broadband
awareness through the Minnesota State Broadband Taskforce
(http://mn.gov/commerce/topics/Broadband/Governors-Broadband-Task-Force.jsp). The three
most important activities that CVII should focus on are:
1. The creation of broadband goals for state of Minnesota residents-the first calls for
ubiquitous service, broadband for all Minnesotans, and the second, that sufficient
broadband speed was a minimum of 10 to 20 Mbps downstream and 5 to 10 Mbps
upstream. These targets are to be met by 2015. The map on the next page shows that
there are no areas of the CVII area that meet the state broadband goals
2. The launch of the Connect Minnesota website-Connect Minnesota was created through
Broadband Stimulus funds. It provides an excellent source of information for broadband
usage and availability. The Connect Minnesota Website can be found at
www.connectmn.org.
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3. The 2012 Taskforce Report-The Task Force will develop legislation for the 2013
legislative session and beyond, where needed, on policy and finance incentives. Identify,
evaluate and suggest the funding resources necessary in order to reach the broadband
goals and methods for generating that funding including tax incentives for broadband
infrastructure; tax deduction equity for fiber, equalization of Minnesota depreciation to
federal levels; tax forgiveness to build out in areas without access and/or low
population. (State Taskforce Report Outline available at
http://mn.gov/commerce/images/BroadbandPlanOutline.pdf). This legislation may
assist in providing incentives to build services in the CVII area.
Connect Minnesota Broadband Availability (10 Mbps Upstream and 6 Mbps Downstream) with CVII Service Area
Orange-Underserved
Yellow-Unserved
Blue-Wireless
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What is the CVII Opportunity?
The townships are sparsely populated in the north, but there are significantly denser numbers
in North Star, Normanna and Gnesen that will help the CVII group appeal to the provider
community with their household counts between 46 to 77 per census block. This raises the
area’s appeal and there may be upcoming opportunities with changes to federal subsidies since
the basis for their administration appears to be centered on census blocks. Another set of
positive indicators appears to be the age and income median levels-the Cloquet Valley
population is both younger and higher earning than what providers normally assume a rural
area to be. CVII is representing almost 1500 households with an additional 600+ seasonal
cabins that are looking more attractive because of the data that has been collected and the
energy of the people working on this project.
CVII citizens developed and deployed a questionnaire to determine the potential market for
enhanced internet service. They collected over 500 household responses. Looking at the
summarized survey results in addition to the demographics creates an even more compelling
picture to potential providers as just over 65% of respondents are now getting their Internet
from either a cell connection or a satellite, both considered to be lacking in some respects and
85% of the respondents would be “very likely” to subscribe to 10 Megabit service if they could
get it.
It appears that CVII has done the right things to position their constituents in the best light for
future recruiting efforts in pursuing high speed broadband for the area. They have been
effective at proving there is a market here, staying organized, and courting providers with
actual customers. And all along they’ve taken every opportunity to educate citizens on
current broadband opportunities.
As CVII continues to attract providers there are additional marketing activities it should
continue to gain the interest of providers:
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Continue to gather information on the interest of local residents of committing to
switch to a new service provider and their current dissatisfaction with existing providers
Quantify the interest of the seasonal residents of CVII; what are their interests in
receiving service
Tout the unique aspects of the area including higher income, age of the population and
willingness to commit to a service provider willing to bring enhanced services to the
area
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CVII Existing Infrastructure Overview
County Road 44 cuts through the heart of the CVII service area and is an important corridor for
the provisioning of broadband services in the area. A drive from Gnesen Township to Fairbanks
Township along County Road 44 provided some high-level insight to the existing
telecommunications infrastructure in the area. Some of the important highlights of the drive
include:
1. Existing Fiber Optics-looking for telltale signs of fiber connectivity (handholes and fiber
markers) there were no signs of a fiber infrastructure until we reached the Brimson Central
Office (Frontier). This will continue to be an issue for the area as fiber optics utilized as
middle-mile infrastructure can dramatically increase the speed to last-mile customers.
2. T1 Backhaul-it was evident that any existing DSLAMS were being served by T1/Copper
infrastructure to provide the Internet backhaul to CVII wired Internet customers.
3. Cellular/Wireless Infrastructure-except for an AT&T tower positioned close to the North
Star Township Hall there is very little wireless infrastructure in the CVII service area. At
least on that tower there was significant space left for a second wireless carrier to collocate
on that tower. The issue around the Cellular infrastructure is that without a fiber
infrastructure even a deployed 3G/4G infrastructure would suffer from a lack of backhaul.
4. Antiquated Technologies-looking at the existing Digital Loop Carrier infrastructure, most of
the area has not been upgraded in quite some time. It did look though that CenturyLink has
placed some new DSLAM infrastructure but lacks backhaul to make it efficient.
Some of the important infrastructure locations during the drive include:
1. CenturyLink Island Lake Office-Corner of Abbott Road and Rice Lake Road
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This office is part of the Duluth exchange and does not seem to have fiber connectivity to it.
The Common Language Location Identifier (CLLI) Code is ISLKMNIL. It looks like all of the
remaining CenturyLink serving areas within the CVII study area are homed back to this office.
There were no signs that the building was fiber fed except for some Qwest fiber markers on
County Road 4 located approximately one mile away.
2. CenturyLink DSLAM-Corner of Rice Lake Road and Normanna Road
This DSLAM is fed by the Island Lake Office. It is relatively new (within the last five years). It
does not look to be fed by fiber.
3. CenturyLink DSLAM-corner of County Road 44 and Schultz Lake Road
This DSLAM is fed by the Island Lake Office. The DSLAM looks relatively new (within the last
five years); it does not look to be fed by fiber. The DSLAM (on the very left) was placed next to
an existing Digital Loop Carrier (Center) to support voice services for the area.
13
4. CenturyLink Digital Loop Carrier-corner of County Road 44 and Barrs Lake Road.
This DSLAM is fed by the Gnesen Office. The DSLAM looks relatively new (within the last five
years) but does not look to be fiber-fed. The DSLAM (on the very left) was placed next to an
existing Digital Loop Carrier to support voice services for the area.
5. CenturyLink Digital Loop Carrier Site Alden Lake-at County Road 44 and Little Alden Lake
Road
This site looks like it has no or limited DSL capabilities. It is fed from the Gnesen Central Office
and serves the Pequayan and Alden Lake area.
14
6. Frontier Octal ADSL Cards at County Road 44 and White Lake Road
It looks like this was placed to serve the Internet requirements of customers living on White
Lake Road. It is hard to determine if the units are actually in service. This product is part of the
Conklin Flex Access 9000 platform; the 9300 unit is used to extend ADSL service to areas that
have small customer counts and is fed by a copper pairs for transport back to the Central Office
terminal in this case located in the Brimson Central Office.
7. Brimson Central Office-located at Hwy 44 and Two Harbors Brimson Road
This office is part of the Brimson exchange and does have fiber connectivity to it. The Common
Language Location Identifier (CLLI) Code is BRSNMNXB.
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8. AT&T Wireless Tower-located at Hwy 44 and St. Louis County Road 998
This tower provides a majority of all wireless connectivity within the CVII service area. The
tower is fed by a microwave feed –there is no copper connectivity to this tower. The AT&T
tower number is MPLSMN5049. It looks like there is additional room for another wireless
provider.
16
9. New Wireless Tower Island Lake North-located at 7397 Thompson Lake Road (north of the
corner of Rice Lake Road and Thompson Lake Road.
This 300’ tower is owned by American Tower (www.amerciantower.com) and the tower
number is MN-311204. From a site visit it looks like the carriers are just beginning to turn up
services on this tower. One of the carriers on the tower is T-Mobile according to the site
information; the other provider is AT&T. The tower is fed by copper T1’s and one of the
providers has placed a microwave link to the tower.
17
10. ATT tower Normanna Township on Pioneer Road
This tower is owned by American Tower (www.amerciantower.com) and the tower number is
MN-273105. Currently only AT&T is providing service to this tower but it looks like an
additional two wireless carriers could co-locate. The tower is fed by copper T1’s.
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Provider Overviews
CenturyLink
Contacts:
Troy Mack
218-491-4653 troy.mack@centurylink.com
Kirstin Beach
612-663-7911 kirstin.beach@centurylink.com
Andrew Schriner 612-663-6930 andrew.schriner@centurylink.com
Website: www.centurylink.com
CenturyLink Opportunity: Our encounters with CenturyLink were unproductive. The
information we are including in this report comes from our research of online archives, trade
press and onsite observation. When asked for their pricing we were told to go to the website.
The website requires a customer address to access any pricing information. When using an
address of a current subscriber with a Duluth address, the website says there is no service
offered there besides dial-up. When tested with a metro address, the author’s own with
current CenturyLink service, the website seized up so we were relegated to outside sources to
determine both pricing and availability. All information is offered with that caveat; it does not
come from the company.
Apparently, CenturyLink offers download speeds of 1.5Mbps for as little as $19.95 a month, but
“where offered” will also sell 7Mbps service for $19.95 with the purchase of Unlimited Phone at
an additional $45. The price is guaranteed for 5 years. Pricing appears to vary widely according
to your custom bundle makeup. DSL service can be ordered without phone service and it
appears the price for that is similar to other providers, averaging between $45 and $55 dollars
per month depending on the speed available.
The company announced on July 24, 2012, that they have accepted some funding, $35 million
of the almost $90 million they were allocated, from the FCC under the Connect America Fund
for the purpose of taking broadband service into areas that are currently unserved. The
company announced they would use close to a third of that funding, $11 million of the CAF
money, in the state of Minnesota. We are still awaiting an update on just where the 14
regional areas are that they are targeting. If the company is granted the waiver they seek to
use the money to deploy in areas now served by wireless Internet providers, that dollar amount
may increase nationally and perhaps here in the state. The company has sought such a waiver
for several areas in northern Minnesota served by WISPs that they claim do not offer sufficient
speed and are too high priced. As of this reports publication date, there is no decision on the
request from the FCC.
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The Department of Commerce of Minnesota sent a letter of support for the company’s effort to
gain the waiver and it remains to be seen whether that will result in more service for the state
or not. It is possible that the issue will remain open until the waiver question is settled. In any
case, watching the press – both commercial and trade – seems to be the only reliable source of
information.
Existing Connection Speeds: One CVII resident who has access to CenturyLink Internet services
tested their connection at (this customer resides approximately 2 miles from the DSLAM):
Download Speed
Upload Speed
0.84 Mbps
0.74 Mbps
1.05 Mbps
0.74 Mbps
1.06 Mbps
0.70 Mbps
*see page 43 for explanation of latency
Latency*
91 ms
93 ms
92 ms
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Frontier
Contacts:
Scott Behn
952-891-7712 scott.behn@ftr.com
Kirk Lehman 612-816-0916 kirk.lehman@fr.com
Website: www.frontiernet.net
Frontier Opportunity: Frontier territory covers the northern most part of the Cloquet Valley
target area in Ault, Fairbanks, and Pequaywan townships. Frontier offers DSL service to its
exchange area and several residents are subscribers. The service is advertised at 3Mbps
downstream speeds and 384Kbps upstream, which is relatively slow but still a useable speed for
most home applications. We have speed tests results from users that indicate that their service
is far slower than the 3Mbps service that it’s advertised to be however.
The pricing for Frontier is hard to come by unless you’re adept at maneuvering through their
website or willing to talk to a service rep. The plethora of packages also complicates the matter
but is generally the best pricing, as bundles give at least a minimal discount on services. As best
we could determine, the base price for High Speed Internet without a package would be $49.99
with a phone line added or $54.99 without. A modem rental fee is $6.30 per month. There are
multiple add-ons that they offer including free access to ESPN3 for sports fans and Hulu Plus for
$7.99 per month. They even offer a second DSL line for $13.50 per month for households with
multiple users. Unless waived there is an installation charge but Frontier does a thorough
install that includes checking computers for viruses to ensure the service will work properly
when they’re done. The pricing included in this report was gathered from multiple queries to
the websites of both Frontier and authorized agents. Pricing was requested twice from
company representatives but never received. It’s quite likely that the actual uses of the service
have pricing that differs from the base prices we are using.
Reasons for slower than advertised service from Frontier would include several factors such as
distance from the Central Office (CO) in Brimson or even the condition of the copper wiring to
your premise, which may be many years old. Copper becomes brittle with exposure to oxygen
so if the sheath is worn it could affect both your Internet speed and voice line quality. In many
cases if you suspect interference like that, a call for service may result in a replacement line
installed at the company’s expense. Customers should be sure to discuss that if they do call for
possible repairs.

Frontier was the first eligible company to accept FCC Connect America Funding (CAF)
from Phase One that offered the company close to $72 million to deploy DSL in their
unserved exchange areas. The fund offered $775 for each new install, which in
Frontier’s case amounts to 92,876 new installs in about half of Frontier’s 27 states.
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Unfortunately, we have since learned that Minnesota will not be one of those states.
Frontier has already committed that by the end of the year they would be upping the
download speeds of their broadband service to you to 6Mbps from the 3Mbps now
offered. Without CAF interruptions to the Minnesota engineering plan, that upgrade is
most likely going to stay on schedule.
Another announcement by Frontier on July 24 is that they have signed an agreement to
offer HughesNet satellite service to their customers. As detailed in the satellite services
section of this report, HughesNet’s owner, Echostar, has launched a new satellite with
Jupiter technology that is expected to be able to deliver download speeds of up to
20Mbps as early as this October. Frontier has had a longstanding partnership
agreement with Echostar by virtue of their resale of the DISH video product. We also
expect that the satellite pricing from the new HughesNet product will closely align with
the current Exede pricing, which will be a welcome adjustment to what we judge to be
their current high priced offer for a very low speed connection.
Frontier staff, Scott Behn, the statewide manager, and Kirk Lehman, the area general
manager, were both very forthcoming with their information and generous with their
time. We also appreciated their willingness to discuss solutions that most industry
providers consider to be out of the box. They have begun their formal arrangement
with NESC for increased middle mile capacity and were willing to talk about potential for
serving customers outside of Frontiers service area. Those discussions may be
continued after this report by the steering committee with the Frontier folks, although
their corporate structure may preclude anything happening quickly. A strong
relationship is possible with this provider.
Existing Connection Speeds: One CVII resident who has access to Frontier Internet services in
Pequaywan Township tested their connection at (this customer resides approximately 1.2 miles
from the DSLAM):
Download Speed
Upload Speed
Latency*
0.71 Mbps
0.05 Mbps
87 ms
0.70 Mbps
0.15 Mbps
348 ms
0.76 Mbps
0.05 Mbps
80 ms
0.70 Mbps
0.07 Mbps
85 ms
Another CVII resident provided these test results from Pequaywan Township
0.97 Mbps
0.15 Mbps
107 ms
0.97 Mbps
0.15 Mbps
86 ms
0.23 Mbps
0.14 Mbps
126 ms
0.67 Mbps
0.14 Mbps
85 ms
0.67 Mbps
0.14 Mbps
87 ms
0.43 Mbps
0.11 Mbps
290 ms
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0.96 Mbps
0.15 Mbps
1.14 Mbps
0.16 Mbps
1.10 Mbps
0.16 Mbps
1.11 Mbps
0.11 Mbps
0.23 Mbps
0.15 Mbps
1.14 Mbps
0.16 Mbps
0.98 Mbps
0.13 Mbps
*see page 43 for explanation of latency
377 ms
88 ms
85 ms
87 ms
103 ms
85 ms
87 ms
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Arrowhead
Contacts: Bob Weiss –General Manager bobw@sleepyeyetel.net (507) 381-1359
Website: www.arrowheadtel.net
Arrowhead Opportunity: Arrowhead is owned by Hector Communications; a partnership
between New Ulm Telecom, Arvig Communications and Bevcomm. Today Arrowhead provides
limited services in the most western area of the CVII service area including the Cloquet Valley
State Forrest and the most northern section of the Boulder Lake through its Cotton Exchange.
According to the Arrowhead website it provides up to 10 Mbps DSL services for a price of
$69.95 bundled with a telephone line and $109.95 without a telephone line (known as naked
DSL in the business).
Currently Arrowhead has no plans for improvements to their infrastructure for the area and no
interest in expanding their footprint further into the CVII area.
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Cooperative Light and Power
Contacts: Steve Wattnem-General Manager swmngr@clpower.com (218) 834-2226
Kevin Olson-Mgr. Technology kolson@clpower.com (218) 834-2226
Website: www.clpower.com
Cooperative Light and Power Opportunity: Cooperative Light and Power (CLP) is the electrical
provider for most of the CVII service area.
Cooperative Light and Power Electrical Service area.
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CLP has been providing Internet services to portions of its service territory for many years.
Currently CLP is upgrading its Internet infrastructure to not only provide Internet services to its
customers but also to leverage it for both SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
and Meter Reading for its Electrical services. In discussions with management of CLP there was
definite interest to expand its services to cover the entire CVII service territory if the build-out is
financially feasible. The main concern is the ability to create enough customer requirements in
the most northern area of CVII; due to this CLP would like to work with CVII to understand maps
of potential customers to finalize financials for the service territory.
The new technology being deployed by CLP is a MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output)
technology, this technology increases data throughput by spreading the total transmit power
over several antennas. The three non-licensed spectrums being used by CLP are 900 MHz and
2.4 GHz for customer access and 5.8 GHz for backhaul. Currently CLP is developing a backhaul
network capable of 200-300 Mbps of transport that allows it to dramatically increase the endservice bandwidth to its customers. CLP is deploying the Ubiquity wireless platform, the key to
Ubiquity’s success is MIMO spatial multiplexing. A high rate signal is split into multiple lower
rate streams and each stream is transmitted from a different transmit antenna in the same
frequency channel. If these signals arrive at the receiver antenna array with sufficiently
different spatial signatures, the receiver can separate these streams into (almost) parallel
channels. MIMO technology uses the 802.16e standard. In other words line of sight is less
important because signal can travel in separate orthogonal channels and be assembled at the
antennae.
CVII committee member Mark Anderson was a beta customer of this new service and provided
excellent test data and impressions of the service. Mark’s experience included:
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HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) has worked well over the network. Having a
secure Internet connection is very important for those CVII residents who will want to
telework from the area.
Downloads worked well, Mark frequently downloaded files in excess of 100 Mbps
without problems.
Remote Desktop and Skype Services worked well over the network. Mark was able to
support online students remotely without any problems
Streaming Video worked very well over the network. Mark was able to stream Best
Quality-non-HD and often could stream the Best Quality HD setting
Humidity did affect the wireless service but did not affect the customer experience
Average Downloads were in the 5 Mbps range and average latency was around 35
milliseconds
26
To complete the network, towers would need to be built every 3-5 miles at a cost of $10,000$15,000 a site. The towers would be at a height between 70’ and 90’ and a blanket easement
by the CVII townships would assist CLP in completing the network. In addition in the Island
Lake area there is an existing wireless operator that delivers a less than quality service that
causes interference with the CLP system, assistance in limiting this carrier would also be a
positive in the eyes of CLP. Final engineering will determine the total number of towers and
capital costs to serve the CVII area.
Today CLP is planning to have two packages over its new network (customers on existing
equipment are more limited to their services) : 1) a 3 Mbps symmetrical package with 1.5 Mbps
guaranteed for $49.95 and 2) a 7 Mbps symmetrical package with 1.5 Mbps guaranteed for
$59.95. Additional costs will include an install cost of $250.00.
CLP is planning to offer a wireless service that will raise the bar in the area for wireless speeds
and be very competitive against the wireline services available in the area.
Existing Connection Speeds: One CVII resident who has been testing CLP Internet services in
Normanna Township tested their connection at:
Download Speed
Upload Speed
12.9 Mbps
4.55 Mbps
9.66 Mbps
5.31 Mbps
7.0 Mbps
5.8 Mbps
5.0 Mbps
5.5 Mbps
9.0 Mbps
5.6 Mbps
7.7 Mbps
6.0 Mbps
4.3 Mbps
6.2 Mbps
6.2 Mbps
6.2 Mbps
7.9 Mbps
6.3 Mbps
6.5 Mbps
3.0 Mbps
5.0 Mbps
7.7 Mbps
9.8 Mbps
5.5 Mbps
7.6 Mbps
3.8 Mbps
4.9 Mbps
4.5 Mbps
6.6 Mbps
5.9 Mbps
*see page 43 for explanation of latency
Latency*
45 ms
35 ms
36 ms
35 ms
26 ms
35 ms
35 ms
27 ms
35 ms
35 ms
26 ms
37 ms
42 ms
35 ms
35 ms
27
North East Services Cooperative
Contacts: Paul Brinkman-Executive Director paulb@nesc.k12.mn.us (218) 748-7603
Lyle MacVey-Dir. Information Technology lmacvey@nesc.k12.mn.us (218) 748-7623
Website: www.nesc.k12.mn.us
North East Service Cooperative Opportunity: The Northeast Service Cooperative (NESC) was
awarded a Broadband Stimulus Award for a $43.5 million loan-grant combination to provide
over 915 of miles of fiber to eight counties including St. Louis and Lake Counties. The funding
will provide middle-mile, dark fiber, wavelength services to private sector providers in rural
areas of northeast Minnesota. In November of 2011 NESC announced an agreement with
Frontier Communications to provide 450 miles of dark fiber to Frontier to improve broadband
access in the Frontier service area. Frontier will light the fiber network and this new network
will allow them to have full redundancy for both voice and data routes and broadband speeds
up to 10 Gbps.
It is this partnership that could be of benefit to the CVII service area. There have been
discussions between Frontier and NESC about how they might be able to leverage this middle
mile transport to provide improved services to those service areas that CenturyLink provides to
in the CVII service area (by leasing copper loops from CenturyLink). This would take significant
work at a corporate level at Frontier to decide to move into the CenturyLink area.
Besides Frontier, since NESC provides a carrier-neutral network it could provide other
competitive carriers access to its middle-mile network to serve the needs of other competitive
carriers interested in providing residential broadband services along its network. It is advised to
keep the lines of communication open with NESC to better understand what carriers and
alternative providers it might be in discussions with.
One of the largest issues for any provider who would want to leverage the NESC middle-mile
network will need to build either fiber optic or wireless backhaul to reach the NESC network.
Below is an NESC map showing the middle-mile route and give readers a perspective of the
fiber routing needed to reach the CVII service area. It seems that the route along Hwy 61 from
Duluth to Two Harbors might be the most cost-effective to reach the CVII service area.
28
Network Map of NESC Middle-mile Network
29
Lake County-Lake Connections
Contacts: Jeff Roiland-Project Manager jroiland@lakeconnections.com (218) 834-8320
Matt Huddleston-County Administrator matthew.huddleston@co.lake.mn.us
(218) 834-8320
Website: www.lakeconnections.com
Lake County Opportunity: In 2010 Lake County was awarded a $10 million grant and $56.5
million loan to construct a fiber optic network to every home and business in Lake County and
sections of St. Louis County (see Lake County Area Service Map below), the network will not
serve the CVII service area but will surround the CVII area to the north and to the east.
Lake County Service Area Map from Lake County website
30
In June of 2012 Lake County began construction of the network in Two Harbors in partnership
with Lake Connections. It is expected it will take at least three years to complete the entire
network build and the network build is broken into three phases (a map of the phases can be
found at www.lakeconnectins.com/map:
1. Phase 1-the towns of Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Winton (target completion August
2012)
2. Phase 2-all towns and rural areas along the fiber interconnect route (target
completion December 2012)
3. Phase 3-the remainder of all the rural areas (target completion September 2013),
includes some fiber through the CVII area only to serve Lake County needs
Lake Connections has not yet released services and pricing but has committed to providing:
 Internet Speeds up to 100 Mbps to homes and 1 Gbps to businesses
 Digital Video, including high-definition service and digital video recording
 Traditional telephone or voice over Internet service
While there are no plans to serve CVII if additional funds separate from the initial project were
available Lake Connections may be interested in providing services to the area. During Phase 3
Lake County will build network fiber through a portion of the CVII service area (it is noted as a
dotted line on the Lake County website) it is not intended at this point in time to provide lastmile access to CVII residents. It could be leveraged though as a potential middle-mile
connection to allow alternative carriers to reach the CVII area. It is suggested that the CVII
group keep in contact with Lake County to understand the final routing of the fiber network
through the CVII service area.
31
Air Fiber
Contact: Tiegen Fryberger-Dir. Community Wireless Broadband Development
Tiegen@myairfiber.com 218 349-9967
Website: www.myairfiber.com
Air Fiber Opportunity: Air Fiber is a company based in Superior, WI focusing on the needs of
rural communities while also providing services in portions of Duluth and Superior. Currently
Air Fiber is working with Hermantown and Balkan Township to deliver wireless broadband
services to those underserved communities.
Air Fiber utilizes unlicensed spectrum at the 5.8 GHz (for backhaul) and 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz
for customer access utilizing the Ubiquity platform as described in the Cooperative Light and
Power network. This technology allows them the ability to penetrate the tree cover expected
in the CVII service territory.
Today Air Fiber provides the following bandwidth speeds and would expect to provide the same
speeds and pricing in a CVII network:
Service Plans
Monthly Rate
Installation Cost
10 Mbps
$49.95/Month
Always FREE Installation
7 Mbps
$44.95/Month
Always FREE Installation
5 Mbps
$39.95/Month
Always FREE Installation
3 Mbps
$32.95/Month
Always FREE Installation
2 Mbps
$29.95/Month
Always FREE Installation
*All customers require an AirFiber Wireless Modem to obtain quality internet and
speeds. The casual surfer plan is a 2 Mbps plan perfect for the casual internet user for
online gaming, social apps, email, and casual surfing.
32
Additional Equipment
Monthly Rate
Purchase Cost
Wireless Modem
$5.95/Month
$89.95/1x Purchase
Wireless Router
N/A
$49.95/1x Purchase
Existing AirFiber Pricing and Packages
Based on back of the envelope engineering it would require eighty towers (100’) to serve the
entire CVII service area. Backhaul connections would be brought in from the west from
Highway 53 and from the east from Two Harbors. A budgetary number for the network is
approximately $500,000.00.
The AirFiber model is that the community would provide the funds to install the network and
then AirFiber would provide a revenue share back to CVII. It would also be expected that CVII
would assist in marketing activities to place customers on the network.
33
AT&T Wireless
Contacts: Bob Bass, MN President
Robert.bass@att.com
952-656-9163
Website: www.att.com
AT&T Wireless Opportunity: Bob Bass was responsive to our request for information and took a
look at the map of the CVII area provided to us by the steering committee. His information
regarding the townships quoted here says:
“If it is voice, it is covered well, however the border area near Lake County is difficult. As far as
data, on the bottom 40% of the area we cover it with 4G with the speeds being better in the left
side of your area moving towards 53 which has good 4G coverage from Duluth up through
Virginia, Hibbing, and Mountain Iron.”
Bob also stated that the ongoing issue with the 450’ tower in the Ely area, if ever settled in the
company’s favor, could have a positive effect on the service levels over the entire northeast
quadrant of the state. AT&T has recently won an appeal decision that would allow the
construction but will face at least one more court challenge.
Data plan pricing for wireless carriers is changing to shared plans, data capped plans, and by the
device. A typical plan for AT&T right now would be priced at $30.00 per month for a
DataConnect 4G Tablet plan capped at 3 Gigabits per month and would charge $10 per gigabit
for data use over the cap.
There are options for a 3G/4G wireless customer to extend their service to computers within
their home. Some wireless handsets allow a customer to create a wireless hotspot from the
phone to share through a WiFi connection with computers within the home. Some customers
who want to share service can also purchase a separate device called a mobile hotspot to share
internet services without it being tethered to the phone. AT&T does offer these devices.
We also remind the reader that 4G is a relative term that means 4th generation. While initially
intended to be a wireless standard that would provide 100Mbps download speeds, it now
refers to any substantial improvement over 3G, which typically delivered speeds of 768kbps or
less. This applies to all wireless labeling.
It will be interesting to see if AT&T will bid on the FCC Phase 1 Mobility Auction to deploy 3G
and 4G services in September of 2012. Wireless coverage areas are located on the map below;
according to AT&T’s website there is only 2G wireless services available in the CVII area.
According to some residents close to AT&T towers there is some 4G capability in the CVII area,
speed tests would show that there are some 4G services available.
34
AT&T Coverage Area from Website 07/22/2012
Download Speed
Upload Speed
4.39 Mbps
1.42 Mbps
2.50 Mbps
1.10 Mbps
3.39 Mbps
1.49 Mbps
1.56 Mbps
0.92 Mbps
1.58 Mbps
0.83 Mbps
1.33 Mbps
0.87 Mbps
0.80 Mbps
1.02 Mbps
1.61 Mbps
1.05 Mbps
1.00 Mbps
1.20 Mbps
1.34 Mbps
1.30 Mbps
2.50 Mbps
1.55 Mbps
1.01 Mbps
1.39 Mbps
1.96 Mbps
1.36 Mbps
3.02 Mbps
1.28 Mbps
2.03 Mbps
1.29 Mbps
1.62 Mbps
1.37 Mbps
3.23 Mbps
1.43 Mbps
1.66 Mbps
1.24 Mbps
*See page 43 for definition of latency
Latency*
165 ms
89 ms
180 ms
198 ms
213 ms
214 ms
198 ms
198 ms
214 ms
213 ms
198 ms
182 ms
198 ms
229 ms
198 ms
182 ms
182 ms
1.24 ms
35
Verizon Wireless
Contacts: Contact: Mike McDermott 847-706-2648 michael.mcdermott@verizonwireless.com
Karen Smith
Karen.smith@verizonwireless.com
Website: www.verizonwireless.com
Verizon Wireless did not reply to inquiries from us but they too have recently changed their
pricing to the data cap model.
There are options for a 3G/4G wireless customer to extend their service to computers within
their home. Some wireless handsets allow a customer to create wireless hotspot from the
phone to share through a WiFi connection with computers within the home. Some customers
who want to share service can also purchase a separate device called a mobile hotspot to share
internet services without it being tethered to the phone. Verizon does offer these devices.
It will be interesting to see if Verizon will bid on the FCC Phase 1 Mobility Auction to deploy 3G
and 4G services in September of 2012.
Verizon also has a new product, HomeFusion, that may hold some potential in the future but it
would require 4G capabilities which Verizon does not have in the CVII area. It’s described like
this on their website:
HomeFusion Broadband Plans HomeFusion Broadband delivers our lightning-fast wireless
service straight to your home and internet-capable devices.
1. Verizon 4G LTE service is received through the HomeFusion Broadband Antenna.
2. The HomeFusion Broadband Router takes the signal from the antenna and broadcasts it
through your home via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet.
Monthly Data Allowance
10 Gig
20 Gig
30 Gig
Monthly Access
$60.00
$90.00
$120.00
36
Verizon Coverage Area 7/22/2012
Download Speed
Upload Speed
1.14 Mbps
0.55 Mbps
*See page 43 for definition of latency
Latency*
165 ms
37
Excede/Wildblue
Contact: Exede and Wildblue 888-746-8960
Northland Connect
Website: www.exede.com
888-567-1919
www.northlc.com
Excede Opportunity: This improved ViaSat-1 service satellite was launched on October 19,
2011, and has quickly expanded its service area to include Minnesota, although we are on the
eastern edge of the western satellite coverage area. It appears to have succeeded the Wildblue
service offering with EXEDE, a much faster service.
Note: The original Wildblue service still has a small amount of the stimulus money granted to it
that could pay for installation to anyone who is currently unserved by any broadband service
provider and which then carries a $39.95 life time price for 1 Mbps down, 200 Kbps up service.
HughesNet also was awarded stimulus funding under similar restrictions.
ViaSat-1, at 140 Gigabits, is the world’s highest capacity satellite, more than double the capacity
of all other existing satellites combined that serve North America. The capacity means they are
capable of carrying the traffic of over 1 million customers. This alleviates the problem Wildblue
encountered as it ran out of satellite ‘space’ and had to turn away customers in several states
over the last few years.
Exede is advertised as a one speed service priced by data capacity. The speed offered is 12
Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. The data caps and their monthly pricing are:
7.5 Gigabits
15 Gigabits
$ 49.99
$79.99
*Northland Connect offers 10 Gigabits for $49.99
25 Gigabits
$129.99
Installation charges were lowered for an introductory period from May 29 thru June 30, cutting
the normal $149.99 to $100.00. We believe that offer has been extended until July 31 and may
be extended again. New customers may be able to negotiate either this lower rate or even free
installation. The service also charges users an additional $10 per month equipment rental fee
and requires a 24-month commitment.
To determine which service level a customer should choose the site provides a handy calculator
depending on the usage patterns of a customer. The site can be found at
http://www.northlc.com/plan-selector.htm. While the service can be directly purchased
through Excede current CVII customers have found that purchasing the service through
Northland Connect, a consortium of four electrical cooperatives that is based in Grand Rapids.
Comparing the install and rental pricing between Northland and the Excede site there are install
savings and a local number to call for customer support.
38
Inherent in satellite service however is the latency issue since the signals travel 26,000 miles up
and back. There will be a half second minimum latency (delay) with the service with local users
reporting up to 700 milliseconds latency in local installations. This precludes using satellite for
Virtual Private Networking (commonly used for telecommuting), VOIP (voice over Internet
service), high definition streaming video without buffering, quick response gaming or real time
stock trading for example, but still is perhaps a stopgap solution for several users in the seven
township area as we wait for wireline services to appear. It definitely outperforms the previous
satellite service from Wildblue and resident tests of Skype services shows it supports that
technology.
Existing Connection Speeds: CVII residents who have access to Excede and Wildblue Internet
services in Northstar Township tested their connection (there is some debate as to the latency):
Download Speed
Upload Speed
8.83 Mbps
2.28 Mbps
11.93 Mbps
2.00 Mbps
28.03 Mbps
2.37 Mbps
7.70 Mbps
2.14 Mbps
4.95 Mbps
1.34 Mbps
10.59 Mbps
2.16 Mbps
7.84 Mbps
1.86 Mbps
7.72 Mbps
1.91 Mbps
7.39 Mbps
1.77 Mbps
3.9 Mbps
1.12 Mbps
8.23 Mbps
2.06 Mbps
8.38 Mbps
2.19 Mbps
8.67 Mbps
2.11 Mbps
11.06 Mbps
1.86 Mbps
3.73 Mbps
1.17 Mbps
Wildblue services were also tested
Download Speed
Upload Speed
1.52 Mbps
0.07 Mbps
1.59 Mbps
0.10 Mbps
4.46 Mbps
1.51 Mbps
6.15 Mbps
1.96 Mbps
4.24 Mbps
1.69 Mbps
3.62 Mbps
1.54 Mbps
3.21 Mbps
1.06 Mbps
3.21 Mbps
0.68 Mbps
1.99 Mbps
0.82 Mbps
2.43 Mbps
0.58 Mbps
1.60 Mbps
0.78 Mbps
*see page 43 for explanation of latency
Latency*
725 ms
14 ms
15 ms
758 ms
721 ms
14 ms
15 ms
805 ms
818 ms
12 ms
16 ms
722 ms
14 ms
14 ms
14 ms
Latency*
887 ms
1486 ms
812 ms
760 ms
745 ms
760 ms
51 ms
51 ms
955 ms
49 ms
981 ms
39
Hughesnet
Contact: Hughesnet 877-275-9818
Website: www.hughesnet.com
Hughesnet Opportunity: Initially we found that Exede would be the only satellite service we
would recommend for those seeking an immediate broadband solution in unserved areas, but
on July 6, 2012, Echostar, who owns Hughesnet, announced they also have launched a new
satellite that will greatly enhance their service offering. It uses a different transport technology
than the ViaSat-1 and is expected to be able to offer up to 20 Mbps service downstream. No
customers will be acquired before October of this year however, so we can’t find any testimony
or test cases online to report further information at this point. This quote is from their press
release: “Extensive tests will be completed after the spacecraft is maneuvered into a circular
orbit 22,300 miles above the equator at 107.1° West longitude. Hughes expects to begin
commercial operations this fall. The Ka-band EchoStar XVII with JUPITER high-throughput
technology will enable HughesNet Gen4—Hughes’ fourth-generation satellite Internet service.
HughesNet Gen4 will dramatically increase Internet browsing performance and support highbandwidth applications such as video and music. HughesNet Gen4 customers will be able to
experience faster speeds and the industry’s greatest download capacity so they can experience
Internet connectivity at its fullest. “
We suggest watching the trade magazines for announcements and articles as the next few
months to see if this satellite will also offer service that would be acceptable to CVII’s unserved
population this fall. Watch for the range of the service area and the speeds advertised on their
website also. We anticipate pricing will be similar to the Exede range, with tiers divided by the
usage rather than the speed of transmission. For all satellite systems, the long distance that
data must travel will result in some latency, but both major systems described here also try to
cache (retain on a server) those sites you visit often or repeatedly in a session to allow you to
retrieve them much more quickly and will enhance your experience.
The current pricing scheme for HughesNet may give some clue as to their probable tiers of data
caps for the future offering. For right now, this is the best you can get from this provider. We
would hope that the company greatly expands its data caps for the newer faster service to
something that will approach a more practical cap that moves into the gigabit range as other
providers have done.
40
Current Hughesnet Satellite Internet Services
41
Provider Comparison Charts
Bandwidth and Price
There are several service provider options within the CVII area, the only providers who service
the entire area are the Satellite Providers (Excede, Hughesnet and Wildblue). All other carriers
have limited service areas, and AT&T and Verizon Wireless have limited service areas
depending on their tower coverage. The service levels are advertised, there are actual speeds
in the report.
Service Provider and Pricing (Existing Providers in CVII Area)
Provider
Speed Down/Up
Data Cap Price
Install
AT&T
5-12 Mbps/2-5 Mbps
for 4G services
0.7-1.7 Mbps/0.5-1.2
Mbps for 3G services
5 Gig
1.5 Mbps Down
150 Gig
CLP
CLP
Excede
Excede
Excede
Frontier
3 Mbps/1.5 Mbps
7 Mbps/1.5 Mbps
12 Mbps/3 Mbps
12 Mbps/3 Mbps
12 Mbps/3 Mbps
1 Mbps/ 256Kbps
None
None
10 Gig
15 Gig
25 Gig
In Trial
49.95
59.95
49.99
79.99
129.99
34.99
250.00
250.00
149.99
149.99
149.99
yes
0.00
0.00
9.99
9.99
9.99
6.30
Frontier
3 Mbps/ 1 Mbps
In Trial
49.99
yes
6.30
Hughesnet
1 Mbps/250 Kbps
250 Meg
49.99
199.99
9.99
Hughesnet
Hughesnet
Wildblue
1.5 Mbps/250 Kbps
2 Mbps/300 Kbps
1 Mbps/200 Kbps
350 Meg
450 Meg
10.3 Gig
79.99
109.99
39.95
199.99
199.99
Free
9.99
9.99
9.99
3 Mbps/300 Kbps
8 Mbps/2 Mbps
5-12Mbps/2-5 Mbps
for 4G services
0.6-1.4 Mbps/0.5-0.8
Mbps for 3G services
27 Gig
60 Gig
4 Gig
69.95
129.95
30.00
Free
Free
19.9979.99
9.99
9.99
N/A
Century Link
Wildblue
Wildblue
Verizon
42
50.00
19.9999.99
Lease
N/A
According to CenturyLink Website
HSD not available. Some CVII
customers do have service though
Notes:
Limited Service
Area within CVII
(2G); Additional 1
Gig for
$10.00/month
Advertised
Speeds are not
achievable in
tests
Under New
Platform
Priced by Data
Cap; Speeds are
the same
Advertised
Speeds are not
achievable in
tests
Free InstallStimulus Pkg
Free InstallStimulus Pkg
Limited Service
Area within CVII;
$10.00 per 1 Gig
for additional
data
Data Caps
Many Internet providers, including all satellite and most cellular companies, have classes of
service based more on data caps than speeds. This change in pricing and availability has been
due to the quick growth of data carried by systems which, as carriers pay to have that traffic
transported, becomes the highest element of the cost of service. Also, carriers are investing
billions in network upgrades to carry traffic while companies like Netflix, Google, and Amazon
use those networks for free, leaving the customer as the only one who pays. So while we
understand the reasons why carriers put the caps in place, the customers hate the idea of
limiting what has always been an unlimited resource to them: access to the Internet.
Actual access is not terminated except for egregious cases of abuse, but the connection of a
user going over the limit will be slowed appreciably. Data caps are common now on all services
except cable and DSL usually, although Comcast has instituted a 300 Gbs cap on their service
and Frontier has experimented with caps that will likely become permanent at some point in
the future ( http://www.frontier.com/networkmanagement/), but both services are still priced
by speed. Satellite services, with brackets of service at Exede ranging from 7.5 Gbs to 25 Gbs
per month priced by cap, Wildblue has a cap of 60 Gbs on its highest level service under the
stimulus offering and Hughesnet tops out with a comparatively measly 450 Mbs on its highest
plan.
Cooperative Light and Power is currently not planning on instituting a data cap on its service.
Lake County is also not planning on providing data caps on its Internet services. As CVII
continues to negotiate with carriers to bring new services to the area this will be a
consideration in discussions.
For those interested in learning what not to do avoid reaching your data cap on a cellular data
network this PC World article provides some good recommendations:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/237345/phone_data_caps_five_things_you_shouldnt_do_too
_often.html . These same rules and including the same rules for video can help in reducing
running into your data cap.
A comparison of data caps can be found under the Bandwidth and Pricing comparison table
located on page 41 of this report.
43
Latency
Latency is defined as the amount of delay, measured in milliseconds, that occurs in a round-trip
data transmission. Latency is unavoidable in any Internet connection and it can only be
minimized using a better managed network. Not directly related to speed, latency can be an
issue with all networks. Because latency can depend on factors out of the control of the lastmile service provider, a direct comparison of technologies can be difficult. It is important to
understand though that latency is not matter of speed of your connection.
Latency most affects satellite connections; satellites used for two-way Internet service are
located approximately 23,000 miles above the equator. This means that a round-trip
transmission travels 23,000 miles to the satellite, 23,000 miles from the satellite to the remote
site, and then as the TCP/IP acknowledgment is returned.
Each time a data packet ‘hops’ (i.e. handled by a device along the path) several milliseconds of
latency are introduced. The physics involved account for approximately 550 milliseconds of
latency, a limitation shared by all satellite providers. (Source: http://www.vsatsystems.com/satellite-internet-explained/latency.html). It is common to see satellite latency of
700 milliseconds.
Latency is also affected by how quickly you are sharing network with others and competing for
bandwidth with other subscribers. This happens at some point in all networks as oversubscription is a necessary requirement of service providers to keep internet services prices
reasonable.
Comparing Wireline technologies there can be significant differences between fiber based
technologies; a good rule of thumb is the deeper the fiber, the less the latency. In the FCC
Measuring Broadband America (http://www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america) report
thirteen of the largest wireline providers (including the former Qwest, Frontier and
CenturyLink) were tested by thousands of tests carried out by citizens across the United States.
Based on this testing the average millisecond latency by technology was:



DSL-44 milliseconds
Cable-27 milliseconds (note: there are no cable services in the CVII service area)
Fiber-17 milliseconds
Because 3G and 4G services are relatively non-existent in the CVII area it is difficult to provide
latency comparisons. It is important that these technologies have fiber-optic or microwave
backhaul to provide the speeds promised by the providers. In metro areas where these
technologies have been deployed, wireless carriers are seeing latency in the range of 125-225
milliseconds (http://www.phonearena.com/news/4G-speed-test-results-are-in-Verizons-LTE-is44
fastest-but-T-Mobile-holds-the-fort-in-smartphone-speeds_id17405); it can be expected that if
deployed in the CVII area, latencies for these technologies would not be better than the metro
latency ranges.
Current latency tests done by residents of CVII show what current CVII subscribers are
experiencing. This test is not scientific; all testers utilized www.speedtest.net.
Provider
CenturyLink
CLP
Excede
Frontier
Hughesnet
Verizon
Wildblue
Latency (in milliseconds)
92 ms
26-45 ms
700-800 ms
80-100 ms
700-800 ms
165 ms
800-1400 ms
The following table gives an estimate of the services that are acceptable over each technology;
this table is not a guarantee but an approximation of the technologies ability to deliver the
service.
Application
VOIP
Video
Conferencing
Gaming
Skype
Connect
Netflix
DSL
Yes
Yes
Fixed
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Mobile
Wireless
Yes
No
No
No
Fiber to the
Premise
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Satellite
Technology Platforms
This chart provides a description of the different broadband technologies that service providers
utilize to provide last-mile services. The chart is arranged by current technologies available;
potential opportunities to improve broadband (3G and 4G are included in this section as they
have limited access today in the CVII service area) in the CVII service area and then other
technologies that show promise.
Technology
Description
Current Provider Technologies
DSL
A solution that utilizes the existing copper cables owned by
incumbent telephone companies. Additional speed can be
achieved by shortening the length of the copper loop or
bonding the copper pairs together. DSL comes in a variety of
flavors including ADSL, ADSL 2+ and VDSL. Typical DSL
deployments will not exceed 18,000’ of copper cable route
connected to backhaul at the DSLAM
Satellite
A solution that utilizes telecommunications satellites in earth
orbit to provide services. The long delays between the satellite
and ground stations cause latency that can affect real-time
applications such as voice and virtual private networks (VPN).
Fixed Wireless
A solution that utilizes either licensed or non-licensed spectrum
to deliver internet services. Fixed Wireless can be provided as a
Line of Sight or Near Line of Sight technology. Depending on
the spectrum also affects the ability to penetrate trees and
other obstacles. Common spectrum for Fixed Wireless include
5.8 Ghz, 3.65 Ghz, 2.4 Ghz and 900 MHz
Potential Provider Technologies
Fiber-to-the-Premise
A solution that utilizes a fiber optic cable directly to the
premise. There are several variations of FTTP services including
Passive Optical Networks, Active Ethernet and RFOG. FTTP
technologies are considered future-proof as the fiber does not
need to be replaced, only the electronics to increase speeds.
Fiber-to-the-Node
A solution that utilizes fiber optic cable to a node where then
either twisted-pair copper or coaxial cable is used to reach the
end customer.
3G/4G Wireless
A solution that utilizes cellular spectrum to provide internet
service. It is important that fiber backhaul be combined with
the technology to provide the bandwidth required to meet the
requirements of today’s mobile user.
Technologies That Show Promise
Whitespace or SuperWifi
A solution that utilizes the “white space” between commercial
UHF and VHF television channels to provide internet services.
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Given the spectrum qualities of these channels, the signal is
able to penetrate obstacles that typical WiFi technologies
cannot. Some vendors are working on unlicensed spectrum
solutions for this technology. This technology is just at the start
of development and today there are no providers in the
Minnesota market working to deploy the technology.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
There is tremendous opportunity for CVII to work with existing and new providers to bring
better broadband services to the area. It is obvious that today’s technology options will not
allow CVII residents the opportunity to fully participate in the current Internet economy. In
conclusion there are four topics to cover:




What are the best options today, who should CVII be talking to today?
Who is making progress where, what should CVII watch?
What should CVII do next from a marketing perspective?
How does CVII update the information going forward?
What are the best options today, who should CVII be talking to today?

Today for CVII residents who are looking for a service that will allow them to perform
the most common Internet-based tasks (e-mail, web-surfing and social networking) it
seems that the Excede satellite provides the best option for the overall CVII area. There
are issues around the latency around the service for more advanced real-time
applications like VPN and remote office but as a basic service it has the best bandwidth
speeds. The other caution is the data cap surrounding the Excede service.
As far as opportunities to gain additional providers into the CVII area there are two providers
that CVII should be engaging with:
1. Cooperative Light and Power-CLP has a vested interest in the area being the existing
power provider for most of the CVII area. In addition CLP has been improving its
wireless platform and in testing with CVII residents is providing bandwidth in range of
the CVII goals. CVII should engage with CLP to quantify a business model that would be
acceptable to CLP and also leverage the CLP network to provide SCADA and Smart Grid
technologies. This will require CVII to share additional information about the survey
responses and also require CVII to assist in sales and marketing activities
2. Air Fiber-Air Fiber is interested in serving the requirements of rural areas and given it is
using the same platform as CLP it is expected that its bandwidth will at least equal the
CLP experience. The same types of business development and market development
activities will be required. It is the opinion of Air Fiber that CLP is a first choice given
their ties to the area.
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Who is making progress where, what should CVII watch? There are additional activities that
CVII should be monitoring that can improve the broadband options of CVII residents:
1. The Frontier commitment to bring 6 Mbps/1 Mbps to its serving areas-this network
enhancement will improve broadband connectivity for the northern portion of the CVII
area
2. The possibility that CenturyLink will be granted a waiver to utilize Connect America
Funds in Minnesota-this network enhancement would improve broadband connectivity
for the CenturyLink served areas of CVII
3. The participation of AT&T and Verizon in the FCC Mobility Fund Phase 1 Auction-CVII is
eligible for these funds. CVII should prepare documentation given its support of AT&T
and Verizon applying for funds and present those to the carriers. Since AT&T provides
more service in the area a letter to the state president encouraging them to apply for
the Phase 1 mobility dollars to complete services in the CVII area.
4. The Lake County fiber build through portions of CVII-while not an immediate
opportunity this fiber could be leveraged in the future to interconnect to a new provider
using Lake County as the last-mile solution or as a possible jumping off point for a future
Lake County fiber-to-the-home expansion
5. The launch of the Hughesnet satellite that will bring an additional high-speed satellite
player to the marketplace in competition with Excede
6. Blandin Broadband Opportunities-as Blandin launches its MIRC 2.0 program this can be
an opportunity for CVII to raise additional funds for broadband improvement
What should CVII do next from a marketing perspective? It is important that CVII continue to
develop its own marketing story to share with existing and potential providers. The activities
surrounding this should include:
1. Creation of a marketing package including the benefits of serving the area and the
attractive demographics of CVII.
2. Work with St. Louis County and member townships to determine potential wireless
tower sites to assist both fixed and mobile wireless operators.
3. Additional customer commitments to share with potential broadband providers-taking
the next step of commitment will allow providers to quantify the business opportunity.
At some point this will require CVII to share where these committed customers are
located.
4. A willingness to create co-marketing opportunities with existing and potential
broadband providers, as existing and new providers bring services to the area CVII
should engage in opportunities to make them know to CVII residents. This includes
newsletters, e-mail blasts and community events.
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5. Getting the CVII story out to the rest of the world-press releases and participating in
Broadband forums will assist in keeping the CVII story fresh
How does CVII update the information going forward? This report is a snapshot in time and
presents the foreseeable opportunities for CVII to improve broadband services to its
communities. To keep this information fresh, CVII will need to continue to communicate with
providers and validate any improvements that providers bring to the area.
1. Quarterly communication with the providers-constant pressure on the providers can
help in moving up a project. It is true, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”.
2. Validate speeds of new and existing providers-by utilizing the Connect Minnesota
speed-test and validating actual coverage areas CVII can assist in shaping the actual
broadband mapping in area.
This report is just the next step in CVII taking control of its broadband future. By following the
recommendations presented we believe CVII can continue to improve the broadband future of
its residents.
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U-reka Broadband Ventures is a team of telecommunications experts that have united to
provide the experience, expertise and services necessary to succeed in today’s dynamic
communications environment. With offices in Stillwater, MN, and talent recruited from the
upper Midwest, you can be assured that the best talent and advice is available to meet your
requirements.
U-reka has not only knowledge of how the pieces go together but can put the pieces together
for you. We utilize our over 50 years of experience in the industry to provide an “eco-system”
of qualified contractors and vendors to meet your needs regardless if your network is fiberoptic, wireless or a network that combines both of these architectures. We work with
providers, local governments, economic developers and community groups to find workable
solutions and positive partnerships.
Services we offer include, but are not limited to, Feasibility Assessments, Partnership and Fiber
Business Models, Fiber Network Design, Fiber Network Builds, Project Management,
Installation & Testing and Grant Writing.
CVII’s U-reka Broadband Team
John Schultz
John Schultz is a 25 year veteran of the telecommunications industry
and has spent his career concentrating on bringing next-generation
architectures to business and residential customers. John's passion is
fiber connectivity and the possibilities that it brings to his customers.
John has been involved in deep fiber architectures including VDSL, HFC
and FTTP networks. In addition John has been actively involved in the
development of fiber connectivity across the region including long-haul
routes for both Incumbent and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers.
John has also been retained by the investment community to provide
industry expertise for merger and acquisition activity. During his time
with U-reka Broadband John has been instrumental in developing fiber
optic networks for Service Providers, Municipalities and Private Businesses.
John has a common sense approach to the business given his background in construction and
engineering. John has received a Bachelor's and Master’s Degree in Telecommunications from
St. Mary's University.
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JoAnne C. Johnson
Twelve years in government relations and community development, the
last ten years with Frontier Communications, have helped create the knowledge base that
drives her work in the communications industry and was also a defining factor in her being
named Chair by Governor Pawlenty of the MN Broadband Advisory Task Force, created in
2010’s legislative session. The task force explored the state of broadband in MN and assisted
the Commissioner of Commerce with creating a yearly report on the state of broadband in MN.
She also served on the original highly acclaimed Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force in
2009-2010. In addition to JoAnne’s broadband activism, her background in both state and
federal level regulatory and legislative activities is a valuable asset to our clients.
Prior to her work in the private sector, JoAnne was an Economic Development Officer for
Congressman Collin Peterson in the rural 7th District, giving her ample experience in outstate
MN and background in rural issues. Her work there involved technology and
telecommunications and she organized the Congressman’s three Rural Telecommunications
Conferences in partnership with MN Rural Partners and St. Cloud State University.
Contact Us Anytime
John
jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com
JoAnne jjohnson@u-rekabroadband.com
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