[1st-mile-nm] Los Alamos County Broadband Moves Forward

[Richard Lowenberg]

 Broadband moves forward

 County: Council to pursue a 90 percent, one-gigabit option

 By Arin McKenna
 Wednesday, February 1, 2012

 http://www.lamonitor.com/content/broadband-moves-forward

 Support for a community broadband network was evident in public comment 
 from more than 50 people who attended Tuesday night’s council meeting.

 “No one would ever accuse me of being a high tech person, but I do 
 understand the importance of technology in today’s world. I also 
 understand the importance of a fast flow of information today and in the 
 future,” resident Lori Heimdahl Gibson said. “Information is power. 
 Information supports economic development. Information enhances our 
 quality of life. Broadband will allow greater amounts of information to 
 flow into and out of each of our homes and businesses and will allow us 
 to thrive in this modern world.”

 Heimdahl Gibson noted that Los Alamos had fallen behind by not moving 
 forward with broadband when it was first studied 15 years ago.

 Information Technology project manager Estevan Gonzales presented three 
 options.
 • 100 Mbps for $48.1 million, with a $42.8 million option that would 
 have limited amounts of 1 Gbps availability.
 • A 300 Mbps option for $54.3 million
 • A 1 Gbps option for $60.9 million.

 The original directive from council was to look at the 1 gigabit 
 option.

 Resident Terry Goldman advocated for that option. “It seems very clear 
 to me now that we must have this. But unless councilors are absolutely 
 convinced that there will be no further growth and usage from 
 businesses, from 3D usages, from medical applications, then we really 
 need to support the full one gigabit option.”

 Dean Obermeyer, technical coordinator for Los Alamos Public Schools, 
 stressed the importance of high speed Internet to education.

 “Our ability to deliver research based and innovative teaching methods 
 that positively impact student achievement by using network and Internet 
 based resources is vital to meet our goal to successfully educate all 
 students. With the use of digital resources and tools in our schools, 
 our students will need access to these resources from home. These 
 digital resources will become necessary for homework and other learning 
 projects. Private telecommunication providers have not provided a viable 
 plan to build an open access broadband network in Los Alamos.”

 Councilor David Izraelevitz expressed concern that there might be a 
 digital divide if some families subscribed to Internet service and 
 others did not. Acting Administrative Services Director Laura Gonzales 
 responded that this was one of the reasons for having a community 
 broadband network rather than relying on private providers.

 “We can provide services on a local network that does not have to go 
 out to the Internet or require subscription to the Internet,” Gonzales 
 said. “For example, schools providing services to students might just be 
 on the local network on a very high speed, and the students might not 
 even need to have an Internet subscription.”

 Resident Eric Fairfield stressed the economic development aspect of the 
 project. “They handed out a thing that said, ‘Broadband is now.’ For 
 economic development, broadband is three years ago and needs to do 
 something pretty good so businesses can stay here. The Los Alamos 
 Entrepreneurs Network is up to 100. My guess from our last meeting is 
 that four of them could swamp the network. So we really have to do this 
 well.”

 Jim Redman, who owns a business specializing in smart phones, presented 
 figures on the growth of wireless and advocated for a community fiber 
 network with the last half mile being cellular service. “I can’t imagine 
 that the towers would be anywhere close to the cost being proposed. 
 There’s a possibility that with a wireless solution we can have the same 
 speed at a lower cost.”

 Others counteracted that wireless speeds at this point are far below 
 the options being proposed. IT staff also pointed out that the Los 
 Alamos topography is a significant impediment to cellular reception.

 Resident Ted Galvez also noted that reception is poor in LEED- 
 certified buildings because of the insulation. The county’s new 
 construction has LEED certification standards.

 Only one resident was completely opposed to the project.

 “By the time we get it in, I suspect it will be obsolete,” Jerry Beery 
 said. “If this goes to the voters, it will go down in flames. The study 
 money is wasted, because it will never be built. Technology is changing; 
 the mobile option is very good.” Beery had spoken earlier against 
 spending money on studies for projects that might not have funding for 
 actual construction.

 Izraelevitz proposed tabling the discussion for 45 days and directing 
 staff to use contingency funds for a market study to determine what the 
 community was willing to pay for broadband, an independent design 
 review, comprehensive comparisons and a financial study of other 
 communities that have established community broadband services.

 Laura Gonzales pointed out that those were all elements of the 90 
 percent review. Gonzales also noted that most market studies take 60 
 days and that it was counterproductive to have an independent review 
 without a final design.

 “I’m concerned that this would provide the same answers as the 90 
 percent review at a slower rate for more money,” Councilor Geoff Rodgers 
 said.

 Vice Chair Ron Selvage introduced a substitute motion to move forward 
 with the 90 percent review of the 1 gigabit option. He also proposed 
 that staff return to council with the cost of a study on a wireless 
 option comparable to 1 gigabit of fiber, which would be in addition to 
 but not in place of fiber.

 Councilors Izraelevitz and Vincent Chiravalle both opposed the motion. 
 “Are we studying the right technical solution?  I’m not sure fiber will 
 be the preferred method of connectivity in the future,” Chiravalle said. 
 “We should have a separate study exclusively for wireless. We should let 
 private industry determine the best method of connectivity. Looking at 
 the price tag, I have a hard time thinking, if we put this to a vote, it 
 would pass. I think the wireless solution would be more cost effective.”

 Some councilors questioned looking only at the 1 gigabit option. “I’ve 
 never known a computer user anywhere to say, ‘dang, this is just too 
 fast. We need to slow this down,’” Selvage responded. “100 megabits 
 today is probably fine, but it won’t be next year. I think we need to go 
 with the 1 gigabit option. It’s not just for residences; it’s for 
 businesses, for schools, for hospitals that can definitely utilize the 
 high speed.”

 The motion passed 5-2.
 Here are the Community Broadband study budget costs:
 Entire project: $849,705
 30 percent review: $322,505
 60 percent review: $344, 700
 90 pecent review (covers 100 percent project costs) $182,500.



-- 
 Richard Lowenberg
 1st-Mile Institute
 Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
 www.1st-mile.com
 rl at 1st-mile.com