| As
more companies make moves to provide wireless broadband in Owen
County, Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion said Fiscal Court
has put on hold the notion of establishing a county-funded wireless
project.
And residents will likely soon have at least a couple of options
for wireless broadband service in the county.
Part of the county already has one option for wireless Internet
through a private company, and more providers will likely be available
later in the year. Thus, O’Banion said private companies
might soon provide the need for wireless broadband in the county.
CainPro Communications, based in Gallatin County, already has
a tower located near Jonesville that can reach much of the northern
half of the county.
Owner John Cain said the company has customers living as far away
from the Jonesville tower as Kentucky Highway 22, near Owen County
High School, who are getting good service.
He said the Jonesville tower was put up just days after a decision
was made to do so, and the company’s expansion into the
county could happen rather rapidly.
CainPro expects to add an additional tower in New Liberty within
the next two weeks, and he said he has had discussions with O’Banion
about adding another tower on top of the jailhouse in Owenton
to stretch further south into the county.
Cain said the added towers would allow the company — which
currently provides service in Grant, Gallatin and Boone counties
in Kentucky, and Switzerland County in Indiana — to provide
service throughout much of Owen County.
Another Kentucky-based wireless company, VVDS, Inc., based out
of Elizabethtown, also plans to offer wireless broadband in Owen
County by this summer.
This company, which currently provides service in Green County
and will soon do so in Hardin County, recently purchased a tower
in Monterey.
Russ Preston, manager of business development for VVDS, said all
of Owen County could be covered by as few as four towers. He expects
the company to offer wireless broadband throughout the community
by July 1.
VVDS is looking for private investors to help raise $40,000 in
start-up costs, with shareholders receiving 40 percent of net
revenue as dividends, according to a letter Preston sent to O’Banion
in March.
The letter states that the service could be up and running in
the county within 30 to 45 days after acquiring the funds.
Preston said VVDS also plans to provide Internet-based telephone
service that will offer local and unlimited long-distance calls
for a flat fee, and it expects to offer IPTV, Internet-based television,
by the end of the year.
VVDS plans to offer service throughout much of the state, and
Preston said customers can use their laptops anywhere the service
is available.
O’Banion said the Fiscal Court does not have to vote to
allow VVDS to operate in the county; however, the company has
promised to give county government 5 percent of revenues from
within the county. The company also wants the county to allow
it to place towers free of charge on county property, if it is
determined such a property is a best fit for a tower.
But Preston said about a half-dozen residents have already expressed
interest in allowing a tower to be put on their properties in
exchange for free broadband service.
Preston said the start-up costs are needed from private investors
for the project because Connect Kentucky, a non-profit group established
by the state to advance broadband in rural area, had millions
of dollars in grants and low-interests loans pulled back after
dam problems were discovered on Cumberland Lake and resources
were needed to address that.
Connect Kentucky had recommended for VVDS to provide service in
Owen, Shelby and Henry counties, Preston said; the organization
also secured a grant to provide broadband access in Monterey.
O’Banion said Southeast Telephone is currently setting up
that service, which is expected be finished this summer.
Another possible broadband provider is AT&T, which acquired
BellSouth earlier this year. During the merger, the company promised
to provide DSL to any place where it currently has phone lines
by the end of the year.
O’Banion said he has yet to hear from AT&T to get an
update on the project as far as the county is concerned. A phone
call to AT&T spokesman David Weller was not returned as of
press time.
Both VVDS and CainPro service require adding a receiver to get
broadband.
Preston said the VVDS service does not require a contract, but
there is a $100 installation fee to cover the equipment. He said
the fee can be paid up front or spread over several bills.
Cain said the CainPro service, which also does not require a contract,
features equipment that comes in several price tiers, based on
a residence’s proximity to a tower.
An indoor unit costing $90 can be used if a customer lives within
1,000 feet of a tower. Otherwise an outdoor receiver is used,
with units costing $200 for residents within 5 miles of a tower
and costing $249 for a receiver that can reach as far as 20 miles
from a tower.
The VVDS residential service features 1 megabyte-per-second uploads
and downloads for $29.95 a month; the commercial service features
speeds of 3 megabytes per second at $49.95 a month.
CainPro service costs $29.95 a month. Cain said the service currently
provides 1 megabyte-per-second upload speed and 3 megabyte-per-second
download speed. He said those speeds will increase to 2 megabytes
for uploads and 6 megabytes for downloads next week.
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