Speakers at NARUC winter meeting panel on broadband deployment co...
Speakers at NARUC winter meeting panel on broadband deployment costs said huge expense of upgrading long rural loops for broadband service meant broadband never would reach very rural subscribers unless wireless or satellite technologies were used. Dale Lehman, assoc.…
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economics prof. at Ft. Lewis College, Wash., said Wed. no business case could justify rural wireline broadband investment outside of small towns, especially for areas served by large incumbent telcos. He said use of universal service subsidies to make rural broadband ubiquitous would introduce unsustainable market distortions and quash any possibility of competition. Victor Glass, dir.-rate development for National Exchange Carrier Assn., said that within 3 years, 65% of rural loops would have broadband capability. But remaining loops, mostly those more than 3.5 miles long, may never see broadband because of upgrading costs exceeding $9,000 per loop, he said. Joslyn Read, vp-regulatory affairs of Hughes Network Systems, said service providers “aren’t considering satellite systems for rural broadband service delivery, but should be.” She said broadband- capable cable, major alternative to telco-provided broadband services, passed only 33% of households: “Satellite service is available to everyone, urban, suburban, rural.” She said equipment costs around $700 installed, with service available today at around $70 monthly. Marvin Sirbus, public policy prof. at Carnegie-Mellon U., Pittsburgh, urged regulators to consider fixed wireless for rural broadband delivery, even in more densely populated areas. He said customer-premises equipment (CPE) required for fixed wireless could be sold for under $1,000, which many rural people might be willing to pay to gain broadband service. Exclusive of CPE, fixed wireless could be provided for under $400 per customer, he said.