WISPA-Commissioned Tool Calculates Internet-for-All Requires Fiber Alternatives
States can achieve universal broadband with a mix of fiber, fixed wireless and satellite technologies, Vernonburg Group CEO Paul Garnett said during a Wireless ISP Association webinar Thursday. Garnett demonstrated his consulting group’s broadband planning tool, which estimates an “optimal”…
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extremely high cost per location threshold for each jurisdiction. “If you make the right decisions, you will be able to achieve your internet-for-all goals,” he said. Deploying broadband becomes increasingly expensive as a state gets closer to reaching all unserved and underserved areas, said Garnett: There are points where it makes sense to consider fiber alternatives, he said. Estimating about $53.6 billion in grant funds available across the entire U.S., including multiple federal and state sources, the tool suggests that 58% of locations should receive fiber, 38% should be served with fixed wireless and 4% should get satellite service, so all unserved and underserved locations are covered. Some states will rely more on wireless than others, Garnett said. With about $270 million in available grant funds, Maryland could serve 46% of locations with fiber, 52% with fixed wireless and 2% with satellite, according to the tool's calculations. For Utah, with about $388.6 million in grants, it estimates a mix of 67% fiber, 27% fixed wireless and 6% satellite. WISPA commissioned Vernonburg to create the tool, a WISPA spokesperson said. “[Vernonburg] did all the modeling work without deep input from us on what the outcome would be.”