Jackson County Broadband Initiative
Final Report – Feb. 28, 2009
Organization: Jackson County Broadband Initiative
Address: HC 80 Box 105, Angel Ridge Road, Ripley, WV 25271
Project Leader: Mark Fowler
Phone Number: 304-372-4497
email: mark.r.fowler@gmail.com
Project Title: Rolling Meadows Village - Broadband
Initiative
Summary: Establish sustainable, low
cost, wireless mesh broadband for low income
residents of Rolling Meadows in Fairplain, WV.
Outcomes / Performance Measures
The primary goal of the project was to have broadband service available to all Rolling Meadows apartments. This has been achieved by installing wireless mesh routers in residences throughout the complex. Internet access from the mesh was provided by a local wireless internet service provider in Jackson County. Ongoing revenue from resident subscribers will sustain the service after grant funds have been exhausted.
The immediate impact has been that
residents are performing work functions from home that previously required them
to be at the office. Students are benefiting from having readily
available access to the internet.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Has the grant made a difference in the quality of
services or effectiveness?
A: Yes, the project created
broadband availability, and all the benefits that entails, where none was
available. The only other service available was dial up.
Q: If so, in what ways? If not, what obstacles limited your
work?
A: Yes, see previous answer. And we
also faced the following obstacles:
· The Housing Authority does not allow any outside equipment and there is no common space, therefore, the mesh units had to be inside the personal residence.
·
Lack of computers by some of the
residents, therefore lack of interest in having a repeater installed, which are
required to ensure signal throughout the complex.
·
Among this population desktops
without wireless capability are more prevalent and this required the
installation of additional mesh nodes to allow connectivity to the desktop.
·
There was a high level of general PC
support needed by the residents.
Q: What impact did the grant have on the population served?
A: It provided access to
comprehensive broadband services such as Web Access, Email, and voice over IP.
From a cost savings standpoint residents were able to drop a landline phone
that was only needed for dial up service.
Q: During the course of the project, did anything happen that was different from what you expected?
A: We were able to provide broadband
services to a nearby low income apartment building at no additional cost by
expanding the wireless mesh network.
Q: How will the lessons you learned change your future
thinking, performance or services?
A: The residents were concerned that
the individual mesh units would be removed from the premises due to high turnover.
Our solution was to label each unit as property of the project and to have
residents sign an agreement.
News
release:
The Jackson County Broadband
Initiative has deployed a wireless mesh network throughout Rolling Meadow
Village in Fairplain, WV. As a result of this effort, broadband service,
including high speed Internet access, is now available to the residents.
The Jackson County Broadband
Initiative was funded by a $5,000 Community Technology Mini-Grant from The
Alliance of West Virginia Champion Communities. The Alliance helps West
Virginia communities become more economically competitive by providing
education, technical assistance, and sharing best practices. The Broadband
Initiative is a partnership between the Jackson County Development Authority,
the Jackson County Housing Authority, and local citizens.
The goal of the Initiative is to
establish and maintain sustainable, affordable broadband for residents of
Rolling Meadow Village. The project arose due to a lack of traditional
broadband services such as DSL or cable, and restrictions on satellite dishes
including satellite Internet.
To learn more about the Jackson
County Broadband Initiative and this project call 304-531-5666.
1 24 wireless mesh nodes and accessories $1,300.00 $1343.38 ($43.38)
2 1 Mbps service installed $600.00 $600.00 $0.00
3 Quality of Service equipment $1,200.00+ $1,200.00 $2,383.00 $17.00
4 Wireless mesh install $800.00 $800.00 $0.00
5 Broadband service $900.00 $900.00 $0.00
6 Technical support $150.00 $113.02 $136.98
7 Advertising $50.00 $60.60 ($10.60)