UBJ Contrary views on the law
The law AT&T lobbied successfully to enact does not prevent a “government from owning and operating networks, or receiving federal funds” for their construction, Metcalf said. “It simply provides that if a government entity competes with a private-sector provider of broadband service, it must do so on a fair basis.” Further, he said, AT&T does not oppose “government-owned broadband networks that do not compete with the private sector, and we do not oppose governmentowned networks that compete with the private sector in compliance with fair competitions that apply to all providers.” Others see it differently, arguing that while the compromise version allowed the Oconee and Orangeburg projects to go forward, the act effectively prevents any other South Carolina rural county from using federal money for similar projects. The SouthEast Association of Telecommunications Offices and Advisors (SEATOA), which represents local government broadband planners in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, is one of the critics of the law. “It effectively prohibits municipalities from operating their own broadband systems through a series of regulatory and reporting requirements,” said Catharine Rice, president of SEATOA, in an article published by the National Association of Counties. “These practically guarantee municipalities could never find financing because the requirements would render even a private sector broadband company inoperable.”
Oconee adds ‘fictitious charges’
In Oconee’s case, Moulder does not
see any “limitation to our network as to how it is used or how we operate it,” except the county, acting as a wholesaler for private companies to connect, must charge as if it were a taxpaying company. “With the new rules, we have to impute fictitious charges on our books as a means to show our rate covers those same private sector fees; charges and taxes that we otherwise would not have to pay.”
For e x ample, he said, the county has to build in what it would pay for property taxes as if it were AT&T. Moulder said the county will operate “like any business, an evolution of the system after buildup for repair and replacement. It’s not just $6 million I’ve got to generate for the payback. I’ve got millions I have to generate to fund the system to keep it operable.” Still, he said, Oconee is offering an alternative to AT&T with “a wholesale product so companies have a choice at reasonable rates rather than inflated rates. That is not to say, we intend to undercut. We intend to hurt.” Wilbanks, the project manager, said the county has been visited by five or six ISPs interested in hooking into the system, and Moulder said Charter, the second-largest communication carrier in the county, “is on line to be a partner.” Northland Communications in Seneca is also a potential customer. Moulder said he expects DukeNet, an Internet and telecommunications subsidiary of Duke Energy, to be “a partner in utilizing the system.” The county has not given up on AT&T, Moulder said. “We would love for AT&T to come in and say, ‘We want to partner, we want to take advantage of your system. We even want to buy your system.’ The more involvement we get and the bigger companies we get involved, the stronger it is going to be.”
Provided by ConnectSC.org
Technicians with Network Controls of Greer Troy Crisp, left, and Al Salis prepare to splice fiber optic cable in their work trailer in Oconee County. Joining the ends of two fiber optic cables thousands of feet long is a meticulous process with very little room for error.
Broadband Service Inventory FOR SC
Contact Dick Hughes at dhughes@communityjournals.com. Fiber Broadband Cable Broadband DSL Broadband Fixed Wireless Broadband Mobile Wireless Broadband
Co-op puts western counties in fast lane What stands out on a state map of availability of fiber-optic broadband are not urban and relatively affluent counties like Greenville, Spartanburg, Richland and Charleston. Nor do the areas served by AT&T, Veri-
zon, Frontier or other corporate providers of Internet services pop up. What jumps out as the territory most covered with highspeed broadband is one that is rural, sparsely populated and low-income – Abbeville and McCormick counties and the Starr, Iva and Gluck areas of Anderson County. It is the work of West Carolina Rural Telephone Cooperative. The coop was formed 60 years ago because no one else was willing to provide adequate phone service to rural residents surrounding the towns of Abbeville, McCormick and Calhoun Falls, which were added in 2001 as a competitive service to Verizon. In June of last year, West Carolina completed installation of 1,400 miles of fiber optic cabling to the doorsteps of 11,000 customers in an investment of $70 million over three years. Copper still links customers in the towns of Abbeville, McCormick and Calhoun Falls, but because the loops are short, the bandwidth provides 50 megabits, which is “pretty darn good,” said David Herron, CEO and general manager of West Carolina. “There is not one” customer who does not have high-speed broadband, he said. To put it into perspective, Abbeville County is 80 percent covered with fiber optic cabling with a population of 25,197 – 76 people per square mile – and a per capita income of $16,653,
about $7,000 below the state average. The FCC’s inventory of broadband access shows Greenville County with zero fiber cabling with a population of 462,075 – 2,177 people per square mile – and a per capita income of $25,931. In presentations, Herron has been promoting the fiber network as enabling “our members to engage in the global economy” and as a way to spur economic development and job creation. “We’ve been trying to tell our story, but it is hard to get people to really realize the value of this network, how to use it and how to promote industry, create jobs and promote entrepreneurship,” Herron said in an interview. “In areas like ours, we’re not going to land a BMW. Most of our job growth will come from existing businesses. We have to teach these small businesses how they can use this broadband network to open their businesses up to a global economy.” Areas such as those served by West Carolina would not have modern communications if they had to rely on private-sector companies. That is why Oconee and Orangeburg counties turned to the federal government to help pay for their fiber optic networks. “If the local company was providing broadband service for everyone, there would be no need for a county or municipality to build a fiber network,” Herron said. “But the problem is that the service is not available in Oconee and Orangeburg counties.” Herron said WestCarolina was able to fund the $70 million project because of support from the government’s Universal Service Fund. The co-op put up $20 million of its own money and borrowed, at low interest, $50 million from USF. The USF was created in 1934 to pay for telephone service in rural America, primarily through co-ops created by the Rural Electrification Administration. Congress has since amended it to add broadband for underserved areas, libraries and health services. USF fees are assessed on telecommunication companies. They pass the charge on to consumers.
Unserved Areas NOVEMBER 9, 2012 | Upstate business 17