COMMUNICATIONS AND
TECHNOLOGY AD HOC COMMITTEE
Sub-Committee of Planning & Economic Development
March 8, 2010
** NOT APPROVED **
Committee Members Present
D. Pullen, M. Healy, M.
Johnsen, J. Scott, C. Crandall
Others Present
M. Alger, D. Broughton (Comnet
Services, LLC), R. Hall, J. Foels, T.
Hopkins, J. Margeson, B. Riehle, F. Sinclair, S. Teller (Comnet
Services, LLC)
Communications and
Technology Ad Hoc Committee Vice Chairman Dwight “Mike” Healy
called the meeting to order at 3:30
p.m.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Mr. Scott, seconded
by Mr. Johnsen and carried to approve the February 22, 2010, Communications and Technology
Ad Hoc Committee minutes.
Communication Services in Allegany
County
Michael
Johnsen introduced Dan Broughton and Scott Teller from Comnet Services, LLC,
the company that installed the high speed internet system in Swain. Mr. Johnsen stated that Wayne Hawley from
Southern Tier Wireless, who manages the system notified him that 15 or 16
customers have signed up for service, and plans are already underway to expand
the system. Mr. Johnsen briefly
explained that the committee discussed the strategy of linking pockets together
around the County using wireless service, which is basically what was done in
Swain.
Mr.
Broughton stated that he has discussed Allegany County’s
situation with John Foels, noting that it is a tough area to service. Mr. Broughton mentioned the need to enhance
service for 911 and public safety. Mr.
Broughton stated that there is a lot of vertical infrastructure (communication
towers) in Allegany
County that is not being
shared and/or used for multiple purposes as it could be. Mr. Broughton indicated that it would be a
good idea to look at the areas of need and create a redundant loop around the
County. Small areas could be fed with a
wireless link. Mr. Broughton suggested
coming in from different directions to create a redundant system so that if
something went down, the loop would continue to run. E-911 Coordinator Russ Hall distributed copies
of a map showing the current towers in Allegany County,
noting that the newest tower is 30 years old.
Most tower locations are good, and the towers should most likely stay in
the same locations for public safety purposes.
Mr. Broughton stated that adding additional infrastructure to what
currently exists would enhance that service and make it easier to create a
loop. Mr. Broughton stated that updating
what Allegany County has and adding to it, should
provide service for a fraction of what fiber would be, and services could be
shared with a little cooperation. Russ
Hall stated that they just received their Public Safety Interoperability
Communications Grant which will enable them to push out the rest of their
microwaves, and they will have a microwave to every tower with a ring in the
middle. Mr. Hall noted that there are a
couple of dead ends due to the height of towers and the line of sight.
Development Director John Foels
reported on the committee’s request for information regarding the areas in the
County that are desperate for a high speed internet connection. Mr. Foels suggested that the committee
involve the supervisors and mayors in obtaining this information. Mr. Foels is in the process of drafting a
letter explaining what has been accomplished so far and ask them to identify
the spots where there is no service, both residential and commercial. Mr. Foels indicated that Sherry Grugel does have data from the commercial
side; however, it is not a comprehensive list and the results were sensitive to
price issue. Mr. Johnsen stated that
should enable the committee to create a map that would identify where we need
to get service. Once we give this
information to the representatives from Comnet, they should be able to come up
with a valid design for the least expensive way to serve these areas and
hopefully benefit 911 at the same time.
Mr. Johnsen also suggested that the committee should continue to work
with Richard Zink from Southern Tier West to try to secure some last mile grant
money. Mr. Zink should also be able to
tell us how we can tie into the ION
Project. Mr. Broughton stated that
someone has to light the fiber, and a perfect system would create a loop
covered by two different companies. This
has the ability to really enhance what we have, connect the dots to other
areas, and have a tremendous impact on every taxpayer in the County. This is also something that new businesses
contemplating moving to an area want to see.
Jerry Scott stated that we need to
supply good service because people will begin to rely on the service especially
for 911 services. Mr. Scott expressed
several concerns about redundancy, backup and reliability. Mr. Scott indicated that he would also like
to see something on the maintenance program.
Mr. Broughton indicated that most of the equipment is put on a 10-year
replacement plan. Mr. Foels stated the
suppliers at Swain had to go through a lot of due diligence to prove that they
would be an appropriate supplier because of the grant funds involved. In Swain, the infrastructure came through a
grant, but the replacement costs had to be worked into the model and spread out
over several years so that it would be self-sustaining. Mr. Scott was invited to tour the operations
at Swain so that his questions and concerns could be addressed more
thoroughly.
Mr.
Johnsen stated that we need to develop a set of specifications that include all
of the things we’ve talked about plus several others that we haven’t even
thought about. We need to do a little
research to determine what other parameters should be included with these
agreements so that it can be part of the whole package. Once we get the information back from the
towns and villages, we should have the basis for developing a system
design. At that point, we should be able
to develop estimates for what this might cost, and how much we might be able to
get in grant money. Mr. Broughton and
Mr. Teller indicated that they would be happy to work with the committee at any
time. Mr. Johnsen also suggested that a
few committee members could meet separately with Mr. Hall, Mr. Foels and Ms.
Grugel to iron out the spots that will need service. Chairman Crandall suggested that maps should
probably be sent with the letters to the towns and villages to assist the
supervisors and mayors in supplying the information we are looking for. Legislator Pullen briefly talked about the
need to save the information that we receive back so that it can be referred
to, and also as an accountability measure for those that may not have responded
or indicated that they did not need additional internet services. Mr. Johnsen also talked about the need to
cross check the information we receive from the supervisors and mayors with the
information that Mr. Foels and Ms. Grugel have so that we make sure that the
businesses that need service get it.
In
answer to a question by Legislator Pullen, Russ Hall stated that we have seven
public safety towers, and we should be able to get rid of one or two as
transmission towers. Over time, we may
need to add receive-only sites. Mr.
Broughton commented that it would probably be less expensive to upgrade our
towers in conjunction with 911 rather than trying to use some commercial space
on other towers. Mr. Johnsen commented
that this will not do much for cellular phone service as the cell phone
companies would probably only use our towers as a last resort. Mr. Broughton stated that we would know how
many towers it would take to provide quality internet service throughout the
County once we have a good understanding of where the dark spots are.
Mike Johnsen talked about the “build
it and they will come” scenario he is seeing played out in Swain. As people see the service is available, they
want it, and the demand and need for additional services will continue to grow. Areas and businesses that offer free internet
are also seeing a lot of use.
Chairman
Crandall summarized that the following steps will be taken:
1.
Send
letters with survey and map to all towns and villages.
2.
Blend
information from survey with topographical map.
3.
Develop
business plan.
4.
Secure
grant funding.
Jerry Scott stated that the FCC will
announce their plan to Congress on how they believe America should move forward with
broadband on March 17. We need to
consider this because all new grants will most likely follow that plan.
Mr.
Scott showed committee members a Magic Jack, noting that there are quite a few
companies that advertise that they can supply service very inexpensively. Mr. Scott expressed concern that they also
advertise that they supply 911 services, and many people will come to rely on
it, and he doesn’t want us to have a mediocre system that cannot consistently
deliver when people come to depend on it.
Russ Hall commented that there are only actually a tiny handful of
providers that provide 911 service; the other companies just route the
call. Sometimes the relay from the other
companies does not provide an adequate 911 address.
The
committee plans to meet again after the additional information has been
gathered.
Adjournment
A
motion was made by Mr. Scott, seconded by Legislator Healy and carried to
adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda Rigby Riehle, Clerk of the Board