North Country CouncilCommission Meeting

May 7, 2020

Agenda

4:00 Call to Order, Chair Grant

4:05 Welcome – Review Executive Order, Executive Director Moren-GreyIntroductions

Zoom Logistics

Minutes from August 15, 2019 – Motion

4:10 Presentation: Broadband 101 – Improving Broadband Infrastructure

5:55 Public Comment

6:00 Adjournment

Logistics Once entering the meeting all participants will be muted to reduce background noise.

During introductions please unmute yourself and re-mute.

While the presentation is in progress participants video will be turned off /stopped to reduce distraction.

During the presentation have a question ask it via the chat button. Your questions will be asked during a pause in the presentation.

Broadband

101 Improving Broadband Infrastructure

Presentation By

Carole Monroe of ValleyNet, which is the operating company of ECFiber and LymeFiber.

Special Guests

Steve Knox and Rick Hiland, Co-Chairs of the Carroll County Broadband Initiative

Carole Miller, Director of Broadband Technology, BEA.

Broadband FundamentalsCAROLE MONROE

BROADBAND CONSULTANT

Basic TerminologyBackhaul

Bandwidth

BitsKilobits (Kbps) = 1,000 bits transferred per sec.Megabits (Mbps) = 1,000,000 bits trans/secGigabits (Gbps) = 1,000,000,000 bits trans/sec

Bytes

CPE Customer Premises Equipment

Dark Fiber / Lit Fiber

Data Cap

Download / Upload

Fiber Optic

Last Mile

Middle Mile

PoP Point of Presence

PPP Public Private Partnership

Symmetric/asymmetrical

Take Rate

VoIP

WiFi

What is Broadband?Broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals and traffic types. The medium can be coaxial cable, optical fiber, radio or twisted pair.

In the context of Internet access, broadband is used to mean any high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than dial-up access.

In 2015, the FCC increased the previous standard of 4 Mbps download/1 Mbps Upload to 25 Mbps download/1 Mbps to reflect advances in technology, market offerings and consumer demand.

This new standard has set a new bar, one that very few DSL areas can reach, particularly on the upload side.

So why does this matter?

How much is enoughDownload speed needs for light, moderate, and high household use*

Basic: 3-8 Mbps

Medium: 12-25 Mbps

Advanced: > 25 Mbps

* FCC Consumer Guide

FCC Broadband Speed GuideActivity Minimum Download Speed (Mbps)

Browsing and Email1

VoIP Calls0.5

Student5-25

Telecommuting5-25

File Download10

Watching Video

Streaming Standard3-4

Streaming High Definition5-8

Streaming Ultra HD 4K25

Video Conferencing

HD Personal Video Call1.5

HD Video Teleconferencing6

Gaming

Game Console3

Online Multiplayer4

Internet Use

Broadband Benefits

Telehealth

Education

Economic Growth

Property Values

Smart Cities

Work from home

Small Businesses

TelehealthDartmouth Hitchcock Telehealth

Outpatient Virtual Visit services connect rural hospitals and outpatient locations to Dartmouth-Hitchcock specialists using live, two-way, secure audio/visual technology, allowing patients to receive the care they need closer to home. In many cases, patients can receive this virtual care in a non-clinical location, like their home or work.

Education K-12

Pandemic

Snow Storms

Flip the classroom

Shared AP classes

Homework

Parental Involvement

Housing ValuesHigh Speed internet is the single most important amenity to multiple dwelling units (MDUs)

Fiber Optic network increases rental values by 8% and purchase values by 2.8% *

Values negatively impacted without broadband access**

Availability and quality important to visitors and potential residents

Value lessens as speeds exceed 250 Mbps

*FTTH Council of Americas study 9/2016

**Dept. of Agriculture and Applied Economics Madison, WI 2/2019

Network TypesCellular Mobile

Fixed Wireless

DSL

Fiber – GPON, Active E

Satellite – Current, Low Level

Cable Solutions

Hybrid Networks

5G

Mobile Cellular Internet – 4G LTE6 to 50 Mbps, upload speeds 3-15 Mbps

smartphone download and upload capability

Carrier Network

Distance from tower

Sufficient backhaul from tower

Fixed Wireless Utilizes towers to transmit and receive internet signals in the form of radio waves

Point to point; point to multipoint

Competitive Advantageso Flexible fail over and redundancy work technical capability

o Local customer service

o Rural areas

o Reliable and secure

Challengeso Lack of spectrum

o Noise and interference

o Excessive government regulation

o Increased operational costs

o Line of sight limitations

o No specific standards

DSLDigital Subscriber Lines

Uses current copper lines, speed dependent on location from the equipment location (DSLAM)

Download speeds from .5 to 15 Mbps, unless bonding two lines together, 1-25 Mbps.

Upload speeds 768K – 2 Mbps

ADSL – Asymmetric Download and upload differ. A bonded pair close to the DSLAM may get 25/2.

VDSL – Very high speed DSL, Higher Speeds (50-80 Mbps)within 1 mile from the DSLAM

Optical Fiber Network Optical fiber is a glass (or plastic) medium that connected to lasers on each end transport light signals.

Most effective and efficient means of transporting information

Future proof – to upgrade the speed/capacity only requires swapping the equipment at both ends.

GPON – Gigabit Passive Optical Network, splitters not electronics out in the field

Active E – homerun fiber connections from the hub to each home

Low Earth Orbit SatellitesTechnology still in its infancy though this mechanism for broadband delivery has been in development since 2015

Unknowns:

What will the cost to the consumer be when the cost of deployment is billions of dollars?

When will the consumer equipment be identified and tested?

In real world scenarios, has the latency issue been resolved?

Will the result be universal service?

What will the issues be when there are 30,000+ satellites in varying low level orbits?

As this concept matures, it’s possible that some time in the next several years this could be a possible solution for serving unserved areas; however, this is far from guaranteed based on currently available knowledge.

Cable SolutionsDOCSIS 3.1 technology

High Quality

Hybrid Coax/Fiber

Download speeds up to 10 Gbps, upload 1 Gbps

DOCSIS 3.0 Limitations

Download speeds up to 1 Gbps, upload 200 Mbps

Dependent on subscribers on the network

Equipment upgrades to get to 3.1

5G - 5th Generation WirelessPromises

higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds

ultra low latency

more reliability

massive network capacity

increased availability

uniform user experience to more users

5G Issues for Rural Areas Utilizes short range airwaves, which exist within 800 feet from 5G enabled towers.

Each tower is backhauled to the internet with fiber.

To reap the full benefits in rural areas, all premises would need to be within 800 feet of a tower.

This would require a significant fiber network to connect each tower. It is unlikely that the full benefits of 5G technology will be universal in rural NH any time soon.

Municipal Broadband ModelsPublic Private Partnerships

Municipal Ownership

Municipal funding private ownership

Cooperative

Public Private PartnershipsPrivate Investment, Public Facilitation

◦ ECFiber

Private Execution, Public Fundingo Completion of cable in town

Shared Investment and Risko Consolidated Communication Model

Municipal OwnershipMunicipality owns the network asset

Outsources Maintenance and Operations

ExamplesoLeverettNet

o Islesboro, Maine

Municipal Funded, Private OwnershipFill the gap

Extend private network for universal access

CooperativeCooperative – a non-profit, member owned organization that provides a needed service. Members pay a small fee to join and have voting rights within the organization.

Electric Cooperatives across the country are expanding broadband as an essential infrastructure.

31% of broadband in rural America is provided by rural cooperatives.

WHY NOT NHEC?

Some Government ProgramsUSDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) Loans Reconnect Program – Grants/Loans: targets locations in census blocks unserved by

at least 10 Mbps download

Rural Digital Opportunity FundsTargets homes and businesses in census blocks that are entirely unserved with

download speeds of at least 25 Mbps

Issues include census block mapping, the 10 Mbps for Reconnect, Letters of Credit for the full project required

Lifeline Support

Net NeutralityThe principle that internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites or a means of paid prioritization.

Three biggest companies against Net Neutrality: AT&T, Verizon, Comcast – all providers and content owners.

What you can do now – Data GatheringTown Information:

Miles of Road – this allows us to estimate miles of network

Number of premises

◦ Single Family; Seasonal or FT

◦ Multi-tenant buildings and number of units

◦ Businesses - Served/Unserved

◦ Municipal

◦ Community Anchor Institutions

GIS Locations of premises

Number of Households

Population

Median Income

Results of an RFI for number of premises served at greater than the FCC definition of broadband, 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.

Cable access by premise or by road

Regional Information:

Current pole owners – Electric Companies, Landline Telephone Companies by town

Current Providers

Home businesses or work-from-home employees

Broadband Survey data available

Thank YouMaterials will be posted at www.nccouncil.org

Questions or more information contact

North Country Council at mmoren@nccouncil.org