Socket nearing start on broadband network

Transcription

1 1 of 5 4/20/ :59 AM The Columbia Daily Tribune Socket nearing start on broadband network By Jacob Barker Thursday, May 19, 2011 Some Callaway County residents will be able to sign up for high-speed Internet services as soon as this fall as Columbia-based phone and Internet provider Socket starts connecting homes to the fiber-optic network it plans to begin building in the coming weeks. NEW NETWORK FOR RURAL MID-MISSOURI Residents in Callaway County could see high-speed Internet arrive in their area this fall as the result of a $16.6 million grant to Columbia-based Internet provider Socket to expand its network infrastructure to rural areas. The trucks are idling, ready to go, Socket President Carson Coffman said yesterday at a gathering to brief government officials on the progress of the company s network. In August, Socket received a $16.6 million grant through the 2009 stimulus bill and a $7.12 million loan through the Rural Utilities Service s Broadband Initiatives Program, money to expand high-speed Internet to rural areas. The funding was part of a $7.2 billion bill set aside for expanding broadband into rural areas. Socket will expand its network into rural areas of eastern Boone and central Callaway counties, including Millersburg and the periphery of Fulton.

2 2 of 5 4/20/ :59 AM Socket is waiting on approval of an environmental impact study of the project area, which is expected in a week or two, before beginning construction, Coffman said. After the study is approved, the company should be able to break ground within 30 days. Although the entire project isn t expected to be finished until late 2013, Socket will be able to sign up customers for its services as the network is built and connected to households, Coffman said. The first of those could be within 60 days of breaking ground. Jonathan Adelstein, an administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture s Rural Utilities Service, was in Columbia from Washington, D.C., to review the progress and meet with businesses in the area as part of a White House initiative to gather feedback from business leaders outside the Beltway. Socket s fiber project, like others going on throughout the country, is essential for business growth and to keep the best and brightest from leaving rural areas, Adelstein said. By installing infrastructure essential to high-tech companies, rural areas could leverage their lower labor costs and cost of living to create new companies and woo existing ones, he said. Once these networks are built, they ll be the platform for economic growth and job creation for years to come, Adelstein said. Socket Chief Executive Officer George Pfenenger said the project is expected to create 65 direct jobs, including 20 at the company s Clark Lane headquarters. Another 460 indirect jobs could be supported by the construction project. The company has plans to expand beyond the boundaries of the current project. Socket is putting together an application for another loan through the Rural Utilities Service that would allow it to offer its fiber network to other areas, though Pfenenger said the company is not yet sure which areas it would target. We ve been working on it very diligently, he said. It s gonna happen. The RUS loans are part of a program established in the 2002 Farm Bill to help expand broadband into rural areas, Adelstein said. The loans carry generous terms, giving companies an average of 18 to 23 years to repay the government and charging interest at an eighth of a percent above the Treasury rate, he said. Without the government financing, Adelstein said, rural broadband expansions wouldn t get built. Right now, banks are not providing any loans for rural telecommunications, he said. When the fiber network is built, customers will be able to sign up for much faster Internet services than what is provided by the existing telecom network. Initially, the company anticipates offering households packages ranging from 6 megabits per second to 20 megabits per second, said John Dupuy, Socket s vice president of research and development. The company will use the extra bandwidth from the fiber network to begin offering television to its customers, a service it hadn t provided before. And with the infrastructure, Socket will be in a position to offer faster speeds as online data needs continue to increase. Socket is not the only local company to receive federal financing for rural broadband expansion. Columbia-based BlueBird Media landed a $45.1 million grant last year to build a network across northern Missouri. In all, Missouri received $263.5 million for rural Internet through the stimulus and other government programs, Adelstein said, making it one of the top five recipients in the country. Reach Jacob Barker at or jtbarker@columbiatribune.com. This article was published on page A1 of the Thursday, May 19, 2011 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "Socket ready to start on network: Grant money to help rural areas." Click here to Subscribe.

3 3 of 5 4/20/ :59 AM 0 Recommend 9 people recommend this. More like this story Socket rural broadband project moves ahead- October 20, p.m. USDA releases funds to expand U.S. broadband- August 24, :10 p.m. Nixon praises Socket project- August 6, p.m. Socket gets money for broadband- August 5, p.m. Broadband Appeal- March 6, a.m. Back to Top Change fontsize Columbia Daily Tribune Socket nearing start on broadband network By Jacob Barker Thursday, May 19, 2011 Some Callaway County residents will be able to sign up for high-speed Internet services as soon as this fall as Columbia-based phone and Internet provider Socket starts connecting homes to the fiber-optic network it plans to begin building in the coming weeks. NEW NETWORK FOR RURAL MID-MISSOURI Residents in Callaway County could see high-speed Internet arrive in their area this fall as the result of a $16.6 million

4 4 of 5 4/20/ :59 AM grant to Columbia-based Internet provider Socket to expand its network infrastructure to rural areas. The trucks are idling, ready to go, Socket President Carson Coffman said yesterday at a gathering to brief government officials on the progress of the company s network. In August, Socket received a $16.6 million grant through the 2009 stimulus bill and a $7.12 million loan through the Rural Utilities Service s Broadband Initiatives Program, money to expand high-speed Internet to rural areas. The funding was part of a $7.2 billion bill set aside for expanding broadband into rural areas. Socket will expand its network into rural areas of eastern Boone and central Callaway counties, including Millersburg and the periphery of Fulton. Socket is waiting on approval of an environmental impact study of the project area, which is expected in a week or two, before beginning construction, Coffman said. After the study is approved, the company should be able to break ground within 30 days. Although the entire project isn t expected to be finished until late 2013, Socket will be able to sign up customers for its services as the network is built and connected to households, Coffman said. The first of those could be within 60 days of breaking ground. Jonathan Adelstein, an administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture s Rural Utilities Service, was in Columbia from Washington, D.C., to review the progress and meet with businesses in the area as part of a White House initiative to gather feedback from business leaders outside the Beltway. Socket s fiber project, like others going on throughout the country, is essential for business growth and to keep the best and brightest from leaving rural areas, Adelstein said. By installing infrastructure essential to high-tech companies, rural areas could leverage their lower labor costs and cost of living to create new companies and woo existing ones, he said. Once these networks are built, they ll be the platform for economic growth and job creation for years to come, Adelstein said. Socket Chief Executive Officer George Pfenenger said the project is expected to create 65 direct jobs, including 20 at the company s Clark Lane headquarters. Another 460 indirect jobs could be supported by the construction project. The company has plans to expand beyond the boundaries of the current project. Socket is putting together an application for another loan through the Rural Utilities Service that would allow it to offer its fiber network to other areas, though Pfenenger said the company is not yet sure which areas it would target. We ve been working on it very diligently, he said. It s gonna happen. The RUS loans are part of a program established in the 2002 Farm Bill to help expand broadband into rural areas, Adelstein said. The loans carry generous terms, giving companies an average of 18 to 23 years to repay the government and charging interest at an eighth of a percent above the Treasury rate, he said. Without the government financing, Adelstein said, rural broadband expansions wouldn t get built. Right now, banks are not providing any loans for rural telecommunications, he said. When the fiber network is built, customers will be able to sign up for much faster Internet services than what is provided by the existing telecom network. Initially, the company anticipates offering households packages ranging from 6 megabits per second to 20 megabits per second, said John Dupuy, Socket s vice president of research and development. The company will use the extra bandwidth from the fiber network to begin offering television to its customers, a service it hadn t provided before. And with the infrastructure, Socket will be in a position to

5 5 of 5 4/20/ :59 AM offer faster speeds as online data needs continue to increase. Socket is not the only local company to receive federal financing for rural broadband expansion. Columbia-based BlueBird Media landed a $45.1 million grant last year to build a network across northern Missouri. In all, Missouri received $263.5 million for rural Internet through the stimulus and other government programs, Adelstein said, making it one of the top five recipients in the country.