Great Needs, Unique Advantages

In describing the unique advantages of fiber to the home (FTTH) the FTTH Council shows why politicians are eager to pay Internet Service Providers to roll out broadband Internet service in remote areas.

by Donna Keegan [July 26, 2002]

Donna Keegan is the executive director of the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council. The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit organization established in 2001 to educate the public on the opportunities and benefits of fiber-to-the-home solutions. FTTH Council members represent all areas of broadband industries, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, engineering, and content-provider companies, as well as traditional telecommunications service providers, utilities and municipalities.

Optical fiber is homeward bound. Considered a distant dream just a few years ago, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology is gaining momentum and steadily making its way into American homes and businesses. Pioneers in this trend typically aren't major metropolitan cities, but rather communications-starved rural areas whose very remoteness have spurred innovative use of FTTH technology.

"Rural communities have great broadband needs, but unique advantages in developing fiber-based telecommunications networks," said Christopher McLean, former administrator of the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service and now with the consulting group National Strategies, Inc. "Many of the barriers that exist in large metropolitan areas, like tearing up traffic-jammed streets, don't apply."

Rural communities, even more than their urban and suburban counterparts, recognize how the right communications infrastructure can shrink time and distance, opening the door to a wealth of opportunities. An FTTH infrastructure can help rural communities attract and retain businesses that might otherwise locate in larger metropolitan areas, coupling cuttingedge connectivity with small town benefits such as reasonable office rents and short commutes. FTTH can also enhance quality of life for the community at large, offering not only abundant home service and entertainment options, but opportunities to improve health and education through telemedicine and distance learning as well.

Few places in the United States can attest to these benefits better than Grant County, Wash. Grant County's Public Utility District (GCPUD) is in the midst of an FTTH build that is transforming what was once a telecommunications hinterland into one of the most broadband-rich regions in the nation.

A county in need
Located halfway between Seattle and Spokane, Grant County is home to 78,000 people, and 37,000 residences and businesses. With a population density of just 12 houses per square mile stretched out over 100 miles, the county has often found itself overlooked by local service providers—even for basic telephone services. "In some areas, people had to drive to a hilltop with their cell phone just to place a call," says Jonathan Moore, senior telecommunications engineer for GCPUD.

Without a strong telecommunications infrastructure, the county's businesses suffered as well. "Our small businesses are the largest growth area in Grant County's economy, but they face significant competition from major chain stores," says Moore. "Without the support or customer base that larger cities offer, they had a critical need for the information, efficiencies, and e-commerce resources the Internet can offer." The county's larger businesses, striving to maintain a competitive advantage and build or extend a global reach, also clamored for more advanced telecommunications services.

As Grant County faced the possibility of being left behind in a bandwidth-hungry world, GCPUD stepped in where the incumbent service providers Qwest and Verizon were unable, or unwilling, to tread. Created more than 50 years ago to meet community needs for electricity, the publicly owned utility has a history of proactive community development. "GCPUD was founded on the principle of citizens taking power into their own hands," says Moore. "The same principle applies today."

Go to page 2: An economic boost >