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Proposed study would map fiberoptics, gaps in cell service in Western Montana

February 17, 2008 /

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Commissioners seek to boost telecommunications infrastructure

Mineral County lost an opportunity to compete for two businesses that would have created about 75 local jobs because the area has only one Internet provider.

On Monday, county commissioners took the first steps toward studying ways to increase its telecommunications infrastructure.

Paul DeWolfe of Access Consulting http://access-consulting.net/ in Missoula described the link between telecommunications capacity and rural economic development during the regular monthly meeting of the BitterRoot RC&D in Superior.

by Mark Hebert

Full Story: http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/20080109155922466

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Gossip can spread through a small town as quickly as high-speed Internet, but Cheryl Thompson hasn’t heard any complaints from Seeley Lake residents about poor network connections or spotty cell phone coverage.

“If I was going to list a business issue, (lack of) Internet would not be on the top of the list,” said Thompson, executive director of the Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce. “The sewer would be.”

Meanwhile, 80 miles to the southwest, Julie Foster has about a 50-percent chance of connecting to the Internet using somewhat outdated technology from her home office outside Stevensville, where high-speed Internet is not available.
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“Half the time it doesn’t work,” said Foster, who pays $185 a month for the ISDN service.

Availability, quality and cost of telecommunication services vary in western Montana, depending on your address.

That’s why Marcy Allen [email protected] , executive director of the BitterRoot Economic Development District http://www.bredd.org/ , is pitching a publicly funded study to map the dead cell phone spots and existing fiberoptic lines – with the intent of determining what data services are available in specific areas of Mineral, Missoula and Ravalli counties, and whether there are Internet backup capabilities.

By CHELSI MOY of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/16/news/mtregional/news08.txt