Rural Magic Valley, Idaho towns suffer severe broadband deficiency, consultant says

Economic-development leaders and their hired consultant envision a way to bring affordable broadband Internet access to residents and businesses in some of rural Magic Valley’s smallest towns.

By Virginia S. Hutchins
Times-News writer

"The one that seems to have the most potential is a cooperative, which is used a lot in rural communities for other infrastructure projects," said Tom Pickren of CayNet Consulting in Boise, who contends that a severe deficiency of broadband services is holding back rural Magic Valley’s economic growth.

The Boise consultant last month finished a study of broadband availability — and the gaps in service — in eight Magic Valley communities. This week, he spoke on the topic at the Connect Idaho Conference in Coeur d’Alene, a statewide gathering of state and local officials to discuss improving Idaho’s broadband connectivity.

Pickren studied Bliss, Hagerman, Buhl, Gooding, Wendell, Shoshone, Dietrich and Richfield for the Rural Magic Valley Economic Development Association, with $10,700 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Cooperative Service. He questioned vendors about their current telecommunications offerings and their plans for expansion.

James Scott, who leads the RMVEDA, said the study cost $9,981 — plus some of Scott’s time to help the hired consultant. Scott’s salary is paid by contributions from participating cities, plus a grant from the governor’s rural initiative.

The assessment’s conclusion?

Half of the eight local towns studied have infrastructure deficiencies that are "severely limiting the business growth and community services. And there appear to be no viable solutions on the horizon according to a survey of telecom carriers," CayNet Consulting said in a statement.

The study concluded that Bliss, Hagerman, Dietrich and Fairfield have limited or no broadband-access options for residents or businesses. Pickren’s study uses this definition of high-speed Internet access: a minimum speed of 200 kilobits per second for both downloading and uploading.

Pickren said several companies offer wireless broadband to some of the rural Magic Valley towns included in his study, but none offer widespread basic service for less than $30 per month to everyone in the area. And they charge significant up-front fees that he considers prohibitively expensive.

"Some of the vendors may dispute it," he said.

Still, there’s no question that rural Magic Valley residents and businesses have a tougher time getting high-speed Internet access than their counterparts in Boise, which have multiple broadband choices such as DSL, cable modems and wireless for as little as $19.95 per month, Pickren said.

"It’s frustrating for communities suffering from business closings and job losses to not have the tools available with broadband Internet access for skills development, job searches, work-at-home and Web-based businesses," Scott said.

The study was just the first step toward bridging the digital divide. It gives local leaders direction about what to seek from telecommunications companies and from grant sources.

"We are determined to bring robust broadband solutions to the area," Pickren said. "For the smallest towns the standard Internet business model simply does not work, so we are continuing our efforts with promising work being done on implementing community-owned systems that are customized for each town’s needs."

Pickren, RMVEDA and the Wood River Resource Conservation and Development office in Gooding have this vision for ubiquitous broadband service: local cooperatives, each owned by subscribers in one or more rural Magic Valley towns, providing broadband service — most likely wireless.

They hope it can be accomplished next year, with capital from possible grants and from low-interest loans from USDA or local entities. Pickren contends that a cooperative could charge lower subscriber fees than a for-profit company would. And if the community supports the cooperative by subscribing, the broadband service could be made affordable and available to anyone in the community, he said.

"This report is just the first step in the process of getting relief to the towns in the Magic Valley that need it the most and are most economically disadvantaged," Pickren said.

Times-News Business Editor Virginia S. Hutchins can be reached at 735-3242 or [email protected].

For a free copy of CayNet Consulting LLC’s telecommunications assessment for rural Magic Valley:
* Download the study from the firm’s Web site at http://www.caynetco.com , or from the Rural Magic Valley Economic Development Association’s site at http://www.rmvidaho.com.

* Write to the Wood River Resource Conservation and Development office at 215 University Drive, Gooding, ID 83330, to request a written copy.

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/business/index.asp?StoryID=3693