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Broadband service can reach 15 Megabits per second

By Andrew Moore / The Bulletin

Published: December 15. 2009 4:00AM PST

Making use of the wireless spectrum it purchased for $8 million in 2008 from the Federal Communications Commission, BendBroadband today launches a new wireless broadband service the company touts as the first and fastest of its kind in the nation and one that makes high-speed Internet available to most all of Central Oregon, regardless of location.

“The digital divide in Central Oregon is officially closed,” said Frank Miller, the company’s chief technology officer, referring to the general lack of high-speed Internet in rural areas. BendBroadband’s wireless broadband service can reach speeds of up to 15 Megabits per second (Mbps).

Wireless Internet providers already exist, but the signals — based on unlicensed radio spectrum — are often weak and subject to interference. In addition, the user generally needs to have a modem with a direct line-of-sight to a nearby transmitter. Cellular companies also offer wireless Internet service piggybacked on their voice service, but the signal strength varies by location.

BendBroadband’s new service is based on a cutting-edge wireless data protocol called High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+). It is not currently available commercially anywhere else in the country, though a few Internet providers in Canada have introduced it, said Sascha Segan, a managing editor with PC Mag Mobile.

He added that T-Mobile has launched a trial HSPA+ program in Philadelphia. “It’s good technology, but as someone who has been studying cell phones for years, it’s really all about how good the build-out is,” he said.

Miller said BendBroadband partnered with Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson to put 17 transmitters on towers it either built or leased space on that are positioned around Central Oregon. The result is a service signal that is available from La Pine to Madras, and Sisters to Prineville, and nearly all points in between.

Because the service uses advanced wireless spectrum licensed by the FCC, the service’s signal is strong and reliable, said Miller, who sketched out a few scenarios:
Imagine driving through Central Oregon along U.S. Highway 97 with your children in the backseat, streaming movies from the Internet to their laptop. Or sitting with that laptop by the shore of Elk Lake, exchanging e-mails with a co-worker.

In a series of tests conducted for The Bulletin, Miller and Eric Anderson, BendBroadband’s director of wireless engineering, were able to reach download speeds of 12 Mbps in the parking lot of the Alfalfa store.

The service is also mobile. While Miller drove to Powell Butte, Anderson recorded a download speed of 15 Mbps on his laptop.
That kind of speed can have broad implications for the roughly 20,000 homes the company estimates are outside the company’s existing service footprint, as well as public safety agencies and companies that could benefit from a faster, stronger Internet connection, Miller said.

“This is a very big deal for rural users,” said Miller. “This is real, it’s affordable, and it’s a first.”

A public relations consultant, Marie Melsheimer, of Alfalfa, relies on the Internet to communicate with her clients and exchange documents.

But because she lives in a rural area, she has to use a satellite service to access the Internet. It’s often slow and spotty, sometimes subject to interference from inclement weather, she said. If she downloads too much material, her service is shut-off for 24 hours.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve suffered in the last 10 years,” she said. “It was really our only option out here other than dial-up.”
Melsheimer is a poster child for the so-called digital divide. As the Internet has grown tremendously in the last decade, the nation’s rural areas have lagged behind. It’s generally prohibitive for Internet providers to spend millions stringing new lines to areas with few homes to support the service and justify the cost.

Melsheimer was excited to learn about BendBroadband’s new service and said she plans to look into it.

Another rural user excited about BendBroadband’s new technology is Tim Underwood, who works from home and has been using the service for the past month as part of a beta program. Underwood said it’s more reliable than his previous service with another provider, and as a result doesn’t have to worry about what kind of files he’s sending or when he’s sending them.

“I can work without thinking about it, and it just works,” said Underwood.

The wireless broadband modem costs $99 and two service plans are offered. The basic plan costs $49.99 a month (or $39.99 bundled with other services) and has a 20 GB usage allowance. The upgraded plan costs $64.99 a month (or $59.99 bundled with other services) and has a 50 GB usage allowance.

Downloads over the allowances are charged $1.50 per GB.
The service is not just limited to customers outside of the company’s existing wireline footprint. In addition, for $19.99 extra per month, existing BendBroadband cable Internet customers can purchase a USB dongle to access the service. The dongle, roughly the size of a stick of USB memory, costs roughly $49, according to Anderson.

Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or amoore@bendbulletin.com.

2.01Mbps download 0.330Mbps upload in Cypress, Texas.

Travelled to 17 states this year, and had problems in two spots. Geismar LA and Northeastern Texas. Everywhere else I had descent coverage. Even Grand Forks, ND and the UP.

I was affected for 4 hours with the blackout that happened in Nov. But for the price and service, not going back to Verizon or AT&T. TMob works for me.

Yes, yes. Rub it in Kevin that you have FIOS in your area and we don’t…

:P