Rural Broadband Stimulus
Opportunities and Threats to Rural Telcos
ANPI ZONE and Vecima Networks featured this Webinar to discuss broadband applications and sustainable business opportunities for rural telco’s exploring some of the business and technology options.
Frank Ohrtman recently completed writing $27 million worth of Broadband Stimulus grants for entities who will compete with rural telcos, and shared his insights from that experience in this Webinar.
He notes that wireless broadband enables:
- A cost per rural household reached (a prominent question on the application) of only a few hundred dollars (compare with FTTH at a few thousand dollars per household reached);
- Voice services that qualify for USF funds you might be receiving; and
- “Shovel ready” deployment schedules that cover thousands of square miles in less than a year.
About the Speaker
Frank Ohrtman, president of WMX Systems, LLC, has almost 20 years experience in telecommunications and wireless applications. A former employee of Lucent Technologies, his wireless consulting clients include national governments, tier one as well as rural telephone companies, municipalities, school districts and wireless broadband vendors. Frank holds a master’s degree in telecommunications from Colorado University. He is a currently compiling grant applications made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
