Can this be true? Or is it a big tease?
The Internet has gone from a fun play toy to a necessity for business, education and entertainment.
For many of our neighbors, reliable high speed internet is just not possible. Improving our coverage and service quality has been a top priority item for our community.
We have a variety of options now. Each with their pros and cons. Leaving many locals longing for better options and some off our neighbors still waiting for realistic options.
I am going to tell you about 3 new options expected to be available in in 2025 and 2026.
AST Space Mobile– They’ve pioneered a new satellite technology allowing their satellites to be used as Cell towers for phone calls, texts and internet. Space Mobile uses your current cell phone and provides coverage where no land based cell towers are present. Verizon and AT&T have both invested in ASTS and have agreements to use the service for last mile connectivity. Service in America is expected in 2025/2026
Starlink– Not to be outdone, Starlink has started beta testing text service with T-Mobile and has its own version of direct to cell phone service. They are working on a cell new version of their service. The newer version promises higher speeds and less latency than the current service.
Kuiper Project by Amazon is another multi billion dollar bet in cell based internet service. It seems that this is more geared to providing high speed, low latency service to underserved parts of the world at a reasonable price.
What’s different?
- They solved the satellite delay/echo (improvements in latency)
- The use of your cell phone instead of a special satellite phone
- Higher data speeds
(The latency and speed issues are key reasons HughsNet satellite service has been so bad for many clients.)
Potential for Economic Development
Our biggest growth industry for local jobs are those who work remotely from home – not a handful of large businesses, but a collection of well paid remote workers from many industries. High quality internet with good speeds and reliability are critical for these types of workers. This will be a key group that brings more families with better than average wages to our communities.
Currently internet access is available in our area by Elevate Technology Group, CentryLink, Charter – Spectrum, Starlink, HughsNet, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. Each with their own coverage map, speeds, strengths and challenges.
On a Side Note – Additional Improvements to Local Broadband may be on their way!
Also worth noting, Lane council of Governments is the project lead on the expansion of a fiber optic line from Nimrod to Blue River. According to previous materials submitted in Jan 2024, the goal is to provide about 10 miles of underground fiber optic cable. More details will be made available as things progress. When we have more details to share, we will. (Edited 1/9/25 – Correction, they have not been approved for funding yet. The previous version mentioned McKenzie Valley Broadband and Elevate as being part of this – as they may have been involved in a previous broadband expansion proposal. Thank you to Matt McKrae for helping add some clarity.)
All of us are tired of the Internet going out when a tree falls down. Improving reliable connectivity options only helps our community.
Why is this a good thing? Many of us who rely on remote work, need stable internet. I have often had multiple carriers at the same time to ensure redundant and continuous access to the internet. High speed fiber optic cable is, and will continue to be, super important in the years to come.
MCP’s Efforts in Improving Local Internet Reach and Reliability
Improvements in broadband access and connectivity have been part of MCP’s work plan for many years. Sometimes all that we can do is keep a short list of priorities for our community and look to connect opportunities and partners. With Broadband, we have been talking with EWEB, Lane Electric and Lane County Economic Development staff over many years and more recently included Elevate. The Holiday Farm Fire has opened up funding opportunities for projects like this (PIER Funds and possibly others).
Large projects like these are not solely the success of one organization, usually they result from many people and multiple organizations giving voice to the need. We wish to share any success with all the groups and participants working on them, and give a huge Thank you to all the people (past and present) who help move projects like these along. Our work is a truly a community effort.
Sincerely,
Chris LaVoie – Executive Director
As always, feel free to reach out to me with thoughts comments or additional information that can broaden our outlook on this topic. Chris@McKenzieCommunity.org
Background – When I moved to Lane County, I started Nu-World Communications – an Internet Service Provider back in the early days of dialup and the emergence of DSL (2000). I later sold the company after buying and integrating competitors ContiNet and PacWest.) shortly after that I invested in the old Ranger Station in Blue River. Last year I purchased a small amount of ASTS stock – which is where I first learned about space based cell service. With as many cell phone dead zones we have, I was super excited about the prospect of cell service everywhere! I am not encouraging anyone to buy stock in ASTS (space based telecom services is a high risk field). However, I am excited about having cell phone service when hiking in our local forest (especially in the case of an emergencies). I am also excited about our off grid neighbors getting access to reliable, high speed internet at a reasonable cost.
Featured Image courtesy of AST space Mobile