9.g Report on new Midco DEED grant proposal9.g Discussion on Midco's Revised DEED Grant Proposal
This article was provided by Midco Senior Director of Government Relations Justin
Forde:
“We are proud to use multiple forms of technology, and use the best form of it for the
people we serve. That does not mean that fiber is best. Notice even google is walking
away from Fiber to the home in Austin TX.”
Google Plans to Expand Google Fiber in Austin TX Using
Fixed Wireless Internet
By Luke Bouma on August 6, 2019 in 5G, All News, News
For some time now, we have heard rumors that Google wanted to use wireless
internet to expands its Google Fiber home internet service. Now Google is doing just
that in Austin TX, using a system they call Google Fiber Webpass. This is good news
for many who worried that Google had decided to walk away fr om offering home
internet.
This new Google Fiber Webpass will use fixed wireless internet to expand the
coverage area of Google Fiber to new parts of Austin. The service will offer speeds
up to 1 Gbit up and down for $70 a month. For now, Google is using t his system to
bring internet to an apartment building in Austing but says they can quickly expand
to other parts of Austin.
This new technology can now cover 1.5 kilometers from any Google Fiber backhaul
links. This makes running Google Fiber far cheaper t han trying to dig up every
homeowner’s yard to connect them to fiber. According to Google, they are already
using this system in a handful of markets, including Denver, Seattle, San Francisco,
and Chicago. In total Google says they now have thousands of pr operties using its
Google Webpass fixed wireless service.
Google is not the only company using a fixed wireless system like this. A growing
number of companies are using fixed wireless to offer high-speed internet far faster
than digging up each street. C Spire is using it to provide 120 Mbps down the
internet with no data cap for $50 a month in of Alabama and other areas. Many have
seen this type of fixed wireless internet as a far better option going forward than
fiber because it can be done at a fraction of the cost and time.
Proposed Scandia Project –2020 MN Broadband Grant
Scandia Wireline Homes Passed
•Midco Passings Today: 782
•New Midco Wireline Passings: 192
•New Midco Fixed Wireless Passings: 175
Funding Estimates1,2
•MN Broadband Grant: $450k
•Midco Funding: $350k
•Scandia Funding: $130k
1 Funding estimates subject to change
2 More work needed to detail our Fixed Wireless build. Early estimates are 150-200 new fixed wireless passings. Midco plans to discuss fixed wireless further at a later date once more details are
understood. These subsequent conversations would highlight Midco’s request for assistance from Scandia –either in the form of funding or pre-signed customer contracts
Proprietary and Confidential
Subject to Change