Broadband, Anyone?
In recent years, rural areas have had difficulty obtaining high-speed internet, which is now being regarded as a basic
utility like electricity or water. When the City of Scottsburg found that private telecommunications providers were
unwilling or unable to provide broadband service, the task of finding a a workable solution was given to the electric utility.
The utility began deploying a broadband network using satellite dishes and antenna located on towers throughout the county.
The parabolic antennas used for distant links have extremely narrow beams and have to be very close to alignment to even
get a base signal to tune in. So the utility turned to orthophotography - aerial photography that has been corrected for
the curvature of the earth - to help.
Before the orthophotography, staff would map the direction of the link on paper, then drive to that location in order to
establish landmarks and determine which direction to point the antenna. With the orthophotography staff can simply map
the tower locations, draw a line between them and then look at the photos for land marks like barns, silos, forest breaks, etc.
Orthophotography has also been useful in determining a rural customer's ability to receive a signal. Jim Binkley of
Scottsburg Electric relates, "A customer was listed as a "NO-GO" due to their location in an area that had seen a couple
other unsuccessful site surveys. By entering the GPS of the potential customer and drawing a line to an area tower, it
was plain to see the heavy tree cover in the area was negated by the alignment of two agricultural fields. The frequency
of the system will go through trees but not forests. This potential customer was then scheduled and as a direct result
of the orthophotography the word "potential" can now be removed and the word "new" inserted beside the customer."
"Elevations are also of great importance," Mr. Binkley continues. "While trees may weaken the signal, dirt kills it.
Knowing the elevation of a potential customer before we visit allows us to schedule the use of our bucket trucks to
minimize wear and tear on equipment."
Results
- The network provides broadband access to more than 90% of the county's residents.
- Scottsburg Electric now has over 35 towers providing service to 8 rural counties.
- Two major local employers had threatened to relocate if the city could not obtain high-speed access. Both remained.
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