Broadband moving forward in all of Bollinger County

Four years after Bollinger County Broadband Committee first took tentative steps toward bringing high-speed internet to a county that had very little connection, residents learned that connectivity will happen soon.

A substantial crowd of people made up of southern Bollinger County residents, elected officials and the service providers who were initially funded to bring high-speed internet to a barren county got together to learn from each other during a town meeting Thursday night at Zalma High School.

Bollinger County Broadband Committee chairman Paula Bridges and assistant chairman Ellen Balcer brought the audience up to date briefly, then opened the floor to questions from the audience.

One issue that concerned about 660 households in the southern portion of Bollinger County dealt with how potential internet subscribers, who were customers of Ozark Border Electric Cooperative, would be able to hook up. Charter Communications, which is building the broadband system in that area, has an agreement with Black River Electric Cooperative to share space on BREC's poles, but not with Ozark Border, which had seemed not to be interested.

Ozark Border's general manager, David Shremp, and the entire board of directors came to Zalma to assure Charter and its potential broadband customers that Ozark Border would not stand in the way of progress. Shremp hand-delivered a proposed revised pole attachment agreement to Jarad Falk of Charter for his approval.

Local residents begin filling up the gym at Zalma High School to learn more about bringing high-speed internet to southern Bollinger County.LINDA REDEFFER ~ Banner Press

Local residents begin filling up the gym at Zalma High School to learn more about bringing high-speed internet to southern Bollinger County.LINDA REDEFFER ~ Banner Press

Shremp told the audience that Ozark Border's board had looked into the possibility of offering broadband about five years ago, but realized its "sole interest was in providing reliable electric service." He said that for Ozark Border to expand into broadband was not cost-effective, and would mean a 10% rate increase for its customers from the beginning.

"We decided we would support other businesses who want to provide broadband," Shremp said.

Ozark Border later ran into problems with other providers -- of telephone and cable television service -- who wanted to customize the agreement to suit themselves, instead of adhering to the terms of Ozark Border's agreement. This arrangement became too cumbersome for Ozark Border, which then became more selective about who it would share its poles with.

Over the last few years, with broadband expanding into the area, Shremp said Ozark Border decided to take a second look at its pole attachment agreements. What it brought to Charter last week was a revised agreement that had been approved by its attorneys just hours before the meeting. Falk from Charter thanked Shremp and indicated that he saw a strong possibility of a working relationship between the two companies.

Charter has begun building in the northern part of Bollinger County and in the southern part of the county with the intention of meeting in the middle. Another provider, Wisper, has been approved to provide internet service in areas not covered by Charter or another provider Conexon.

At the Zalma meeting, Monte Miller of Wisper announced that the company, which operates on fixed wireless technology, will begin its Bollinger County buildout within 60 days.

Wisper and Charter both told the Zalma audience that its rates are comparable to other providers, and have discount rates for low-income customers.

According to a release from Wisper, it has partnered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its Lifeline Program, as well as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Wisper says its research shows that 65% of students in Zalma School District, 26% of Leopold students, 60% of Woodland students and 100% of Marquand-Zion students are eligible for the ACP program.

Bridges said the broadband committee continues to apply for federal and state funds to fill in the gaps in coverage and make broadband service available throughout the county.