08-15-2014, 03:42 AM
I am a network architect, so I know something about the telecom business.
I suggest that the usual rules do not apply here. Take your pick of reasons: low population density, rugged terrain, lack of infrastructure, limited economic means, and various kinds of anti-tech luddites ("don't want that mind-control ray", "can't cross my property", etc).
I thought about starting a small local WISP, but the high cost of an uplink (which would also permit resale) divided against the small number of potential customers resulted in rates similar to Verizon's 4G offering -- not including the hardware cost, nor the "mandatory Fed record-keeping" required of an ISP these days.
Telcom "could" install small poletop remote DSLAMs and repurpose their existing copper plant, but why should they bother?
Oceanic "could" roll out some more coax... but why should they bother?
In both cases, people are apparently willing and able to pay through the nose for a wireless broadband option with all the caps, throttling, and usage charges that entails, therefore "availability" isn't an actual problem.
The offensive part: this means turning away perfectly good "foreign" revenue from people who would live here if they could telecommute. (Driving to a "shared space" is not really "telecommuting" in that it does not solve the same problems.)
It's not just a Hawaii problem, either.
I suggest that the usual rules do not apply here. Take your pick of reasons: low population density, rugged terrain, lack of infrastructure, limited economic means, and various kinds of anti-tech luddites ("don't want that mind-control ray", "can't cross my property", etc).
I thought about starting a small local WISP, but the high cost of an uplink (which would also permit resale) divided against the small number of potential customers resulted in rates similar to Verizon's 4G offering -- not including the hardware cost, nor the "mandatory Fed record-keeping" required of an ISP these days.
Telcom "could" install small poletop remote DSLAMs and repurpose their existing copper plant, but why should they bother?
Oceanic "could" roll out some more coax... but why should they bother?
In both cases, people are apparently willing and able to pay through the nose for a wireless broadband option with all the caps, throttling, and usage charges that entails, therefore "availability" isn't an actual problem.
The offensive part: this means turning away perfectly good "foreign" revenue from people who would live here if they could telecommute. (Driving to a "shared space" is not really "telecommuting" in that it does not solve the same problems.)
It's not just a Hawaii problem, either.