The state’s push for universal cellular coverage by 2013 has shifted from the “every last mile,” as laid out in Gov. Peter Shumlin’s campaign speeches last year, to “target areas and drop zones.”
Shumlin’s promise to provide Vermonters with universal broadband and cellular coverage is hitting crunch time. Both types of projects can take from six months to more than a year from inception to completion, according to Chris Campbell, executive director of Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
The authority released a map of underserved areas along major highways in which consumers experience dropped calls and dead zones for cellular service. In addition, the quasi-governmental agency has issued a request for public comment on how the state can best promote cellular expansion.
While federal funding is propelling the rollout of broadband infrastructure forward in Vermont, no similar funding for cellular expansion is available for rural areas. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and USDA Rural Utilities Service have together made about $150 million available to private Vermont companies for the aggressive expansion of broadband Internet access in rural areas.
The build out of cellular service infrastructure in Vermont is lagging behind. Campbell, who heads the state’s telecommunications effort, says meeting the 2013 deadline isn’t impossible, but it will be “very challenging.”
Campbell says: “It’s the cellular (initiative) that really keeps me up at night.”
With more than $10 million in funding this year from the capital budget and $40 million in access to bonding, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority is attempting to coordinate efforts with cellular carriers to bring service to 57 “target corridors” and 40 “drop zones” throughout the state. The authority plans to install dual purpose signal towers that provide wireless, broadband and cellular access in Vermont. It could also issue grants to companies who will further expand broadband infrastructure.
The authority issued a request for public comment using the results of a 2010 drive test of cellular availability, which was part of the Vermont Broadband Mapping Initiative. Testers drove through all federally funded highways in Vermont testing the availability of voice and data connections on all networks, identifying small drop zones (areas where service is patchy) and larger target corridors along state and federal highways in Vermont where service is virtually nonexistent.
The VTA is charged with improving infrastructure for cellular and broadband access; it cannot legally provide retail service for customers. Private companies licensed by the Federal Communications Commission must provide cell service.
The VTA is attempting to get binding commitments from cell phone providers such as AT&T and Verizon before beginning the construction of new towers. The towers would be owned and operated by the authority, which would then lease space to various retail service providers (of both wireless broadband and cellular phone service). Campbell says it’s important for the state to own the towers so that multiple companies can utilize a single tower. The underlying objective of the project is to lessen the economic barriers for companies to provide service in rural Vermont.
So far, the VTA has only received non-binding letters of intent from cellular carriers. Without a definite partner in the projects, the VTA would be erecting towers that could go unused. A partnership with service providers would ensure that the VTA would recover some costs.
Part of the problem, said Campbell, is that “there just aren’t as many choices in terms of who could provide [cellular] service” in Vermont. In the broadband industry, local providers such as VTel, SoverNet, and Cloud Alliance prioritize Vermont in developing their infrastructure. National cellular providers such as AT&T and Verizon tend to prioritize population centers such as Boston and New York City, Campbell says, so fewer infrastructure investments are made in places like Vermont.
Ironically, changes to the way consumers use cell phones has also contributed to what Campbell called unsatisfactory progress in expansion of coverage. With the introduction of Smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android-powered phones, carriers are investing a greater percentage of their infrastructure budgets on upgrading existing towers to accommodate the increase in data usage, as opposed to building new towers.
“We’re trying essentially to provide incentives to carriers,” said Campbell. By installing infrastructure and making it available to providers at a rate that doesn’t need to generate profit, Campbell says the Vermont Telecommunications Authority can bring carriers to places they wouldn’t normally go.
The “life cycle of a project,” Campbell says, is an important factor in determining the timeline. When funding becomes available through Vermont Telecommunications Authority, even a fast track project takes at least six months to begin the build out phase because of local permitting requirements, lease agreements and state regulatory reviews. As summer rolls on, any new projects proposed in the remainder of 2011 will likely have to wait until 2012 before construction begins. Campbell says the Vermont Telecommunications Authority is trying to work with cell phone carriers to make sure new tower development is included in next years’ budgets.
The VTA has posted a series of questions and instructions for submitting input on its website. Comments may be submitted to info@telecomvt.org. The deadline is July 22.