Rural Communities Know their Broadband Needs Best

Residents of Omaha in southern Illinois wanted broadband access for years but could not attract a provider to their region. Two years later, the community views itself as a shining example of a successful broadband deployment and encourages other rural communities to take control of their broadband needs.

Omaha finally received broadband in 2007 when rural provider RidgeviewTel answered their calls. Within six months, RidgeviewTel had mapped the area, built out a network and had customers online. Today, the network continues to add subscribers, and serves more than half of the town’s households, the fire department and municipal employees at $29.95 per month.

“I couldn’t get the attention of larger carriers – they simply wouldn’t return my calls and it was clear that our needs were not important to them,” says Patricia Bryant, a rural broadband activist and Omaha resident. “With federal stimulus dollars, now communities like ours are very interesting to carriers, but I caution my rural neighbors to make sure the project is about their needs and not the needs of the providers.”

“For our residents, the issue isn’t just access, it’s affordability. Rural communities need to work with partners who understand that and can deliver,” says Omaha mayor Jim DoyleJim Doyle.

“We are committed to making the rhetoric of the day a reality and doing the most with the least for rural communities,” says Vince Jordan, RidgeviewTel CEO. “We’ve invested in developing a proprietary software platform complete with mapping and characterization functionality, single-point network monitoring and customer provisioning. Keeping those functions together is a big asset to rural communities needing every ounce of efficiency in their system to keep costs down.”

RidgeviewTel’s solution for Omaha includes front-office, back-office and network operations and maintenance from the ground up. The company has deployed more than 50 networks for communities like Omaha since 2004 and recently launched a dial-up friendly site, www.WeNeedBroadband.com, and toll-free number, 866-992-WNBB (9622), to accelerate network deployments in communities under-served by broadband access.

RidgeviewTel is a full-service broadband communications company based in Longmont, Colorado that provides affordable, high-speed, wireless Internet services to communities under-served by traditional telecom and cable providers. Founded by President and CEO Vincent Jordan, a telecom industry veteran and entrepreneur, RidgeviewTel employs more than 30 people through three divisions, and provides wireless broadband to 14 communities in New York, 25 in Colorado, and 15 in Illinois. For more about RidgeviewTel, visit www.ridgeviewtel.com.