From the report, we have extracted a summary of the communities that will benefit from the expansion of rural broadband services. Is your location on the list?
At Alden, we have been on top of the rural broadband conversation for a while now, reporting previously that communities and companies around the U.S. were vying for the support, about the potential benefits to chosen locations, and even that outside of the FCC grant, cities everywhere are in heated competition to be the next in a series of locations wired by tech giants like Google. Watching this rollout evolve has been interesting, and we hope our readers are considering the implications—and taking the necessary steps to, as we have mentioned, be ready for the arrival of high-speed Internet to these small municipalities.
In short, a lot of attachment requests, contracts, paperwork, and if you are not prepared, a whole bunch of headaches in the New Year. Fortunately, Alden can help, with joint use solutions that can make higher volume and a greater need for connectivity with attaching companies another seamless part of your workflow instead of a freight train of worry coming your way. Here are a few ways we suggest you prepare:
Inventory your equipment via a comprehensive field inventory that maps all utility poles, catalogs all attachers and assesses the operational viability of all assets.
Then get organized, with a connected, easy to use database of your utility poles. Have your company and all attachers use an integrated, intuitive joint use management software system like Alden’s NotifyTM, which helps you manage joint use assets, keep track of attachers, communicate efficiently with all parties involved and, as a result, reduce backlogs and get control of the permitting process.
You know we will continue to watch what happens here—check back for updates. You, however, should consider what happens next for your organization.
[1] http://www.telecompetitor.com/fcc-rural-broadband-experiment-winners-include-ilecs-wisps-others/