BbTF Minutes 04-21-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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- PEMC looked for partner that knowledgable about broadband—owned by members so required to be fair/equitable;for-profit subsidiary—RiverStreet o =>share philosophy regarding members; RiverStreet started as"fiber to the home" but had to change focus to wireless(without forgetting fiber for long run); NC GREAT grant had 2 year timeframe to meet requirements; members and non-members will be served o RiverStreet has had some great successes—buildout of the towers in Person Co, RiverStreet is building one tower; in June in Person Co, PEMC will be announcing service;Caswell Co another success$1.5 million GREAT grant; 2918 accounts planned;CBRS—RiverStreet has secured a lot of CBRS; ■ Q:Terri Buckner—how will service cost work;A:will be separate from PEMC and will come from RiverStreet; have programs for homes that can't afford service;State is making funding available o RDOF is a disappointment—winners that didn't submit bids that included their costs but still received funding and therefore locked out other vendors from federal funding; PEMC is trying to address this with legislature o Bill Schillito(scatter map)—RiverStreet=>PEMC fiber wouldn't go down to any members' homes; PEMC fiber is used as backaul then RiverStreet takes over from there to provide service ■ PEMC/RiverStreet has a great partnership; Bill is fixed wireless expert;fixed wireless for last mile; needs to be sustainable—be here for at least 5 years;when need for greater speed comes about,technology needs to advance to meet need ■ Bill wants background of Task Force/Charter—how do we know when we're done? • Jim-Task Force is time limited group working toward making recommendation(s)to BOCC for how best to move forward. BOCC goal is to extend service to as many county residents as possible. • Greene-started with spirit of inquiry and exploration;COVID money available to searching for all options and cost of each. Charge is to recommend a viable and responsible option and provide the best service possible to the—5000 homes in unserved/underserved areas. • McKee—best opportunity for funding for this is right now—strike while the iron is hot! Possible movement on state level that will help this. • Bill—is this an empowered committee?At what point will you know when you're ready to propose a solution? o Answer: NO;Jim—OC RFP is a possibility, money coming to states from Federal govt may be for shovel ready projects;would likely draw from Task Force group to participate in RFP process/responses; o McKee/Greene could introduce an agenda item if needed;4 meetings for background, 2-3 meetings for providers to present,then a couple of meetings to decide on a solution to propose o Bill—no one solution is the right solution; probably need hybrid solution—is there a fiber plan cost in place? ■ $30-50 million; mixed solution along with mixed costs— would need to put together a cost plan that includes all technologies; ■ Catharine concerned that fixed wireless folks will be forgotten which would continue the digital divide;think big and try to get funding to achieve the best long term solution; ■ Jim—not a business model that will sustain the unserved/underserved and make it a money making model, prefers plan to shoot for fiber to every home as goal then fixed wireless becomes backup rather than first; ■ Bill—America Recovery program ($28million for OQ who owns it and maintains it will need to be wrestled with;