Small towns get big data pipeline

Duane "Barney" Voss, Cambridge Telephone Co.'s general office manager, left, explains the technology behind the company's new state-of-the-art copper-to-fiber optic infrastructure upgrade to Tom Baker of Trenton, candidate for the Legislative District 44 seat in the Nebraska Unicameral, right, and Brad Houlden of Cambridge, co-owner with his wife, Shirley, of Houlden Contracting Inc. The Fiber to the Home project is funded with an $8.23 million loan from USDA Rural Development/Rural Utilities Service, represented at a celebration in Cambridge Tuesday by its director, Maxine Moul of Lincoln. Other dignitaries Moul visited with included Jerry Vap, chairman of the Nebraska Public Services Commission, Dick Shoemaker and Tom Shoemaker of Cambridge Telephone Co. and Pinpoint Communications.

CAMBRIDGE -- Cambridge Telephone Co. created "a pipe to the future," and "future-proofed" a portion of rural Nebraska with the official unveiling Tuesday of its state-of-the-art infrastructure upgrade from copper wire to fiber optic cable connectivity.

Maxine Moul of Lincoln, state director of USDA Rural Development; Jerry Vap of McCook and Lincoln, chairman of the Nebraska Public Services Commission; and Tom Baker of Trenton, candidate for the Legislative District 44 seat in the Nebraska Unicameral, joined Cambridge Telephone Co. officials for a tour of upgraded facilities that will provide fiber optic connectivity -- up to one gigabyte -- to the doorstep of every home and business in Cambridge, Bartley and nearby rural areas.

Tom Shoemaker, general manager of Cambridge Telephone, told those gathered for the celebration that the foundation for the upgrade was laid in 2003 when Cambridge Telephone management brought middle-mile broadband connectivity to Southwest Nebraska.

He said, "Thanks to that foresight and investment, combined with the $8.23 million loan from USDA Rural Utilities Service, we are now able to build upon that foundation and offer the economic and educational advantages of 'Fiber to the Home' broadband connectivity to every home in Cambridge and Bartley."

Moul said the Fiber to the Home project will improve quality of life for Cambridge- and Bartley-area residents, creating jobs, helping the area repopulate and thrive and making it easier to "connect to the world."

Shoemaker said, "I feel we're future-proofing rural Nebraska."

Duane "Barney" Voss, Cambridge Telephone's central office manager, called the Fiber to the Home project "a big pipe to the future," replacing copper wires -- a 133-year-old technology -- with state-of-the-art fiber optics.

System upgrades to Cambridge Telephone facilities are financed with a USDA Rural Utilities Service loan of $8.23 million. Construction of the Fiber to the Home project is 90 percent complete in Cambridge, Shoemaker said. Construction will move to Bartley "when we can get back into the ground" in the spring, and then to rural areas during summer 2010.

Moul said, "The access to a large amount of bandwidth at an affordable cost to residents and business owners will improve the quality of life as well as the ease of doing business in both communities."

Shoemaker said, "We sincerely appreciate the opportunity that the USDA has brought to our community."

Letters of congratulations on the infrastructure upgrade were read by representatives of U.S. Senators Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns and Congressman Adrian Smith.

Cambridge Telephone contacted every homeowner and business owner in Cambridge and Bartley regarding the switch from copper to fiber optics.

Voss said that to connect a home's or business's copper wire to the new fiber network, technicians have installed or will install a "Network Interface Device" (NID) with a backup battery and an AC-powered transformer.

The first phase of installation began in August 2009.

Residents may opt out of the Fiber to the Home Program, but, the existing copper service will be turned off entirely once the fiber build is complete. Cambridge Telephone officials are telling residents that even if they use only wireless service in their homes or businesses and do not need the Internet connection, it might be wise to consider having the installation made while it is free of charge.

Even if residents or businesses don't use computers or do not intend to use the Cambridge Telephone Co.'s broadband service, their telephone service will be delivered over the fiber optic network.

The company has announced that the deliverable bandwidth made available by the new fiber infrastructure will be far greater than what it has been able to provide in the past, and a new schedule of services and rates can be expected and will be announced as the project nears completion.

With new fiber optic capabilities, Internet users will notice much faster downloads, thanks to the substantially higher bandwidth. Over the longer term, customers will have access to a wide range of services, such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Video on Demand (VOD) and new digital voice services.

Mike O'Dell of McCook, director of marketing and public relations for Pinpoint Communications of Cambridge, said the fiber optic technology builds the foundation for "multi-media capabilities we haven't even thought of yet."

Moul said that USDA Rural Utilities Service recently celebrated its 60th anniversary as a provider of telecommunication loan and grant programs for rural areas.

During that time, she said, rural Nebraska has received $302.3 million in loans and $12.1 million in grants through infrastructure loans, distance learning and telemedicine loans and grants, Farm Bill broadband loans and grants for community connectivity, public TV and weather radio.