Many good questions have come in regarding the Cook County Broadband Project; below is a list of the most popular. We will add to the list throughout the project:
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GENERAL
- Q: What exactly will the Cook County Broadband project look like?
- A: The project will create a community-owned and operated communications company that will run a new cable to each of the homes, businesses, schools, hospital, clinic, library, community center, city hall, etc in the county. The cable is made out of glass and is called fiber optics and is physically stronger than the existing cables on our poles today. This cable will give everyone access to new choices for telephone, digital television, and ultra-fast internet services.
- Q: Do I have to subscribe to all 3 services (telephone, internet, or TV)?
- A: No, you can choose to subscribe to one, two, all three, or none of the services offered on the network.
- Q: How much will these services cost?
- A: Rates cannot be officially set until the network is built. Below are some proposed rates that were included in the business plan and the federal grant application. Note that the final rates might be a little different, but probably close to these rates. Note that any customer that connects with any Internet product will get 100Mbps connection for free to any other customer on the fiber network.
Video
Expanded Basic Cable (67 channels): $48.00
Digital Cable: 185 channels for $60.00
Digital Settop Box: $5.00
Movie Channels: $12.00 each
DVR Service: $13.00
Premium HD Package: $5.00
Internet
Residential
20 Mbps Download, 20 Mbps Upload $29.95
30 Mbps Download, 30 Mbps Upload $39.95
50 Mbps Download, 50 Mbps Upload $74.95
Business
20 Mbps Download, 20 Mbps Upload $64.95
30 Mbps Download, 30 Mbps Upload $99.95
50 Mbps Download, 50 Mbps Upload $199.95
Telephone
Residential Service: $18.44
Business Service: $36.84
PROPOSED ONLY
- Q: What will it cost to hook up to this new network?:
- A: Originally, the business plan included a $200 fee for residential customers and $1000 fee for business customers to connect their building to the network. This fee would be spread out over 18-24 months. However, planning is underway to include those fees in the financing of the network so there would be no cost for any customer wanting to hook-up during the first two years while the network is being built. We will not know for sure until after the financing is secured, but this is the proposal currently being considered.
- Q: Will I have to re-wire my house to connect to these services?:
- A: No, in most cases this system can connect to your existing wiring for television, telephone, and internet. Each home will be unique and a more accurate assessment of what is needed for an individual situation will be made when a customer inquires about new service.
- Q: Do I HAVE to connect to the network if I don't want to?:
- A: No; the purpose of this project is to update our systems to support the next generation of services. If you choose not to subscribe to any of the services offered on the system, you do not have to connect.
- Q: Why are there two questions on the referendum? Why is there one that talks about creating a new telephone exchange?
- A: Minnesota law requires that any community that wants to provide its own communiction service that includes telephones needs to pass a local referendum authorizing them to do so by a 65% majority of the votes cast.
- Q: How will the system be paid for?
- A:The county has submitted a federal grant application to cover about two thirds of the the cost to build the network. The current proposal is to have the matching funds for that grant come from a portion of the revenue of the 1 percent sales tax. The third funding source for the capital to build the project will be through bonds that will be paid for out of the revenue of the system. All on-going costs of the network are paid for through the revenue from the customers.
- Q: What is the timeline for this project?
- A: If this project is selected to receive funding in the first round of federal stimulus broadband grants, the system would need to be 67% complete within two years and virtually done within three years. The business plan includes bringing the first customers on-line at the end of 2010
- Q: How will the new Cook County Broadband service be operated and managed?
- A: The Broadband project proposal includes building and owning a fiber optic communications network to serve Cook County residents, visitors and citizens.
The county will own the physical network and they will contract with local providers to manage and maintain the systems. There will be a separate advisory board that will handle the business of building the network and managing the service and maintenance agreements.
Although all arrangements are preliminary until funding is secured, the county is laying the groundwork with Boreal Access to provide management, customer service and support for the new network. It is hoped that a similar arrangement will be made locally for maintenance and service to the exterior network of cables and equipment.
- Q: How many people are projected to take the new services once they are available?
- A: CCG Consulting used estimates of 50 – 70% of the homes and businesses passed by the fiber optic network will opt to purchase one or more services. These numbers are based on a combination of industry standards and the responses to the local market analysis done this spring. The plan calls for a gradual ramp up over the first three years and then stabilized at approximately 70%.
INTERNET
- Q: What is different about this internet service than the ones already available (Boreal, Qwest, CenturyLink, Verizon, Wild Blue, HughesNet)?
- A: Many of these options do not support true broadband speeds and do not work for businesses, home workers, today's distance education, and many other health and government services that are just beginning to come on-line (not to mention the limitless entertainment applications that are popping up everywhere). The providers that do offer service that support these activities today are only available in small portions of the county. Technically speaking, for those people currently on dial-up, the smallest package on this service would be 365 times faster than what you have now (56Kb vs. 20Mb). One benefit of this difference is no delays or dropped connections when sending and receiving emails with pictures or other attachments.
TELEPHONE
- Q: If I choose to subscribe to the new telephone service can I keep the number I have now?
- A: Yes
TELEVISON
- Q: Will the local TV channels be available on the system?
- A: Yes
- Q: I heard we will be able to produce our own community programs and put them on the air with this system. Is this true?
- A: Yes, part of the grant application includes buying the school HD video cameras and working with them to learn how to produce video of local community events, including sporting events, school performances, award ceremonies, etc. that can be viewed by anyone on the network. If community volunteers wanted to learn how to use the equipment, we could have coverage of events like the dragon boat races, ATV events, local parades; to name just a few examples of what could be available on the system for viewing.