Rauf Bolden: Government revisiting fiber-to-the-home in Orange Beach
Here we go again, resurrecting the same old plan when so many new options are on the table. “Once we get the marketing materials together and get the name out there in the area we are going to start marketing ourselves as a fiber to the home provider [in Orange Beach],” said WhiteSky’s Matt Amick. “Within the next month or two we’re really going to start working on it.” This prepaid enrollment plan failed before, and it will fail again. “An effort last year through CenturyLink fell through mainly because of a lack of consumer confidence,” said Councilman Jerry Johnson in a report on the obawebsite. I guess consumers will have more confidence in a company they never heard of before today. The premier fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) city in Alabama is Sylacauga, “The Utilities Board of the City of Sylacauga is the sole provider. We are a gigabit city and we offer service within our electric service area and a few areas outside of same. We bring the service to customers on demand. We did not run fiber to every brick and mortar hoping for a subscription,” said Reay Culp, Network Administrator for the Utilities Board of the City of Sylacauga in an email. The Sylacauga model is exemplary because their municipality is heavily invested, believing in the idea. Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon should take a posse north, putting boots on the ground, seeing why Sylacauga is the shining light, perhaps returning with elements from their playbook before rolling out another doomed proposal. Doing more onsite research, traveling to see what works in other fiber communities like Bristol, Va.; Dalton, Ga.; Chelan County, Wash.; Grant County, Wash.; Jackson, Tenn.; Kutztown, Pa.; and Reedsburg, Wis. will help focus the lens. Orange Beach must do a better job the second time around instead of trotting out the same old prepaid subscription chestnut as before. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) says there is no education in the second kick of the mule. Why do we have this problem? Quite simply said, the world is changing. Internet access and generous bandwidth are as indispensable to local families as air. Today’s economy cannot function without both. Getting Internet is the easy part, having enough bandwidth to support families with children, operating multiple devices, and businesses with an online presence are where fiber connectivity comes in. Orange Beach needs young families to move here, supporting our economy. High bandwidth homes will give the city the potential to market itself to professionals who do not need to report to their offices every day, possibly moving their families to Orange Beach, raising their children in a safe environment, attending our schools, worshiping in our churches, and participating in local government. A fiber infrastructure will attract a class of resident that is technologically savvy, having more years in front of them than they have behind them. Building out the network with city funds ensures the future survival of this vibrant community. That’s what’s important here, investing for familial continuity. Do we really have to connect every home in Orange Beach with fiber in order to achieve high-bandwidth connectivity? The answer is no, because the city owns several strands of dark fiber, supplied by Harbor Communications. Harbor has fiber traversing every arterial road in the city, and they already supply all city facilities with Internet service and VoIP phones. When coupled with a Verizon partnership, perhaps a fiber operator is best suited, helping Orange Beach create the first 5G city in Alabama. “5G is reaching speeds that are twenty times faster than 4G LTE,” according to a report on the Droid Guy. Alternatively, residents needing immediate increases in bandwidth can purchase a small Internet device (JetPack) from a Verizon store. This 3”x5”x1” box offers a choice of several “4G LTE [no unlimited]” plans, allowing simultaneous connections on several devices. So you see, high-speed Internet in terms of bandwidth already exists in Orange Beach through a wireless carrier. It is just a matter of deciding if you want to go wired with fiber or wireless without. I do not make this statement lightly. Verizon powers the city’s cell phones, Police mobile, and Fire mobile. These “JetPack” devices have proven to be very reliable for our first responders, and department heads. Communications between essential personnel in the City of Orange Beach cannot be down, per Mayor Kennon. Outlining 4G availability options to our constituents as a realistic alternative to wired connections will help cut Internet provider complaints to city hall, perhaps gaining traction for a city financed upgrade to the next generation of 5G wireless service. 5G requires a build out, combining buried fiber optic cables and electrical power, interconnecting the poles along the rights-of-way into an integrated infrastructure network. The build will look something like this. Each pole is set approximately one-quarter of a mile apart along Canal Road, Hwy 161, and the Beach Road. I know this is possible with fiber already in the ground, because I have the fiber maps, but I cannot share them here, because they are proprietary. Attached to these poles is a 5G antenna, being cylindrical in shape about the size of an electrical transformer you see on generic power poles. I argue the city should finance the build out of a 5G network, guided by technology from Verizon’s engineers, creating a telecommunications model that will carry Orange Beach into the 22nd century, bringing high speed Internet to every family and business that wants it. “The initial cities that will support Verizon 5G home broadband are: Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Sacramento, California; and Houston, Texas,” according to a report on 9to5Mac. Being first in the market has its drawbacks. “Verizon has been in a cutthroat competition with AT&T to be the first carrier to offer 5G, and it already claimed that title — sort of. The telecom giant launched a pre-standard 5G network in the fall of 2018, deciding to move forward with its own technology rather than wait for slow-moving standards bodies to
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across the state
Here’s a roundup of some of the top weekend business headlines from across the state: AL.com: Craft brewers: Alabama laws stifle growth of burgeoning beer industry Like many of Alabama’s close to three dozen craft brewers who stepped into an industry barely formed, Jeremy Pate is above all optimistic. On the Dothan farm where his grandparents used to grow corn and peas, Pate started Folklore Brewing & Meadery a few years ago, offering the only locally produced beer in the Wiregrass region. There he has lots of room to grow, but Pate says beer laws in the state need to catch up first. Pate, 40, believes the existing regulations, which restrict breweries from selling beer directly to customers other than through a licensed retailer, are not broad enough for his business to thrive. “There are beers that we do not distribute, that we do in very small scale, experimental nature,” he said. People often want to buy those, or another beer that’s to their liking. Unlike many states, Alabama law prohibits brewers from selling it — either in a keg, bottle or glass jug — to-go. Pate started by making a simple wheat ale when he opened in 2013. Wiregrass Wheat, he called it. Today, you can find one of his beers in restaurants and stores in Enterprise, Ozark and around Opelika and Auburn. Revenue from retail distribution is great, but not as lucrative as the cash that comes from residents and beer aficionados in search of something new to drink in their taproom. “The profits on a bottle that we sell out there in the market is miniscule compared to what we get by the pint,” Pate said, “so the limiting factor is how much beer came one person safely consume at a brewery?” Fighting ‘history’ Pate is not alone in his frustration with the state. Beer makers in north Alabama and down along the Gulf Coast have long agreed lawmakers could do better by the burgeoning industry. And there have been efforts since 2009 when a law allowing beers with a higher alcohol content to be sold was passed. But it was a relatively small change in the grand scheme of things. “It was not until the Brewery Modernization Act that any breweries wanted to be in Alabama, period,” Pate said. That law was passed in 2011, and aside from a bill allowing 22-ounce bottles known as “bombers” to be sold by breweries, expanding regulations for the industry has stopped. Brewers, who sometimes struggle to eke out a profit, say this has put a vise grip on available business opportunities and limits their ability to compete. Meanwhile, there’s about $23 million in unrealized economic activity in the beer industry, a figure that could grow with more relaxed beer laws, according to a recent study by Jacksonville State University. Like many, Pate knows there is more money to be made with off-premise sales, but in December 2014 he started bottling “bombers” for distribution. “That’s the only way that we have any chance to grow because of the limited laws,” he said. “And even at that rate we’re going to have to grow slower than other breweries in other states.” Using what’s known now as the “three tier system,” lawmakers placed in between the manufacturer and retailer an independent wholesaler to keep one company from controlling each stage of the process: production, distribution and sales. Beer and alcohol production was a different industry in 1933. The three-tier law never anticipated a surge in craft beer production several decades later, mainly by small upstarts, not dominant corporations. But “history” is the chief opponent to changing the old law, said Jason Wilson, current president of the Alabama Brewers Guild and founder of Back Forty Beer Company in Gadsden. In Alabama, and more generally in the Deep South, Wilson said changing “a lot of the stereotypes and misconceptions that are associated with alcohol” is not easy. Legislative challenges As a case in point, look to the recent Legislative session. A number of proposed solutions filtered through the statehouse in Montgomery. The largest bill, which would have allowed growler sales for breweries and brewpubs, and given them the option to participate in entertainment districts, failed. A trimmed down version of that bill also died. And a last-ditch measure that would have permitted just to-go beer sales didn’t come up for a vote. The one bright spot was the creation of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Study Commission, which has the task of making the state’s laws consistent with others around the country. Wilson said his hopes for the group “are a little bit grander” than simply identifying policy outcomes. The commission, which is hosting public hearings this month in Alabama, has “a pretty promising mission statement,” he said, “– now whether we can accomplish those things this year, I don’t know.” The Guild has already offered the commission a jump start, creating a list of proposals that outline the organization’s objectives. At least one of those, the creation of a single craft brewer license for brewpubs and breweries, may cause some in the industry to pause. “That means everybody is operating under one license, and I would have to revert back to ABC to see if you can actually regulate under those types of circumstances,” said Donna Alexander, executive director of the Alabama Wholesale Beer Association. Overall, she said craft brewers do not pose an existential threat to the beer wholesalers she represents. Limited opportunity In the meantime, some business opportunities are slowed. And an industry that produced close to 40,000 barrels of beer last year is moving at half speed. Some feel it more than others. Making about 250 barrels of beer every year, Druid City Brewing in Tuscaloosa is up against a real demand crunch, said co-owner Elliott Roberts. “We’re actively exploring expansion plans, but where we have trouble is, well, money,” Roberts said. Nailing down the right real estate has also been a challenge, but primarily it comes down to creating more revenue.
AT&T hit by FCC with $100M fine for slowing speeds
AT&T Mobility LLC has been slapped with a record $100 million fine for offering consumers “unlimited” data, but then slowing their Internet speeds after they reached a certain amount. The company says it will fight the charges. The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that the company misled consumers into buying plans they thought would give them unlimited ability to send and receive data, including Web browsing, GPS navigation and streaming videos. But once the consumer hit a certain level, the data on unlimited plans would be slowed down significantly, at speeds lower than advertised, the FCC said. AT&T said it would “vigorously dispute” the fine, which was the largest proposed in FCC history. If AT&T can provide evidence that the FCC allegations are wrong, the fine could be reduced. Otherwise, if AT&T refuses to pay, it’s possible the two sides will wind up in court. “The FCC has specifically identified this practice as a legitimate and reasonable way to manage network resources for the benefit of all customers, and has known for years that all of the major carriers use it,” the company said in a statement released to reporters. “We have been fully transparent with our customers, providing notice in multiple ways and going well beyond the FCC’s disclosure requirements.” It’s not unusual for phone companies to slow, or “throttle,” speeds on a network as a way to manage congestion. Verizon slows down speeds for its heaviest users, but only on certain smartphones when there is congestion. Once the bottleneck eases, speeds return to normal. Until this spring, AT&T was slowing speeds until the customer’s next billing cycle, even when there was no congestion. Both Verizon and AT&T had phased out their unlimited plans after data usage grew following the iPhone’s launch in 2007. Existing customers, however, were able to keep their unlimited plans. The FCC says AT&T’s approach to unlimited plans violated the agency’s transparency rule. “Unlimited means unlimited,” said Travis LeBlanc, the FCC enforcement bureau chief. “As today’s action demonstrates, the commission is committed to holding accountable those broadband providers who fail to be fully transparent about data limits.” The hefty fine by the FCC comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit filed against the company last fall. The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces rules against deceptive advertising, said it wants to refund customers who were offered the unlimited data packages, only to be given slower data speeds than advertised. That lawsuit is still working its way through a federal court in California. Earlier this year, the FTC accused TracFone Wireless of similar tactics. TracFone agreed to settle the case for $40 million. AT&T Mobility is located in Atlanta and is a subsidiary of Dallas-based AT&T Inc. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
