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Small Wyoming Town To Be Better Connected Than Many Cities
Powell, Wyoming, Population 5,500, breaks ground on fiber project
I've previously mentioned how the small town of Powell, Wyoming hopes to see an economic resurgence through the building of a $6 million fiber network. One of the project's developers has previously posted in our forums. The private-public partnership is breaking ground this week, much to the chagrin of local operators Qwest and Bresnan Communications, who tried to argue their local duopoly collectively represented a "thriving marketplace" that made the build unnecessary. From the Wyoming Business Report:
quote:
"Our new FTTH system will not only service existing residences, businesses, and schools but also help retain our young people and attract new residents and businesses. … This network will ensure that the city will have state of the art infrastructure, while embracing the involvement of private service providers," said Powell Mayor Scott Mangold.
The private company Powell is working with is a local carrier by the name of TCT.
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Scoot_NJ
join:2007-09-25
Budd Lake, NJ

Scoot_NJ

Member

Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

I'll have to check out this town in particular!
53059959 (banned)
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone

53059959 (banned)

Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

sounds good. about $1100 per citizen, which is more or less on par for what verizon pays to wire each home.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

2 edits

FFH5 to Scoot_NJ

Premium Member

to Scoot_NJ
said by Scoot_NJ:

I'll have to check out this town in particular!
»maps.google.com/maps?f=q ··· pedia_en

You will have to like living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. And I mean NOWHERE!! Zoom out on the map to see how isolated it is. The closest city(if you can call it that) is Billings, Montana - 96 miles away.
Scoot_NJ
join:2007-09-25
Budd Lake, NJ

Scoot_NJ

Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

If I am within 20 miles of a Super WalMart, I will have everything I need to live my life!!!

And internet of course!

Milwaukee's Best as well!

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

said by Scoot_NJ:

If I am within 20 miles of a Super WalMart, I will have everything I need to live my life!!!

And internet of course!

Milwaukee's Best as well!
26 miles to the nearest Walmart:
»maps.google.com/maps?dad ··· pedia_en

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD to Scoot_NJ

Premium Member

to Scoot_NJ
Scary though...Super WalMart...
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

Its your supermarket too ("Super" tag, same for Target). There is no other mart than WalMart I bet in the area.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

Thus, my comment

jslik
That just happened
Premium Member
join:2006-03-17

2 edits

jslik to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Aw, come on...Billings (as of 2006) was over 100,000...doesn't that qualify as a "city"?

james16
join:2001-02-26

james16

Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

No, because they can't count anyone who plays a banjo when trying to figure out if it's a city or not.
zjumper
join:2004-08-17
Baltimore, MD

zjumper

Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

By definition, anything over 2500 people is considered urban... 4 srs.

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
Premium Member
join:2004-01-06
NYC Metro

Tzale

Premium Member

Re: Cool! I am looking to move to Wyoming!

said by zjumper:

By definition, anything over 2500 people is considered urban... 4 srs.
The question is really density...

2500 people over 10 miles or 2500 people over 1/4 mile?
xxTRAGEDYxx
join:2008-03-14
Kannapolis, NC

xxTRAGEDYxx

Member

A Job Done Right!!

When it's all said and done.. this will offer Powell with a wonderful new option for services usually provided by monoplies. It will also be good for their school system
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

1 recommendation

nasadude

Member

not just big cities

they are going to be connected better than most of the rest of the country.

they also just catapulted themselves about 5 years ahead of most of the rest of the country.
Techie714
join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA

Techie714

Member

Re: not just big cities

said by nasadude:

they are going to be connected better than most of the rest of the country.

they also just catapulted themselves about 5 years ahead of most of the rest of the country.
Very True!

fradaf
@qwest.net

fradaf

Anon

Re: not just big cities

There is more antelope in Wyoming then people, Google it.

koolkid1563
MVM
join:2005-11-06
Powell, WY

koolkid1563

MVM

Sweet!

We are moving to Powell next week actually. I have been tracking Powellink as it is now called for a long, long time.

Owlbet Incognito
@mtaonline.net

Owlbet Incognito

Anon

Re: Sweet!

Palmer, Alaska has about the same population. I've heard rumors on both sides of the fence (subscribers and MTA techs) that our little podunk town is getting fiber to the home. But when I call to inquire as to the validity of the rumors, those that have the capabilities to confirm or deny remain strangely quiet.

I for one, would like to know the truth. If it turns out to be true, what a slap to the Municipality of Anchorage...population (minus the moose, of course) 265,000 +/-.

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA

Cjaiceman

MVM

Speed

I wonder what kind of speeds and caps they will offer?

koolkid1563
MVM
join:2005-11-06
Powell, WY

koolkid1563

MVM

Re: Speed

The speeds will start at 5Mb/s and go up to 100Mb/s, still no word on pricing though.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

1 edit

Transmaster

Member

Powell is a Cool Place

Powell is not really in the middle of nowhere by Wyoming standards, I am here to tell you if you are in to out door recreation, fishing hunting, hiking, etc Powell is right in the middle of outdoor heaven. To the east is the Bighorn mountains, to the west Yellowstone Park to the North the Beartooth Range, to the south the Wind River Range. Check out the area on Google Earth. If you are a Telecommuter this would be heaven on earth place to work. My family homesteaded on the South Fork of the Shoshone river Southwest of Cody, Wyoming. in the late 1860's so I know the area very well.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: Powell is a Cool Place

said by Transmaster:

My family homesteaded on the South Fork of the Shoshone river Southwest of Cody, Wyoming. in the late 1860's so I know the area very well.
Wow, so you are over 140 years old?

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Re: Powell is a Cool Place

My Great Grandfather Billings was the last foreman for Buffalo Bill's TE ranch in Cody, while William Cody still owned it. TE was and still is the brand for the ranch.

rit56
join:2000-12-01
New York, NY

rit56

Member

Re: Powell is a Cool Place

wow. that's kinda cool....

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
Very cool indeed.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
said by Transmaster:

My family homesteaded on the South Fork of the Shoshone river Southwest of Cody, Wyoming. in the late 1860's so I know the area very well.
Well, I knew you were an older and more experienced poster on the forums, but I never had any idea you were THAT old....!!


pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Funny Codewords...

quote:
The private-public partnership ...
Sounds like how a lot of stadiums get funded these days...

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

tshirt

Premium Member

Re: Funny Codewords...

As an investment in their future, this is a good choice (for a community this size, and location)

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Re: Funny Codewords...

said by tshirt:

As an investment in their future, this is a good choice (for a community this size, and location)
Exactly right, "build it and they will come". If I where a small company that manufactured stuff like fishing rods, mountaineerings equipment, tents, etc and did most of my business via the Web this would be a good place to set up shop, Low overhead, low taxes, etc.
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Also check out Glen Allan, Mississippi

This one has gotten zero publicity, but the Lakeside Telephone Co. in Glen Allan, Mississippi, population about 250, is currently building a FTTH network. I was there for several months caring for my dad, and I needed a temp dialup account, so I went down there to sign up. I was talking with the lady in there as I was doing the paperwork, and I jokingly told her that they should start offering cable TV, and she told me they were. She explained that they would be building a fiber network in the spring and hopefully finished with it during the summer, at which time they'd use it for phone, TV, and Internet. They've had DSL for years, but they're apparently getting ready to step things up a notch. When I left last month, they were in the process of surveying where the cables would be laid.

So, if you want a place to move to, check it out. And if you like fishing, the town is right on the bank of Lake Washington, one of the largest lakes in the state. There's no airport there obviously, but there's one in Greenville, about 30 miles away, and Jackson is about 100 miles away, and you can fly out of Jackson-Evars International Airport. So Glen Allan is kind of off the beaten path, but it's not a bad place to live if you want to telecommute. And the Kountry Market makes a kick-ass cheeseburger.
45612019 (banned)
join:2004-02-05
New York, NY

45612019 (banned)

Member

Re: Also check out Glen Allan, Mississippi

The problem here is: Mississippi

Worst state in the union.

•••

BK
join:2001-09-10
Chicago, IL

BK

Member

wow

Well I'm pretty sure I'm the only commenter so far that has actually BEEN to Powell and its a nice little town! Good golf course and amazing chinese buffet place

its a nice little town that has seen better days but this maybe will help... but hell WY has its perks. Free college for everyone.. no sales tax.. meh

•••••

AnonProxy
Premium Member
join:2001-05-12

AnonProxy

Premium Member

Who cares....

Richmond, MA has four different providers and a fiber ring for all the Town Offices. They also have free wireless for about 500 homes...and have so for years.

N10Cities
Premium Member
join:2002-05-07
0000000

N10Cities

Premium Member

Don't forget Lavaca, AR.....

Lavaca, AR has had FTTH for the last year or two. Countryside won't be as picturesque as Wyoming, though.

koolkid1563
MVM
join:2005-11-06
Powell, WY
MikroTik CCR1036-8G-2S+
MikroTik hAP AC

koolkid1563

MVM

More Information

Here is some more information on Powellink from the Billings Gazette:

»www.billingsgazette.net/ ··· ptic.txt
Customers who sign up for one year of combined basic phone, Internet and TV service will pay a total of about $75 per month, plus tax, according to a rate sheet TCT provided.

Internet speeds will start at around 5 megabits per second, and can be scaled up to 100 Mbps at additional cost, based on customer needs, said Rob Collingwood, a manager for TCT.
Fiber drops

Work crews will begin installing "fiber drops" to homes around Powell, trenching underground cables and attaching to each house a small junction box about the size of a hardback book.
It sounds like they are putting in a blank ONT on every house with the fiber already ran up to it in order to cut down the install times.

bent
and Inga
Premium Member
join:2004-10-04
Loveland, CO

bent

Premium Member

Casper?

Didn't Casper WY build a fiber network? How is that going?

All we ever hear about around here are the failures of projects like these, mostly due to the mega-corp communications providers fighting tooth and nail for their "right" to provide sub-par services without meaningful competition.

Leave it to the people of the great state of Wyoming to tell Qwest to F off. Sure wish Colorado could do the same.

koolkid1563
MVM
join:2005-11-06
Powell, WY

koolkid1563

MVM

Re: Casper?

My Uncle and Aunt live in Casper, I might have to ask them if they know anything about a fiber network next time I talk to them.

bent
and Inga
Premium Member
join:2004-10-04
Loveland, CO

bent

Premium Member

Re: Casper?

AFIK, it's been up and running for a few years now.
SuperWISP
join:2007-04-17
Laramie, WY

SuperWISP

Member

Sweetheart deal

This project in Powell, Wyoming is overhyped, underfunded, and monopolized by a single carrier.

While there will be fiber passing the homes in the city, it won't provide more bandwidth or more or different services than the cable network there. Worse still, the network involves a "sweetheart" back room deal between the city and TCT West, a telephone company in that region. For the first 10 years of the network's existence, only TCT West will be allowed to offer services over the fiber, even though it's supposedly a municipal project. And TCT West will also have a monopoly on service to the city government -- one of the biggest customers in town. So, competitors will be strongly discouraged from entering the market. And since building the fiber network will be quite expensive, service will be expensive too. So, residents will take a bath, and so will the city government.

Our own ISP will likely never bring service to Powell, even though we have some unique service offerings and technology, because we can't get on the government-supported network and are not going to go up against government-supported competition. Powell, Wyoming can have its network... if it ever manages to pay its bills even with the high prices it has to charge. But independent ISPs like ours, which do not rely on government largesse, won't be there.