February 8, 2023
About 900 LigTel Communication’s wireless internet network customers have been advised their internet services will end in June 2023. Long term, however, LigTel remains committed to its aggressive campaign to connect those addresses, and thousands of others, to a state-of-the-art fiber optic broadband network over the next two to four years.
The wireless services LigTel will end were put into service nearly 20 years ago and cannot provide enough bandwidth to meet today’s typical household demands. Several years ago, the company stopped signing on new wireless customers to help alleviate congestion to those already on the wireless network. The company more recently made a commitment to stop investing in wireless networks and says the time has come to begin the transition to a 100% fiber optic network, the only sure solution to meeting the demands of internet users today and for the foreseeable future.
Mike Troup, General Manager of LigTel, said the decision to end wireless operations this summer was based largely on an opportunity to participate in a program that will help the company replace the older, wireless technology with the latest, state-of-the-art fiber optic technology. The program will help the company cut costs of phasing out the old technology, and is only open for 12 months. At its peak, LigTel’s wireless network served about 2,100 addresses. More than 3,200 homes are currently served by the company’s fiber optic network.
“We have already started the construction piece with some of our fiber projects,” explained Troup. “We are now on a deadline to get our (wireless) equipment removed from towers.”
The 12-month program for removing the less-than-desirable wireless networking equipment includes removal of the old equipment from towers, taking inventory of it, and sending it to a certified recycler. LigTel considered pushing off the termination of services until later in the year, but realized how disruptive the loss of internet service would be for families with kids in school, in particular, at that time of the year.
“We felt turning down the (wireless) service in the summer would have less of an impact on that front,” Troup continued. LigTel has provided affected customers with a list of other internet service providers that are seen frequently working in those areas. The company hopes the summer timeline will enable customers to find alternative service providers sooner than later.
LigTel is currently working on a two-year project to expand fiber optic to serve current wireless customers, and others, in southeastern Noble County. The company anticipates bringing fiber optic services to northern portions of the county within the next two to four years, a timeline that is based on plans to apply for additional grant funding in the coming year or two.
What if alternative services are not available?
The Indiana Connectivity Program is a program launched by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to ensure continuous improvement in the accuracy of a map maintained by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC map is intended to identify the current state of internet services available, address by address, to help define ongoing grant funding opportunities for the expansion of broadband connectivity. LigTel and other local internet service providers have been awarded millions of dollars to help close the digital divide across rural Indiana, including thousands of addresses in Noble County.
Customers affected by LigTel’s transition away from the wireless network are encouraged to explore the data on the FCC map to determine, for their address, what is allegedly available in the way of internet services. If, upon reaching out to other providers allegedly able to provide service, an error is identified on the map (i.e., what the map says is available is not) an Availability Challenge may be submitted.
Why submit an Availability Challenge?
Internet Service Providers will have the opportunity to review the addresses of “challenges” submitted and submit bids to the state on the cost of providing service to these locations. OCRA will evaluate the bids received and make awards to the provider whose bid presents the lowest cost per Mbps to extend the service. The program may fund up to $25,000 of the the bid to help Hoosiers receive the minimum 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds considered the minimum for “broadband connectivity.”
Challenges submitted directly affect the data used to determine ongoing grant funding, both federal and state, for broadband expansion. This process has enabled LigTel, for example, to leverage more than $11 million in funding to continue the expansion of symmetric, high speed fiber optic broadband services to nearly 2,000 more households in Noble County over the next two years.
For more information, contact LigTel at (260) 894-7161 or Be Noble Inc. at (260) 636-3800.
