RE: Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
Jim Northrup
Dear Polly and Bob,
Thank you for your email expressing your concerns on broadband and the lack thereof in Orange County.
We aware that our map is inaccurate, especially along its edges, and therefore, are working on a process that allows residents to help improve the accuracy of the map referenced in the current RFP. Staff will consider all suggestions by residents to ensure the accuracy of our data. That said, 100% accuracy may still elude us.
When Orange County gets to the contract phase with a successful bidder(s), we will build in a provision that ensures that no household is left out. We already have started to work on revisions and have created a layer on the RFP map called “self-reported underserved addresses,” and are creating a form/portal to add addresses. Again, relying on self-reporting and combining data sets will not get us to the accuracy level needed to ensure 100% broadband coverage in the county. Our hope is to negotiate a contract with a vendor that allows for adding any and all households that may have been missed.
Respectfully,
Jim Northrup
Jim Northrup
Chief Information Officer
Orange County Government
Information Technologies
Desk: 1.919.245.2276
Cell: 1.252.305.6678
Did you know that it’s a proven I.T. fact that teamwork makes the dream work? Just call our Help Desk and find out. 919-245-2280 opt.1
From: Polly Dornette [mailto:polly.d...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 11:58 AM
To: Sally Greene; Earl McKee; Jim Northrup
Cc: Bob Patrick; Bonnie Hauser; Tony Blake; jkar...@yahoo.com; Evan MacGibbon; OCSBOAR...@orange.k12.nc.us; Graig Meyer; ladyb...@aol.com; ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK; Whitney Watson; Jeff.J...@ncleg.gov; monique...@orange.k12.nc.us; tgr...@heraldsun.com
Subject: [EXTERNAL MAIL!] Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
Sally, Earl, and Jim,
I was recently sent a copy of the RFP for broadband in Orange County. https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17252/Orange-County-Broadband-RFP
Imagine my OUTRAGE when ONCE AGAIN the county has yet another map that shows the areas of need for Broadband services in this county and ONCE AGAIN you have completely excluded my neighborhood (Redgate Road) from those lacking broadband service. I know residents of Doe Run have also raised similar issues and you continue to fail to correct your errors.
What more can we do as citizens to make you guys correct this map.
I complained about the old map, as did at least one of my neighbors and was assured by Jim Northup you knew this map was incorrect, and would be correcting it. Again at the Orange County Democrat social when you all were patting yourself on the back about how great a job you were doing making strides in broadband- I got up and spoke about how you continue to FAIL many of us.
After the social, I spoke to Sally & Earl privately and I once again mentioned that my neighborhood is perpetually excluded from the map showing areas of need, even writing my address (1237 Redgate) down for you and asking for confirmation that my address and my neighbors would be included on the RFP for broadband in this area.
I sent a follow up email after the event again pointing this out. I received a response from Sally (below) where I was reassured you understood my frustrations and said you were forwarding my note to Jim who would check our address was included.
The MAP YOU ARE USING IS STILL INCORRECT. Your perpetual inability to correct this error is going to ONCE AGAIN exclude my family and my neighbors from being served. You have sent this INCORRECT map out for RFP completely excluding my house and my neighbors from this service we DESPERATELY need.
I don't know what information you are using but it is INCORRECT.
Multiple ways you may be able to get a more complete picture of the residents in need.
1. Orange County Schools- has a list of all of the students who requested hotspots during remote learning. There are 3 families on redgate who had to get such devices.
2. Get the list from Open Broadband of the households still on the waitlist.
3. We have a facebook group- "Orange County Citizens without Broadband Access". Join the group- these are VOCAL residents without access. Post a question asking who still needs service- I promise they will tell you.
4. Read your email- I know I am not alone in complaining about lack of access, lack of coverage, and being excluded off of the maps. If we have reached out at the very least give us the courtesy of making sure our addresses are on THE MAP USED FOR THE RFP.
5. New option- Property tax bills- add a check box to ask if residents have broadband internet. (while you are at it, time to reduce the property taxes of us that are forced to live with 1986 internet speeds)
The offer still stands for any one of you to come spend a day working from my house. You can choose whichever of the many options we have tried/paid for/continue to be on the waitlist for .
1. Century link DSL @ 6MB Down 0.5 up. $45 a month.... when it works.
2. T-Mobile hot spot which works for about 20 minutes before it drops the line and the modem has to be rebooted.
3. School hotspot (VZW)which gets 20MB outside of school hours but is not much more than a paperweight from about 8AM to 7PM. (Paid for by OCS).
4. Open Broadband we should have been in phase 1 spring of 2019..... still on the waitlist with no updates. (hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars)
5. Starlink who took our $100 deposit several months ago, but still on the waitlist with no updates and no time line for service.
6. Riverstreet- been on the waitlist for that one for a while with zero communication.
UPDATE YOUR MAP!!!!!!!!!!
Polly Dornette & Bob Patrick
1237 Redgate Road (WHICH STILL DOES NOT HAVE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS AND STILL ISN'T INCLUDED IN THE RFP)
On Tue, Aug 3, 2021 at 10:10 AM Sally Greene <sgr...@orangecountync.gov> wrote:
Dear Polly and Bob,
Earl and I very much appreciate the difficulties that poor broadband causes for your family. This is why we are working as hard as we can to make a functional 21st century solution possible. I’m forwarding your note to our staff technology director Jim Northrup, who can easily tell us whether your address is included on the map of homes within the target area.
I understand how you have come to feel jaded by now. I hear you. Before I was a county commissioner, for over a decade I was on the Chapel Hill Town Council, and in that role I personally lobbied in Raleigh against the restrictions the General Assembly was putting on local governments—to no avail, sadly, as you know. As a commissioner now with an even broader constituency, I’m taking this work very seriously, on behalf of you and so many others in your situation.
All best wishes,
Sally
Sent from my iPad
On Aug 2, 2021, at 12:46 PM, Polly Dornette <polly.d...@gmail.com> wrote:
Ms.Greene & Mr. McKee,
We appreciate the time you took to speak to us after the Orange County Democrat social last weekend. While many of our elected officials are new to this struggle due to the pandemic- we have been fighting with the service providers to provide access since my husband began working remotely in 2013. We have become quite jaded after years of getting our hopes up by many empty promises.
I wanted to pass along the communication from Open Broad Band basically offering service at ridiculously high rates for those of us who can't wait for access. To me this is price gouging from a company that has not fulfilled their promises. (Forwarded at the bottom of this message). Note for $150 you only get up to 8Mbps... to get broadband speeds it is nearly $300 a month. These fees for such minimal service is horrendous and shows that open broadband is looking to take advantage of the desperate citizens of this county. What's worse they are looking to profit from their inability to hit the targeted timelines.
As we discussed at the social last saturday, the map used by the county (page 5 of https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11335/ADDENDUM1--JUNE-5-2020 ) is horribly inaccurate and I wanted to confirm that our address (1237 Redgate road- along with all others on our road) is included on any maps currently being used to identify those who need to be serviced by any future projects. I previously brought this to the attention of Jim Northrup along with Whitney Watson who lives on Doe Run)
<image.png>
Below is also some details for the struggles that I sent to Orange County Schools during remote learning last fall that covers many of the issues:
OCS Leadership,
I wanted to bring to your attention some of the technical difficulties my family is having along with our utter frustration with the phone survey that was sent out over the weekend. I also have included some requests for additional support.
For context we are only about a mile north of highway 70, but we live at the end of a private road. The only Internet Service Provider is Century Link DSL- On a good day we can get about 6Mbps, but frequently we see speeds are much worse. For years we have pleaded with Century Link for improvements, their service techs are at our house more frequently than Amazon Deliveries. We've requested and been denied a survey from Spectrum to run service. We were one of the first to sign up for the waitlist for Open Broad Band when that came to the county, but have yet to float to the top of that list. Additionally we have added our name to the list for RiverStreet open broadband as well as Starlink.
(my speed test from about 5 minutes ago on DSL- it is now back up to about 6Mbps- but this inconsistency and unreliability is what makes this even more frustrating):
<image.png>
We were quick to jump on the district provided Verizon Hotspots earlier this summer, because the zoom calls my son had in the spring were a nightmare. Initially we were ecstatic with the results. Despite only registering 1 bar of service, the first speed test results were showing over 20Mbps- fast enough we began investigating whole house options from Verizon. That initial excitement was quickly destroyed as the speeds were found to be slower and slower on each subsequent Speed Test. Early in the morning the service is somewhat functional but by 9am it is insufficient to support a zoom call. I suspect this is due to the increase in the numbers on line via the hotspots as the middle and high schoolers begin their day in addition to normal cell phone usage by commuters and others in the area. We have already attempted all of the tricks..... moved the device, removed the caps, purchased an antenna- all without any improvement.
About 4 weeks ago our cellular phone service (also through Verizon) crashed. My husband was unable to make or receive calls. My service was much worse than normal. And most days the Hotspot was at less than 1Mbps. I submitted a service ticket with Verizon. They were unable to talk with me about the issues we are having with the hotspot because the device wasn't on my account. Their solution for our cell phone issues was to enable wifi calling on our phones.
My son is a 4th grader at Hillsborough Elementary. He struggles with his emotions especially when things don't go as planned. We signed up for the Virtual Academy in hopes of providing consistency and avoiding Zoom at all costs. We were excited by the district's purchase of the Edmentum curriculum especially because of the hope that less of the instruction would be over Zoom. Now that school has begun, we have realized that is not the case. My child's class has 6 zoom calls a day! Thursday was the only day we even attempted to get on them.... in one single class he had the call drop or freeze 5 times... and was sobbing. Our family has already decided we are done with even attempting the zoom calls- and will just watch the recordings. However, even this is not a great educational experience since he is watching the recording of something meant to be experienced live... he can't ask questions, he can't respond to questions the teacher asks on the video, but he sees that all of his classmates are interacting with the teacher.
Our frustrations with school related technology was capped off with the phone survey over the weekend. We were certain to be near the phone for the call. My phone never rang. My husband's phone rang, he answered, the recording indicated that there would be 2 questions and how to respond, then abruptly switched to a message of "sorry we missed you, you will have future opportunities to provide feedback.
I am NOT writing today to request schools reopen- I firmly believe OCS made the right call in operating under plan C for the first 9 weeks, and I anticipate that need extending far beyond that date. My goal in writing today is to get more options for our students without internet in their homes.
1. Pressure needs to be put on Verizon Wireless to improve the capacity of the cell towers in Orange County to handle the increased traffic from nearly 1000 hotspots.2. Provide more/better asynchronous instruction for our students. Watching a recording of a zoom call is about the only thing more painful than sitting through a live zoom call.
3. OCS needs to work with county and state officials to lobby broadband internet companies to service existing homes, instead of just providing service to the new developments.
4. Future surveys should be done via e-mail or text. The phone survey allows for one chance to respond- if it doesn't work your voice isn't heard.
Thank you both for any and all action you can push forward to bring much needed Broadband access to our area..
Kind regards,
Polly Dornette & Bob Patrick
1237 Redage Road
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Open Broadband <in...@openbb.net>
Date: Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 9:17 AM
Subject: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
To: Polly Dornette <Polly.d...@gmail.com>
Consider Open Broadband Quick Connect Cellular Service
Quick Connect Cellular
High-Speed Quick Connect Cellular
If we haven't made it to your address, and you can't wait for our residential broadband to reach your home, then you may be able to get cellular home Internet service within the next few days.
Open Broadband offers cellular high-speed Wi-Fi.
You can sign up and register an account online and we will ship you the Wi-Fi router with an active SIM card and all you need to do is plug it in.
14-Day Trial period
If you are not satisfied, you may return the unit for a full refund, (only pay for the return postage), and we will cancel your registration.*
Features and Benefits
- No site visit required
- No installation fee
- Quick solution, just sign-up online, receive your unit in the mail, plugin, and get online
- Portable (take it on vacation, put it in your home, garage, boat, trailer, or car - may require additional power adapter)
- Connect up to 10 wireless connections at a time and use the LAN port for hard-wired connections
- Unlimited usage**
- Fixed monthly fee (no additional taxes)
- Automatic billing to your credit card or bank account draft
- No credit check
- No commitment (no long-term contract)
- No penalties for cancelation, simply notify us and return the equipment
- Once fixed-wireless is available you will be able to switch between the plans
- No equipment fees***
- Supported by Open Broadband's North Carolina based 24x7 Technical Support Help Line
- Cancel at any time*
How It Works
- Select the plan below that best meets your needs for cost and speed.
- Use the link for the plan you desire to create an account and provide your payment details for automatic monthly recurring charges.
- Open Broadband will process your payment for your 1st month of service and ship your unit via USPS.
- Once the unit arrives, plug it in near a window, verify your Internet connection and run a speed test to verify the download speed is acceptable for your needs.
- If you are not satisfied contact us and return the unit within 14 days of receipt and we will credit your account.
Plans and Links to Sign-Up
Download Speed
Monthly Fee
Link to Sign-Up
Up to 8 Mbps
$149.99
Up to 12 Mbps
$219.99
Up to50 Mbps
$299.99
If the device works but the performance isn't as high as expected or the signal is weak, you may contact us and purchase a Technician Cellular Signal Optimization Visit for $135.00.**** During this session, the technician will determine if there is a location where an external antenna can be installed to improve signal quality, allow connections to more bands, and increase signal strength.
* Cancellation of service must be made in writing to Open Broadband within the 14-day trial period without any charges. Cancellations after 14 days will incur the current monthly charge. Canceled subscription units must be returned and received within 10 days of cancellation or a $500.00 charge will be applied to your credit card or bank account. Units and accessories must be in working order and free of physical or electronic damage (including antennas, GPS cord and module, and power supply).
** Speeds may vary or be slowed down but service will not be cut off based on usage.
*** You can connect your personal router to the integrated Ethernet LAN port or you can connect a laptop/desktop computer to it for a direct-wired connection, in addition to wireless coverage.
**** TheTechnician Cellular Signal Optimization Visit fee is non-refundable, it does not guarantee service or reception will be improved or increased. If an external antenna is needed it will be attached to the structure or pole and a cable will be run into the home, this equipment will remain the property of Open Broadband. Service and performance are strictly dependent on the carrier's signal, tower location, distance to tower, and obstructions between the tower and equipment.
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You are receiving this email as a result of expressing interest in Open Broadband internet service.
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Open Broadband · PO Box 723 · Waxhaw, NC 28173 · USA
tony...@nc.rr.com
I noticed that Tripp Road is not on the “Broadband Map" the county has issued an RFP for. You might want to pipe up and make you and your neighbors need known to Jim Northrup.
As you know, the cruel irony is the people who need service don't have the service necessary to make it known.
Here is a link to the page the RFP Orange County just issued. https://www.orangecountync.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=81 (Map linked below represented on page 5)
Here is a link to the map in question: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__orangecountync.maps.arcgis.com_apps_PublicInformation_index.html-3Fappid-3Da58802ad8e764af1a5c45054e4abd3b1&d=DwIFaQ&c=JRU6Crajf79kKcplUJFHFfpcQ9GkS9xWLut8YRTooJY&r=n9ktzdnh4a6Vy7Tgn_DKbZjjy8VpEeayjfLbpuaz7sw&m=GibafdtUJqZ7NOPFMXGLHe8i3St-OTcceWkEnwmmdrQ&s=4iJ4o60So8z9tVTC2F3DfKPZjYideAaRxY7AXM9AHc8&e=
You can click on the purple dots in the map to see what address they represent.
-Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Northrup <jnor...@orangecountync.gov>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 6:25 PM
To: Polly Dornette <polly.d...@gmail.com>; Sally Greene <sgr...@orangecountync.gov>; Earl McKee <emc...@orangecountync.gov>
Cc: Bob Patrick <packm...@gmail.com>; Bonnie Hauser <bonnie...@gmail.com>; Tony Blake <Tony...@nc.rr.com>; jkar...@yahoo.com; Evan MacGibbon <evan.ma...@gmail.com>; OCSBOAR...@orange.k12.nc.us; Graig Meyer <graig...@gmail.com>; ladyb...@aol.com; ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>; Whitney Watson <whit...@earthlink.net>; Jeff.J...@ncleg.gov; monique...@orange.k12.nc.us; tgr...@heraldsun.com
Subject: RE: Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
Dear Polly and Bob,
Thank you for your email expressing your concerns on broadband and the lack thereof in Orange County.
We aware that our map is inaccurate, especially along its edges, and therefore, are working on a process that allows residents to help improve the accuracy of the map referenced in the current RFP. Staff will consider all suggestions by residents to ensure the accuracy of our data. That said, 100% accuracy may still elude us.
When Orange County gets to the contract phase with a successful bidder(s), we will build in a provision that ensures that no household is left out. We already have started to work on revisions and have created a layer on the RFP map called “self-reported underserved addresses,” and are creating a form/portal to add addresses. Again, relying on self-reporting and combining data sets will not get us to the accuracy level needed to ensure 100% broadband coverage in the county. Our hope is to negotiate a contract with a vendor that allows for adding any and all households that may have been missed.
Respectfully,
Jim Northrup
Jim Northrup
Chief Information Officer
Orange County Government
Information Technologies
Desk: 1.919.245.2276
Cell: 1.252.305.6678
Did you know that it’s a proven I.T. fact that teamwork makes the dream work? Just call our Help Desk and find out. 919-245-2280 opt.1
From: Polly Dornette [mailto:polly.d...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 11:58 AM
To: Sally Greene; Earl McKee; Jim Northrup
Cc: Bob Patrick; Bonnie Hauser; Tony Blake; jkar...@yahoo.com; Evan MacGibbon; OCSBOAR...@orange.k12.nc.us; Graig Meyer; ladyb...@aol.com; ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK; Whitney Watson; Jeff.J...@ncleg.gov; monique...@orange.k12.nc.us; tgr...@heraldsun.com
Subject: [EXTERNAL MAIL!] Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
Sally, Earl, and Jim,
What more can we do as citizens to make you guys correct this map.
I complained about the old map, as did at least one of my neighbors and was assured by Jim Northup you knew this map was incorrect, and would be correcting it. Again at the Orange County Democrat social when you all were patting yourself on the back about how great a job you were doing making strides in broadband- I got up and spoke about how you continue to FAIL many of us.
After the social, I spoke to Sally & Earl privately and I once again mentioned that my neighborhood is perpetually excluded from the map showing areas of need, even writing my address (1237 Redgate) down for you and asking for confirmation that my address and my neighbors would be included on the RFP for broadband in this area.
I sent a follow up email after the event again pointing this out. I received a response from Sally (below) where I was reassured you understood my frustrations and said you were forwarding my note to Jim who would check our address was included.
The MAP YOU ARE USING IS STILL INCORRECT. Your perpetual inability to correct this error is going to ONCE AGAIN exclude my family and my neighbors from being served. You have sent this INCORRECT map out for RFP completely excluding my house and my neighbors from this service we DESPERATELY need.
Multiple ways you may be able to get a more complete picture of the residents in need.
1. Orange County Schools- has a list of all of the students who requested hotspots during remote learning. There are 3 families on redgate who had to get such devices.
2. Get the list from Open Broadband of the households still on the waitlist.
3. We have a facebook group- "Orange County Citizens without Broadband Access". Join the group- these are VOCAL residents without access. Post a question asking who still needs service- I promise they will tell you.
4. Read your email- I know I am not alone in complaining about lack of access, lack of coverage, and being excluded off of the maps. If we have reached out at the very least give us the courtesy of making sure our addresses are on THE MAP USED FOR THE RFP.
5. New option- Property tax bills- add a check box to ask if residents have broadband internet. (while you are at it, time to reduce the property taxes of us that are forced to live with 1986 internet speeds)
The offer still stands for any one of you to come spend a day working from my house. You can choose whichever of the many options we have tried/paid for/continue to be on the waitlist for .
1. Century link DSL @ 6MB Down 0.5 up. $45 a month.... when it works.
2. T-Mobile hot spot which works for about 20 minutes before it drops the line and the modem has to be rebooted.
3. School hotspot (VZW)which gets 20MB outside of school hours but is not much more than a paperweight from about 8AM to 7PM. (Paid for by OCS).
4. Open Broadband we should have been in phase 1 spring of 2019..... still on the waitlist with no updates. (hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars) 5. Starlink who took our $100 deposit several months ago, but still on the waitlist with no updates and no time line for service.
6. Riverstreet- been on the waitlist for that one for a while with zero communication.
UPDATE YOUR MAP!!!!!!!!!!
Polly Dornette & Bob Patrick
1237 Redgate Road (WHICH STILL DOES NOT HAVE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS AND STILL ISN'T INCLUDED IN THE RFP)
Dear Polly and Bob,
Earl and I very much appreciate the difficulties that poor broadband causes for your family. This is why we are working as hard as we can to make a functional 21st century solution possible. I’m forwarding your note to our staff technology director Jim Northrup, who can easily tell us whether your address is included on the map of homes within the target area.
I understand how you have come to feel jaded by now. I hear you. Before I was a county commissioner, for over a decade I was on the Chapel Hill Town Council, and in that role I personally lobbied in Raleigh against the restrictions the General Assembly was putting on local governments—to no avail, sadly, as you know. As a commissioner now with an even broader constituency, I’m taking this work very seriously, on behalf of you and so many others in your situation.
All best wishes,
Sally
Sent from my iPad
High-Speed Quick Connect Cellular
If we haven't made it to your address, and you can't wait for our residential broadband to reach your home, then you may be able to get cellular home Internet service within the next few days.
Open Broadband offers cellular high-speed Wi-Fi.
You can sign up and register an account online and we will ship you the Wi-Fi router with an active SIM card and all you need to do is plug it in.
14-Day Trial period
If you are not satisfied, you may return the unit for a full refund, (only pay for the return postage), and we will cancel your registration.*
Features and Benefits
* No installation fee
* Quick solution, just sign-up online, receive your unit in the mail, plugin, and get online
* Portable (take it on vacation, put it in your home, garage, boat, trailer, or car - may require additional power adapter)
* Connect up to 10 wireless connections at a time and use the LAN port for hard-wired connections
* Unlimited usage**
* Fixed monthly fee (no additional taxes)
* Automatic billing to your credit card or bank account draft
* No credit check
* No commitment (no long-term contract)
* No penalties for cancelation, simply notify us and return the equipment
* Once fixed-wireless is available you will be able to switch between the plans
* No equipment fees***
* Supported by Open Broadband's North Carolina based 24x7 Technical Support Help Line
* Cancel at any time*
How It Works
1. Select the plan below that best meets your needs for cost and speed.
2. Use the link for the plan you desire to create an account and provide your payment details for automatic monthly recurring charges.
3. Open Broadband will process your payment for your 1st month of service and ship your unit via USPS.
4. Once the unit arrives, plug it in near a window, verify your Internet connection and run a speed test to verify the download speed is acceptable for your needs.
5. If you are not satisfied contact us and return the unit within 14 days of receipt and we will credit your account.
Plans and Links to Sign-Up
Download Speed
Monthly Fee
Link to Sign-Up
Up to 8 Mbps
$149.99
Up to 12 Mbps
$219.99
Up to50 Mbps
$299.99
cellular-50-mbps<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__openbb.us17.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3D26f56cc7356ed10bcd14456ab-26id-3D82fa2a5586-26e-3Db6555bb481&d=DwMFaQ&c=JRU6Crajf79kKcplUJFHFfpcQ9GkS9xWLut8YRTooJY&r=nLWyTF25Mf8Zo0joWNskwyjSJRkuKx3yJNK63yr4SjY&m=az9xecgJ7XVexknunxNCTDaVKx-YsDhJnbhks6YmVsA&s=ezf09ZnDxu5e93Q7fdqBvIxueQttoNElndqsBgrZqZo&e=>
If the device works but the performance isn't as high as expected or the signal is weak, you may contact us and purchase a Technician Cellular Signal Optimization Visit for $135.00.**** During this session, the technician will determine if there is a location where an external antenna can be installed to improve signal quality, allow connections to more bands, and increase signal strength.
* Cancellation of service must be made in writing to Open Broadband within the 14-day trial period without any charges. Cancellations after 14 days will incur the current monthly charge. Canceled subscription units must be returned and received within 10 days of cancellation or a $500.00 charge will be applied to your credit card or bank account. Units and accessories must be in working order and free of physical or electronic damage (including antennas, GPS cord and module, and power supply).
** Speeds may vary or be slowed down but service will not be cut off based on usage.
*** You can connect your personal router to the integrated Ethernet LAN port or you can connect a laptop/desktop computer to it for a direct-wired connection, in addition to wireless coverage.
**** TheTechnician Cellular Signal Optimization Visit fee is non-refundable, it does not guarantee service or reception will be improved or increased. If an external antenna is needed it will be attached to the structure or pole and a cable will be run into the home, this equipment will remain the property of Open Broadband. Service and performance are strictly dependent on the carrier's signal, tower location, distance to tower, and obstructions between the tower and equipment.
[Twitter]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__openbb.us17.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3D26f56cc7356ed10bcd14456ab-26id-3Da6e6285bf3-26e-3Db6555bb481&d=DwMFaQ&c=JRU6Crajf79kKcplUJFHFfpcQ9GkS9xWLut8YRTooJY&r=nLWyTF25Mf8Zo0joWNskwyjSJRkuKx3yJNK63yr4SjY&m=az9xecgJ7XVexknunxNCTDaVKx-YsDhJnbhks6YmVsA&s=b65qZrall51-mO7QGVoPPA4ZLmktcfeyxg0ZtdiZx9A&e=>
[Website]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__openbb.us17.list-2Dmanage.com_track_click-3Fu-3D26f56cc7356ed10bcd14456ab-26id-3Dbcce1c4d93-26e-3Db6555bb481&d=DwMFaQ&c=JRU6Crajf79kKcplUJFHFfpcQ9GkS9xWLut8YRTooJY&r=nLWyTF25Mf8Zo0joWNskwyjSJRkuKx3yJNK63yr4SjY&m=az9xecgJ7XVexknunxNCTDaVKx-YsDhJnbhks6YmVsA&s=4hS998WNhjM14EXvmAy-exuoV0nRrMZEalybTUGIddI&e=>
Copyright © 2021 Open Broadband, All rights reserved.
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Jim Northrup
Team: I have been wanting to get to this email all morning. :-) I never know how much my audience knows, so forgive me if I sound too elementary in my replies or if they come off as sounding too bureaucratic. Here’ goes.
Background info: I will leave the conversation about requiring developers to build internet infrastructure to others. But, may I add that depending on where the development is, it could cost thousands or millions to do so and ultimately that cost would get passed to the homeowner. Other than broadband, all of the utilities mentioned in Whitney’s email are regulated both at the state and federal level. As mentioned, broadband is not. And, in fact the State took away any hope of counties and municipalities regulating how services were delivered when it disallowed cities, towns and counties to negotiate their own franchise agreements with internet service providers, i.e., they passed a law stating that only the state could negotiate franchise agreements. Franchise agreements are where government can tell service providers that are using town or county owned rights of way to what population density they must deploy, i.e., usually expressed as x houses within a 1 mile radius. The state controls that now. I should also note that the county does not own any rights of way, but did negotiate county franchise agreements prior to this prohibitive legislation.
With regard to the map included in the RFP and found online and as previously stated, it is not accurate. The problem here is that providers are not required to tell us where their exact broadband service area lies. The FCC does this by census bloc and the state typically follows suit. The measure is that if one household can get broadband the whole census block can get broadband. The state is actually trying to rectify this by requiring providers to be more accurate, but to date there is no legislation requiring provider to report beyond what the FCC requires. The FCC census block method is a highly inaccurate measure.
What we did in Orange County was look at FCC maps that define the various providers service areas which are a bit more accurate than the census block reckoning. We assumed wherever there was competition there was adequate broadband. We are talking about landline providers here, i.e., phone, internet and CATV providers. Spectrum has the biggest footprint in the county and wherever they are there is competition within their footprint Google, CenturyLink, AT&T and Frontier to name a few. It’s where spectrum isn’t that typically only has one provider. In the county’s case, it would be Frontier, CenturyLink or AT&T and those providers are only offering DSL service which by design does not scale well. So, that was the genesis of the county map. Wild guess time!!! If I were to guess at its accuracy, I would put it at 94% to 96% accurate. That means given the 5200 households identified there are hundreds of households that may fall through the cracks. I can tell you that no one on county staff nor any Board member that has said this is acceptable. I hope I didn’t sound too defensive with my last sentence. :-)
In fact, when we get our current RFP responses back from providers, the intention is to ensure that the inaccuracy of the map is compensated for in some way. We haven’t figure that out yet, because if any of the incumbent providers respond, they may state that they will take care of all households within their service area and beyond to include all of the rural areas, thereby elevating this issue. In our July provider meeting, Spectrum came out and stated that if they won that bid they would guarantee a certain level of service to every household in Orange County. Let me add that was the sales team talking and the only way to ensure every household in need get broadband is through the contract process.
In terms of keeping track of development that improves broadband throughout the county, the county does not keep track of that. What we do keep track of is folks that have called stating they don’t have adequate service. We then try to pair them with a provider in the county that can either help them straight away or that can give them a price to bring service to their house or neighborhood. These conversations are not always good news, but every now and then we get a win where the cost of entry is low enough for the homeowner to justify brining new service to their family/household.
May I also add that every one of these service providers knows how much it will cost to bring internet to their service area and beyond. The problem as they see it is that there is not enough density to support that amount of infrastructure. Often this is called the profit motive, but without sounding like I am on the side of providers, it does cost a certain amount of money to maintain infrastructure and in rural areas, they may not even breakeven on some installations let alone generate a profit. This is a good time to mention that’s where the federal government has stepped in recently and offered ARPA money to state and local governments to incentivize providers to build out this sorely lacking infrastructure. And, ARPA money is what’s driving the current RFP.
Polly and Whitney: I think I answered your questions and I truly hope that this message was received in the helpful spirit it was intended. The county has spent thousands of hours working on this problem and we are closer than we ever have been, but as has been stated in previous emails, we have so much further to go. This email conversation alone has help us prioritize how we make sure that those households that are not on the map don’t get lost in the shuffle when it comes time to work with providers.
Jim Northrup
Chief Information Officer
Orange County Government
Information Technologies
Desk: 1.919.245.2276
Cell: 1.252.305.6678
Did you know that it’s a proven I.T. fact that teamwork makes the dream work? Just call our Help Desk and find out. 919-245-2280 opt.1
From: Watson [mailto:whit...@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 8:41 PM
To: Jim Northrup
Cc: Polly Dornette; Sally Greene; Earl McKee; Bob Patrick; Bonnie Hauser; Tony Blake; jkar...@yahoo.com; Evan MacGibbon; OCSBOAR...@orange.k12.nc.us; Graig Meyer; ladyb...@aol.com; ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK; Jeff.J...@ncleg.gov; monique...@orange.k12.nc.us;
tgr...@heraldsun.com
Subject: [EXTERNAL MAIL!] Re: Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
Jim,
Thank you for your reply to Polly and points she raised about the accuracy of the map and the sad distribution of broadband access across the county.
I live on Doe Run Rd and am currently settling for Centurylink’s 6MBS service. There may be a few of my neighbors that live close enough to Mill Creek to have the option of Spectrum but even that is not likely to be much faster.
Of course, about a mile away are two new developments, Havenstone and the Retreat at Lake Michael. I watched as all the infrastructure (water, sewer, electrical, phone and broad band) was put in place but no one reached out to the surrounding residents to offer to extend the service while all the equipment and people were onsite. This is an area of failure that the County and the City of Mebane (these developments started out in the ETJ for Mebane) could have addressed when the request for development was brought in front of either government. Make granting approval conditional on building out broadband a mile, a half-mile beyond the limits of the development would see an increase in service areas. In this case, the map is correct - those developments are supported by broad band.
While 100% accuracy would be great, something approaching 75-80% would provide so much more information for bidders to use in calculating their costs and potential income. Looking at the map and seeing big swaths that appear not to need broadband and that are not connected to the areas identified could be really discouraging. And really expensive for the County as these areas become add-ons to the original contract.
I don’t know that having a self-reporting portal will provide much of an increase in the accuracy of the map. Too many people are suspicious of government entities collecting information. My wife worked for the census and was greeted with some very hostile residents that did not want “to confirm or deny” that they even lived at the residence where the interview was taking place. So getting more data that way could be a challenge.
What I have not seen is any explanation of how the map came to be created. Could you explain how the data was collected and turned into the map? And what is being done to keep it updated as new developments are planned and implemented?
Please keep me on the list and let me know how I can add my address to the map.
On Sep 20, 2021, at 6:24 PM, Jim Northrup <jnor...@orangecountync.gov> wrote:
Dear Polly and Bob,
Thank you for your email expressing your concerns on broadband and the lack thereof in Orange County.
<image001.png>
Todd McGee
Polly,
Thanks for your email. We have forwarded your address to the team at NorthState to check if you are in their proposed service area. The company intends to provide service to a much larger footprint than the areas identified by Orange County. We will let you know as soon as we hear something back from NorthState.
Todd McGee
Orange County Community Relations Director
(919) 245-2302 (office)
(984) 220-5412 (cell)
From: Polly Dornette <polly.d...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 11:16 AM
To: Jim Northrup <jnor...@orangecountync.gov>
Cc: Watson <whit...@earthlink.net>; Sally Greene <sgr...@orangecountync.gov>; Earl McKee <emc...@orangecountync.gov>; Bob Patrick <packm...@gmail.com>; Bonnie Hauser <bonnie...@gmail.com>; Tony Blake <Tony...@nc.rr.com>; jkar...@yahoo.com;
Evan MacGibbon <evan.ma...@gmail.com>; OCSBOAR...@orange.k12.nc.us; Graig Meyer <graig...@gmail.com>; ladyb...@aol.com; ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>; Jeff.J...@ncleg.gov; tgr...@heraldsun.com
Subject: [EXTERNAL MAIL!] Re: Re: Re: Fwd: Option for those on the broadband waitlist
I was very excited when I woke up this morning and the story in the News and Observer and in the update from the county of the deal Orange county made with NorthState Communications.
But right now words cannot possibly express how INCREDIBLY PISSED OFF I am after reviewing the documents specifically looking at the list of "mutually agreed on addresses" to find that not only my address, but all of the addresses on my street were left off of the agreement. https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19743/6-a-1B---Mutually-Agreed-Service-Sites
I see the line in the contract where you state "Any address points that were inadvertently omitted from Attachment B, but are in the coverage area, will be added to the list of addresses covered automatically."
The omission is no longer inadvertent. At this point I really can't decide if there is an unprecedented level of incompetence by those who compiled this list or if there is a concious vendetta against our community.
- I personally have sent countless emails about the incorrect map that was used. YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD CORRECT THAT.
- When you came up with the more detailed address map I again pointed out that my neighborhood was excluded. YOU SAID WE COULD ADD OUR ON ADDRESSES TO UPDATE THE LIST.
- I added my address to the map, I encouraged all of my neighbors to do the same and even assisted some neighbors with the task.
- Even though I'm an unaffiliated voter, I attended the Democratic Summer Social that was about Broadband. I got up to speak to express the frustration of myself and so many of our neighbors. I talked to Sally and Earl at length after the meeting. AGAIN WE WERE ASSURED WE WOULD BE INCLUDED.
- I talked to Earl after the candidate forum at the Ruritan Club, he told me I would be pleased with what was in the works. WELL LET ME TELL YOU I AM NOT PLEASED!
What's more we appear to be omitted in the service area map, so I don't think we would even be covered by your footnote.
AGAIN I ASK WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO BE INCLUDED. WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET BROADBAND SERVICE WE SO DESPERATELY NEED. We do not trust being included as a footnote of the forgotten. You have no problem finding our address to send our tax bill to us, why
is this so difficult.
Polly Dornette
1237 REDGATE ROAD (1237 RED GATE ROAD)
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Polly Dornette
The omission is no longer inadvertent. At this point I really can't decide if there is an unprecedented level of incompetence by those who compiled this list or if there is a concious vendetta against our community.
- I personally have sent countless emails about the incorrect map that was used. YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD CORRECT THAT.
- When you came up with the more detailed address map I again pointed out that my neighborhood was excluded. YOU SAID WE COULD ADD OUR ON ADDRESSES TO UPDATE THE LIST.
- I added my address to the map, I encouraged all of my neighbors to do the same and even assisted some neighbors with the task.
- Even though I'm an unaffiliated voter, I attended the Democratic Summer Social that was about Broadband. I got up to speak to express the frustration of myself and so many of our neighbors. I talked to Sally and Earl at length after the meeting. AGAIN WE WERE ASSURED WE WOULD BE INCLUDED.
- I talked to Earl after the candidate forum at the Ruritan Club, he told me I would be pleased with what was in the works. WELL LET ME TELL YOU I AM NOT PLEASED!
AGAIN I ASK WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO BE INCLUDED. WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET BROADBAND SERVICE WE SO DESPERATELY NEED. We do not trust being included as a footnote of the forgotten. You have no problem finding our address to send our tax bill to us, why is this so difficult.