One Simple Way to Expedite Your Rural Broadband Network
Rural Canadians have wanted better internet for years. It’s not a new problem, but now it’s an urgent one. Remote work, virtual learning, telehealth, and online social events are no longer the “trendy” or “next-gen” option. They’re now the only way to stay connected and receive essential services.
Rural Canadians want better broadband now. Unfortunately for their community leaders, that’s easier said than done. It takes time to research the problem, understand the options, apply for funding, create plans, and build a network. But what if you could expedite that process?
Read on to learn the three phases of building a rural broadband network – and one simple way to expedite the process without sacrificing the quality of your solution.
Three Phases of Building a Rural Broadband Network
There are many, many steps to planning and building a rural broadband network. However, it can help community leaders to think of all those steps as falling into three general phases.
In the first phase, you’ll identify your community’s needs. Your rural community is unique, and the network solutions that worked for another area may not work for yours. Before you dive into plans, you’ll need to do some real-world accounting of your area’s need for broadband. You’ll answer questions like: How big is your community? What are the potential take rate and revenue for a broadband network?
In this phase, you’ll also document ways a network could stimulate job creation, improve education options, increase access to important social services, and stimulate the economy. All these ideas can help you plan with confidence, better understand the potential ROI, and strengthen your rural broadband funding applications.
In the second phase, you’ll create a custom roadmap and business model. With your initial research done, you’re ready to move into engineering studies and network designs. You’ll need a technical plan for building out the necessary infrastructure to ensure the network reaches every member of your community.
You’ll also need a profitable business model. This requires sifting through the various rural broadband funding resources and formulating a plan to generate revenue that stays in the community.
In the third phase, you’ll build a rural broadband network. If you do your homework in the first two phases, this will be a high-quality, revenue-generating network that serves your community for decades to come.
Building a broadband network, especially in rugged or remote rural areas, is a technological challenge. You’ll need various experts, including technology partners, a project manager, a construction contractor, a managed service provider, and other partners who can provide necessary services along the way.
Each stage requires you, the leader, to research the options and ensure the desired outcomes for your community. This can be overwhelming and time-intensive unless you have a trusted guide who can walk you through the process. That’s where we come in.
The ROCK Networks Consortium Differentiator
At ROCK Networks, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between building a network quickly and building it the right way. That’s why we offer a unique Community Broadband Networks program for rural leaders. It’s also why we formed Canada’s first rural broadband consortium. In it, we bring together best-in-class communication companies and experts, so you can quickly identify trusted industry leaders that can serve your community well.
Our rural broadband consortium gives rural leaders like you…
✓ Easy Access to Industry Leaders – You could spend weeks and months finding and screening partners, or you could expedite the process and connect directly with trusted industry leaders. Our consortium includes global leaders in communication technology, infrastructure, smart city capital/planning, and more. We give you peace of mind that you’re putting your plans and your network in the best of hands.
✓ Outcome-Based Models – Your goal is to enable as many gigabit connections as possible while ensuring economic feasibility. We work with you to achieve that goal. We give you agency in the decision-making process while helping you review monetization models and expected outcomes. This enables you to know what to expect from your decisions.
✓ Risk Mitigation – There are three types of risks when building a rural broadband network: there’s the delivery risk that your construction or tech partners won’t properly deliver on your engineering plans; the technology risk that your technology will be inadequate for your particular needs, either immediately or just a few years down the road; and the financial risk that you won’t get a proper return on your investment. Our consortium partners help you identify and mitigate all three types of risk for a smoother, more successful build.
✓ Complete Solution – Each phase of planning requires a different set of experts and consultants. We can fill many of those roles, and for those we can’t, we directly connect you to the best companies that can. This provides a complete, end-to-end solution for your network planning and build.
We understand that rural broadband is an urgent problem but not one that should be solved haphazardly. Our program and consortium help leaders like you “short-circuit” the process to get rural networks built faster without sacrificing quality plans, technology, or partners.
Start Connecting Your Community Today
As rural Canada continues to adjust to the effects of COVID-19, we know you’re under pressure to get your community connected quickly. We also know how important it is to build a network correctly, so it’s not overpriced, inadequate, or simply outdated again in just five or ten years. You need a solution that will serve your entire community well for decades to come.
We believe in rural Canada, and we’re here to make rural broadband networks easier for leaders like you. From our initial free consultation to the day you launch a revenue-generating network, we’re here to serve as your guide.
Don’t make this process longer or harder than it needs to be – let us help! Take the first step today. Call 1.877.721.7070 or email sales@rocknetworks.com to schedule your free consultation. We’re here for you.
