The author has traveled at least 15,000 miles around the state of Colorado establishing 17 Local Broadband Planning Teams covering 42 of the state's 64 counties for the purposes of improving the local broadband environment of the state's rural and remote communities. An unscientific approach to determining the speed of the internet infrastructure for a given community is to pose the question "Can you stream Netflix?" If not, then the simple assumption is that broadband, as defined by the FCC, is not available in that community. In addition, the author has collected thousands of speed test surveys from across the state and, very simply put, determined that broadband is not available for some majority of the state's rural and remote communities. What is a community to do if broadband is not available to them? It is important for community leaders to realize that, without taking action themselves, they may be dependent on Wall Street or Washington for a solution that may not come. Those communities that realize that broadband is a utility just like power, water, roads, etc., and establish control over their broadband environment will succeed in enjoying access to 21st century healthcare, education, public safety and economic development, and, of course, a positive Netflix HD (and like services) streaming experience. This book explains a five-step process (the "5 A's") for communities that seek to gain control of their broadband environment. Breaking a generations-long cycle of dependence on outside entities to plan, fund and build telecommunications infrastructure is not easy. In Colorado, a number of rural and remote communities have embraced "the 5 A's" described in this book and have either succeeded or are in the process of gaining control over their broadband environment. It is hoped that this book can guide communities around the world in gaining control of their broadband environment and enjoy all that 21st century broadband has to offer. By applying the "5A's" and adhering to a three-part mantra of a) all solutions are local b) no one size fits all and c) it does NOT cost millions of dollars to bring broadband to rural or remote communities any community can succeed in gaining control of their broadband environment.
About the Author: Frank Ohrtman has almost 20 years experience in telecommunications. Some of his "firsts" include: a) sold some of the world's first VoIP switches for Netrix Corporation, b) deployed the first WiMAX network in Colorado c) established some of the nation's first Local Broadband Planning Teams (a total of 17) covering 42 of Colorado's 64 counties d) compiled Colorado's first comprehensive database of community anchor institutions and their respective internet speeds and e) facilitated the founding of Colorado's first rural broadband co-operatives. As President of WMX Systems, Mr. Ohrtman wrote 3 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant applications; all 3 applications recommended by respective state governors for funding. He has served as a consultant on projects for Government of Canada, Tricom (Dominican Republic), WorldNet, (Puerto Rico), Hatifcom (Abu Dhabi), San Isabel Telecom, and Rocky Mountain Broadband. Frank has been a guest speaker at 4G World, WiMAX World, InterOp, Voice on the Net (US and Mexico) as well as Schools, Health, Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) conference. Mr. Ohrtman has an extensive publications list including McGraw-Hill publications: WiMAX Handbook, Wi-Fi Handbook and Softswitch: Architecture for VoIP. He may be best known for his self-published work I'll Vote for You If You Make My iPhone Work. Frank is a former Naval Intelligence Officer who specialized in electronic warfare. He holds a Master of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Telecommunications from University of Colorado, a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University, and a bachelor's degree in Political Science from University of Iowa.