The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, most commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, has been expanding broadband internet access across Wyoming. But is it possible in the vast untamed lands of this state to bring high speed connection to every rural resident? That’s the major challenge sparking a conversation about internet access on the frontier.
In the Woods Landing area a few miles southwest of Laramie, Mike Gray took me out to meet his wife Christine who had just finished up a telehealth meeting with one of her clients.
“So it’s kind of funny, the Zoom got goofed up, and so I had to go over [on time], and I was like, ‘He’s coming out to talk about that!’” Christine, who’s a psychologist, laughed.
Mike relies on the internet too as a graphic designer. Although you’re more likely to find them working in their Yurt or their home instead of a traditional office. Their little compound, as Mike calls it, is extremely rural. But that means the internet infrastructure is rural as well, and getting reliable internet is critical for both of their jobs.
That changed when one day, Mike looked up at the sky.
“We were in Saratoga in the hot tub and all of a sudden, 80 satellites go over in a row and were like ‘What is that?’” Mike said. “And we thought it was, like, a nuclear strike or something and someone goes “No, that’s Starlink.’ And we’re like, ‘What is Starlink?’”
Like having your own personal radio tower, Starlink connects you to a system of low-earth satellites via a tiny square dish device. For some, Starlink has been one of the few options for receiving any kind of reasonable internet speeds outside of the state’s few cities. And according to Christine, everyone uses the internet now, including rural communities.
“I almost like human rights, public health issues, is almost how I think of it,” she said. “Because kids with school, people with work, this is something you need to have in this day and age.”
This is the same argument the federal government is making, and it’s why the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed. It will give states money in an effort to bring all of their residents online with high speed internet, primarily through fiber-optic cables. But not everyone agrees on the best way to carry that out in a state like Wyoming.
Thomas Lacock is the AARP’s Associate Director of Communications and Advocacy for Wyoming. He believes a powerful, high-speed, fiber-optic network will improve the economic and health experiences for all Wyoming residents.
“So I think right now what we’re aiming for, just to start with, is a basic level of service where people can pay bills, people can shop, people can do business as they see fit,” said Lacock.
According to Lacock, to take care of all Wyomingites fairly and equally, investments have to be made.
“It is a big spend. There’s a philosophical debate that's being waged along those lines. And you have a number of folks that will say that’s kind of the cost of doing business in Wyoming, is you learn to live in these open spaces that unfortunately don’t have access to services,” he said. “And so is that something that we want to spend money on, state and federally? And for some people, the answer is no. For most of my members that we’ve talked to that answer is yes.”
However, not everyone thinks the flashy price tag for fiber is worth it. Like Brett Glass. Glass created Lariat, a wireless broadband company, which he says was the first of its kind, in 1992. He prefers practicality over power, saying there are more efficient ways to provide internet access to those who want it. But he’s not a fan of how the feds focus on fiber for everyone everywhere.
“I think that's a mistake. We should spend the money where there's demand, not where we’re subsidizing something that people don't want or need,” said Glass. “The question is, is your cell phone adequate or do you need a very high speed connection to where you live? And, again, only an individual can tell that. This is one of the reasons why our programs should be pull rather than push.”
The cost for fiber-optic broadband installation can be $1 million per mile sometimes. An 11 mile project to get internet to residents in Oriva Hills near Gillette is projected to cost $3 million. But then that community would be connected with high speeds and, eventually, the high cost of upkeep. The Biden administration wants to subsidize that cost through a program called the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD). BEAD mandates that there be a plan for 100 percent of people in Wyoming to get internet access. In addition, the federal government will give the state $348 million to do it. But it’ll cost a lot more than that.
One of the key coordinators handling the plan is Elaine Zempel, the head of the Wyoming Broadband Office on the Wyoming Business Council. She says despite the cost, there are options.
“There's not enough money to build it out with fiber. Matter of fact, we’re really short on the amount of money to build it out with fiber,” Zempel explained. “So there's still a place for satellites or fixed wireless. But there's cost associated with fixed wireless when you're talking about building towers or upgrading electronics or different things like that. And you can’t get around the hill.”
And that's what it comes down to. There needs to be some form of connection that can get around the many hills and mountains that make Wyoming such a unique case for federal investments of this magnitude.
Editor’s note: Mike Gray is an employee of Wyoming Public Media.
