White-Space Tech Strikes Gold In Rural California County

Cal.net, a wireless Internet provider (WISP) serving rural El Dorado County in California’s Gold Country, cut over what it says is the first U.S. independently funded, commercial-grade TV White Space (TVWS) broadband network, powered by a Carlson RuralConnect system, which began shipping just last month. “Over 59,000 residents in our rural service area have had little or no quality Internet access,” notes Cal.net CTO Ken Garnett, who began investigating white-space technology several years ago as a way of improving connectivity. Carlson, a public-safety-communications provider that says it specializes in rugged-terrain installations, teamed with Cal.net to begin testing the system when the WISP obtained a FCC-granted Special Temporary Authority. Today, the white-space network comprises multiple transmission sites that deliver broadband to several hundred subscribers. One of them is David Coody, owner of the Camino-based Jack Russell Brewery, who crows, “This is a very effective tool for my business. Video conferencing was smoother than satellite, and I’m not hamstrung by its limitations.”