Everyone’s heard about it, everyone’s talking about it: Allconet and Allconet2. Your Chamber has been busy learning about the people, technology and business implications of Allconet. Here is a briefing in question and answer format to bring you up-to-date.

What is Allconet?

Allconet is the Allegany County wireless network serving public entities, schools, and non-profit community organizations in Allegany County with data management and internet connection.

Who is Allconet?

The four partners who created and administer Allconet are the Allegany County Library System, Allegany County Public Schools, the Allegany County Government and the City of Cumberland. The chief technologists and managers of the system are Jeff Blank, (Board of Education) Beth Thomas, (Allegany County Government) and Robert Hall (Allegany County Library System).

How is Allconet Organized?

Allconet is a type of joint venture of its partners. The relationship among the partners and their responsibilities are documented in a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) that outlines the responsibilities of the partners.

Why was Allconet created?

Allconet was created as an alternative to connecting schools, libraries and other agencies using leased wire lines from the telephone company at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Allconet subscribers, using wireless gear, pay a small annual fee for equipment maintenance and repair. One of the goals of Allconet -and one that has been accomplished- is no ongoing cost. Not one additional employee has been hired to operate, maintain or administer the system. It has, therefore, been both an effective communications and cost control tool.

What is Allconet2? How is it different from Allconet?

Allconet2 is a technological and economic evolution of Allconet. Technically, it provides the same speed, security, and reliability as a metropolitan area fiber-optic network. In fact, it is so advanced that it has been the subject of new stories in the New York Times and will be featured on the Tech-TV network. As an economic development tool, it is designed for private as well as public sector use.

What is the Economic Impact of Allconet2?

New employers considering Allegany County as a business location see many advantages, including natural resource availability, good roads, a first-rate labor market, excellent schools and a low crime rate. Over the past decade, another resource has become essential: high-speed, high capacity data transmission. Traditionally, this capability has been the domain of the telephone companies who have invested heavily in the urban areas where most of their customers are located and where a reasonable return on investment is assured. Building capacity in more sparsely populated rural areas is expensive and the cost to subscribers must therefore be higher to recoup the investment. Until Allconet2, Allegany County, as a rural area, therefore could not provide the capacity required by the employers and businesses we would most like to attract.

Realizing the impact of this disadvantage on our local economy, Allconet2 planners designed a data network and internet conduit that is both technologically and economically superior to its counterparts in the urban markets. It is technically superior in that it is purpose-built from the ground up to provide speed, redundancy, capacity and security to its users, as opposed to being comprised of older networks that are merely adapted to such use. It is economically superior because it is a non-profit utility whose income is dedicated to maintenance and improvement of the system on behalf of its subscribers, as opposed to generating pure profit. The bottom line is that high technology can now be added to all the other reasons a business would locate here.

But Will Allconet compete with local internet providers?

On the contrary, Allconet2 will rely exclusively on the local providers, such as TWR and Pharmacare, to provide the connections between the private sector users and the Allconet2 network.

How much will Allconet2 cost?

Approximately $4.5-4.9 million, assuming it is fully funded.

Who is paying for all this? Is the funding at hand? Suppose the full amount doesn’t come through?

A number of sources have been approached for money, including the State of Maryland, local government, and the Universal Service Fund In the event that a lesser amount than that requested is funded, portions of the network can be built and made operational. So far, about half the project has been funded by State and local sources.

Are local companies involved in supplying equipment or services?

Yes. Local companies won the bid for the entire equipment portion of the project and much of the installation work. That, in and of itself, will inject over $2 million into the local economy. The other portion of the bid -the communications link to the internet itself- has been tentatively awarded to AT&T.

Why wasn't this done sooner?

Cost and Availability: Expensive as this project is, it reflects the greatly reduced cost of wireless technology that has been achieved over the past 18 months. A data radio costs about $25,000 and covers 11 miles of territory. Some months ago the same radio would have cost 4 times that amount. And just a few months prior to that, the radio did not exist at all in non-military applications. By contrast, the cost of acquiring right-of-way and digging trenches for fibre lines to fan out across 11 miles would run into hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for just one point-to-point connection. At under $5 million, Allconet2 now falls into the range of what is possible as a budgetary consideration. Bottom line: the timing is right, right now.

Where do we go from here?

Everyone who supports the Allconet2 concept should let their voices be heard. Add your voice to the ground swell of support by sending a letter to the Chamber of Commerce, to the editor of the paper, and to local and State legislators (we can give you the addresses). Join the Chamber’s Allconet2 Committee to keep informed of developments and help develop the promotional efforts among potential new employers and set guidelines for private-sector use.

Where Can I learn More?

The Chamber will keep you advised of our Allconet meeting schedule through the newsletter and media. Otherwise, check out the Allconet website at www.allconet.org. Feel free to contact us at any time with questions, comments, ideas and suggestions.