Frontier Says ‘Faster Internet Coming To Orchard’

Natalie Bruzon
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Living in a rural community has dozens of benefits. 

Friendly people, peaceful nights and safety, to name a few. 

However, just like in any community, there are also areas of improvement. Primary amongst these is slow Internet. 

All around the world, Internet is quickly shifting from being considered a “luxury” to being classified as a necessity. In fact, over the summer a federal court ruled to define it as a utility. 

What does this mean? Well, for one it means that every citizen has a right to quality Internet. 

According to Cullen Robbins, Director of Communications for the Nebraska Public Service Commissions, this also means that Internet companies will eventually be held to a higher standard of service. 

But, just like anything else, it will take time. 

“There are service quality standards and rates are regulated so that people in the country aren’t spending hundreds of dollars more a month on their service compared to someone in the city,” explained Robbins. “The Public Service Commission is one of the regulatory agencies to ensure that happens . . . (But) sometimes technology can outpace what regulatory bodies were set up to do.”

Although it may take some time before Internet companies have to answer to a higher standard, the state and federal governments have been working together to improve Internet out to smaller communities. 

“There are a lot of different ways the federal government and state have looked at to build out broadband through their universal service funds,” Robbins said. “The federal government has their own and the state has their own, and goals are kind of the same and made to be complementary, to bring broadband to places that don’t have it or don’t have very good broadband. One of the federal programs currently in progress is for companies like Frontier. Frontier has accepted funds to build out broadband specifically in the area around Orchard but that’s not to say it wouldn’t also provide a benefit to Orchard. That’s called the Connect America Fund.”


Connect America Fund
The Connect America Fund (CAF) is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program designed to bring broadband to unserved and under-served parts of the U.S. The program has six phases, and Frontier is currently in phase two. The FCC offered money to “Price Cap” carriers such as Frontier to deliver broadband to eligible areas at a minimum speed of 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload.  

“Frontier has accepted the money in Nebraska, which means they will be building out to a certain percentage of eligible areas,” said Robbins.

A map sent by Robbins showed the areas Frontier will be improving Internet in, which did not include Orchard. However, Christine Reaps, Media representative for Frontier, said that the company does have plans to bring faster Internet through Fiber lines to Orchard by 2020, through CAF.

“The FCC established a CAF in 2011 to support broadband expansion in high cost areas,” Reap explained. “We are now in CAF phase 2. It is a six year program that started in 2015 and runs until 2020. The FCC determined what the eligible census blocks are based on the national broadband map, and Orchard is in an eligible census block.”

According to Reap, faster Internet is coming, but it could be a few years. “In Nebraska, Frontier has accepted CAF support. It is 1.9 million dollars a year for the six years and there are 2349 households in Nebraska in eligible census blocks to be served. We have very specific build-out milestones. We must build out by the end of 2017 to 949 households in Nebraska . . . and 100% (of the households) by the end of 2020.”

Reap explained that getting faster Internet to Orchard will be a long and expensive process. 

“For Orchard, it means re-engineering a fiber line that will serve Orchard from Columbus. That is the stage we are in now,” Reap said. “The pipe from Columbus to Orchard needs to be re-engineered and upgraded in order for Orchard to be turned up. Weather, finance capability (Frontier Capital Expenditures in addition to CAF money), engineering studies and other necessary steps to complete the work. There are penalties for failure to meet milestones which mean FCC support would be reduced.”

What about now?
While it’s good to know that faster Internet will come to Orchard, residents have been asking for answers to the immediate problem. 

Currently, Orchard residents are offered up to ULTRA speed by Frontier, which is 10 Mbps. However, various residents have questioned whether or not those speeds are actually available in the area, considering the current technology.

According to Reap, Frontier representatives have a map which tells them what speeds are available in what areas, and that map is reliable. 

“Reach out to Frontier and they will be sure that customers are on the correct package for their particular circumstance,” said Reap. “Customer service has information in the system that pinpoints specific locations and specific speeds.”

Orchard customers have had different levels of experience with Frontier, but one thing is for sure—the town needs better Internet. 

“Frontier, of course, understands how anxious customers are for broadband speeds and what the capabilities and enhancement to their lives it offers,” said Reap. “We are working as quickly as possible to bring those type of benefits to as many customers as we can.”

Faster Internet will not only improve the quality of the individual lives, but it will also make Orchard a more desirable destination and future home. 

In 2014, Nebraska Public Service Commission in conjunction with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and other state organizations, published a workbook aimed at helping communities understand how Internet works and the importance of quality broadband. 

“With an increasingly mobile population, communities need to offer a high quality of life in order to attract and retain population,” said the workbook. “For many individuals--especially young adults and professionals--broadband is an important requirement in choosing a community. 

Many questions remained unanswered, such as when Orchard can expect faster Internet and whether or not residents can access the faster speeds currently advertised by Frontier. 

However, one thing remains clear—residents can take steps to ensure faster Internet makes its way to Orchard. 

The Broadband Workbook suggests communities form a council dedicated to ensuring villages have up-to-date technology, and if the improvement Frontier is making aren’t enough, the state offers grants to villages such as Orchard to improve the quality of Internet.