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Yuma County Community Telecom Assessment
Manweiler Telecom Consulting, LLC - 1 -
Yuma County Community Telecom Assessment
Manweiler Telecom Consulting, LLC - 2 -
Yuma County Community Telecom Assessment
Manweiler Telecom Consulting, LLC - 3 -
The Arizona Partnership for the New Economy ( APNE) was established to study Arizona's
economic preparedness and make recommendations to improve the state's ability to compete in
the global, technology- based economy. APNE identified the development of
telecommunications infrastructure in small and rural communities as a top priority. The State of
Arizona appropriated funds to the Department of Commerce to implement various
recommendations of APNE. As a part of their implementation, they set up a Community
Telecommunications Assessment program ( CTA). The Department of Commerce encouraged
regional applications for these CTA assistance grant funds. The State assistance was intended
to enable small and rural Arizona communities to identify localized market- driven strategies to
encourage private telecommunications providers to build out their network of
telecommunications infrastructure and services or other means of providing access.
The Yuma County Community Telecom Assessment ( CTA) Project was one of the recipients of
these CTA assistance grants from the Department of Commerce ( DOC) Rural Arizona
Community Telecommunications Assessment ( CTA) program. In August of 2003, Yuma County
contracted for the preparation of this Community Telecommunications Assessment.
This CTA Report is intended to present an overview of the recent state of network technology
development and use in Yuma County and to identify a variety of infrastructure development
and funding options to accelerate the introduction of higher- bandwidth telecommunication
services in the County. However, in light of difficulties presented by the current economic
environment, the plan is also structured to support creative incremental investments in
extending and building improvements in telecommunications infrastructure.
This report presents a snapshot view of recent telecommunications infrastructure development
and use in the county. It also identifies problematic areas for infrastructure development and
maps interest and demand for enhanced services for specific locations and the county as a
This report discovered several development initiatives by large stakeholder organizations ( the
City, County, YEC, WAC/ NAU, and large school districts) and significant impending DS- 3 level
connectivity demand that could, combined, leverage substantial public infrastructure
development in Yuma County. Two large- scale infrastructure development possibilities are
1. Establishing a county internet access center or " GigaPop" in Yuma around the current OC- 3
level internet access demand in the county, to provide true commodity pricing ( eventually
$ 100/ Mb or less) of internet access to key organization participants currently ready for DS- 3
connectivity and to other, smaller organizations ready to break through the T- 1 barrier.
This would be facilitated by:
2. A county- wide network, centered on a fiber optic partnership between the City and County
governments in Yuma, targeted to supply a wide area gigabit Ethernet capability. The
extensions of this network to other Yuma County towns may be hybrids of dedicated circuits
and wireless DS- 3 segments, but the target, over time, would be to move toward a
countywide, public fiber optic network resource. The municipal and county government roles
would also require long term incentives to build at all trenching opportunities and to
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encourage residential and commercial development to include compatible sub-infrastructures.
This report suggests a number of smaller- scale activities ( general and specific) that the Yuma
Technology Consortium might undertake to incrementally improve the public
telecommunications infrastructure in Yuma County and in each community within the county.
Upon determination of which of the recommended alternatives in this plan the Consortium
wishes to pursue, it may generate grant funding proposals, publish a Request for Proposal ( a
RFP) for vendors, evaluate responses, and make a contract award for the implementation of
telecommunication infrastructure improvements detailed in this plan.
The report also points out the key importance of governance for any ongoing implementation of
suggestions and ideas that may be adopted from this plan. Particulars on a detailed governance
structure are presented for reference. Included in those details are goals, objectives and
activities that the governing entity and/ or its sub- committees might undertake to advance the
deployment of broadband infrastructure and access in Yuma County.
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The quest for information technology efficiencies is a key issue for the Arizona Department of
Administration's Arizona Telecommunications System ( ATS). These efficiencies are listed as
Strategic issue # 2 in the ADOA Strategic Plan for FY 2004 - FY 2008:
Problem: Current thinking and action by public and private organizations envision that a
single provider of data, voice, and video platforms is often the most cost- effective means
of technology efficiency. It is imperative that opportunities to consolidate the delivery of
technology support for business solutions and to provide outstanding service delivery be
continuously explored and utilized whenever possible.
[ ADOA Strategic Plan FY 2004- Fy2008; p 9]
In 2002, ADOA and the Government Information Technology Agency were required by House
Bill 2706 to prepare a report examining a number of options, including privatization,
centralization, and public- private partnerships to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of
the Arizona Telecommunications System. The task included reviewing State
telecommunications options and submitting a plan to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
( JLBC) by November 1, 2002. All options developed were intended to improve service delivery
and increase the fiscal efficiency of Arizona statewide telecommunications services. The report
included the following brief network description and a schematic diagram [ see Appendix L]:
In its role as the primary provider of voice and data telecommunications services to State
agencies, ATS has evolved a physical architecture for service delivery that reflects the
concentration of State agency headquarters and major offices in the Phoenix and
Tucson areas. The Capitol Mall in central Phoenix and the State complex in downtown
Tucson have State- owned conduits and fiber optic and copper cabling throughout each
facility. The Phoenix Capitol Mall and Tucson Complex are tied together by a redundant
inter- LATA ( Local Access and Transport Area) high- speed OC- 3 service leased from a
major inter- exchange carrier. Additional leased circuits provide voice and data
communications to many agency field offices throughout Arizona.
The report characterized its recommendation as " a radical departure from the existing service
delivery model." The report recommended that Arizona State Government should pursue either
a Shared Service or Privatized service delivery model [ detailed in the body of the report, found
at http:// www. ats. state. az. us/ JLBCrpt/ JLBC_ Report. pdf ]. An Alternative Privatization scenario,
private ownership of assets, was favored by GITA; however, an ADOA cost evaluation
contained in the body of the report concluded that the Privatized model appeared to offer more
The report extensively researched the cost issues of privatization and presented the following
three recommendations:
Arizona State Government Needs to:
Adopt a centralized governance model with strong executive authority and legislative
Depending on which method of privatization is selected, centralized
telecommunications funding to leverage resources and gain greater accountability
may be desirable.
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Strongly consider the resources available in the private sector either through an
outsource ( leveraging the economies of scale available through the public/ private
partnership) or co- source ( shared services) to improve efficiency, acquire expertise
and ease the financial burden.
[ from the Executive Summary, Statewide Telecommunications Services; Report to:
Joint Legislative Budget Committee - Arizona Telecommunications Services;
November 2002; second printing.]
The emphasis of the report on cost savings, rather than on targeting greater value for current
levels of investment, bodes ill for the potential for State infrastructure investment generating
collateral benefits such as accelerated broadband access for rural areas. Specifically, the
report did not address the potential for the State to serve as " anchor tenant" in rural areas,
leveraging its telecommunications infrastructure investment to the benefit of other local
telecommunications service users, a strategy that has proved successful in other Qwest- served
States, notably Colorado.
The ADOA Strategic plan further elaborates the need for consolidation and elimination of waste
in the delivery of services:
It is the belief of ADOA that current approaches to telecommunications in particular, and
to a lesser extent data technologies, consist of unnecessary duplication, overlap, and
waste. We are in the process of working with the State agencies to identify opportunities
for consolidation. Once potential opportunities are identified for increased cost
effectiveness, it is critical that all potential solutions be thoroughly researched, analyzed,
and compared to other business systems' needs prior to implementation. This type of
comprehensive infrastructure should provide the highest level of quality and cost
effectiveness, allow maximum return on the state's valuable resources, ensure effective,
affordable state- of- the- art business solutions, and identify exceptions requiring unique
business systems. . [ ADOA Strategic Plan FY 2004- Fy2008; p 9]
The potential in rural areas for shared infrastructure ( down to the circuit level) is good news.
Existing examples of service contracts and intergovernmental agreements ( IGA's) between rural
infrastructure projects and State agencies need to be expanded into a common " best practice.'
Conspicuously absent, however, is any mention of how collaboration with grassroots efforts
such as the Southern Arizona Communications Consortium Network ( SACCNet) can improve
ATS service delivery.
Whatever direction ADOA takes with the further development of ATS, rural governments will
need to make their case for enhanced service and bandwidth access away from the Phoenix to
Tucson I- 10 axis.
County and local governments should let their legislators know that " penny wise and pound
foolish" cost efficiency concerns ( i. e., saving money rather than leveraging the existing level of
investment) can further impede the synergy and collaboration that is necessary between state
and local entities to ensure adequacy of rural infrastructure development. In particular, the rural
communities should present a common message of the need to move beyond adequacy for the
telecommunications infrastructure's effects on economic development, education, health care
and public safety.
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Yuma County's relative isolation, border issues, and extensive Federal program presence mark
it as unique among Arizona counties and could be presented as a case for specialized planning
attention from State infrastructure initiatives. This is particularly true of any development which
may proceed from Homeland Defense communications infrastructure investment.
More information and current news can be found on the Arizona Telecommunications
System ( ATS) website at http:// www. ats. state. az. us/.
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The Department of Commerce for the State of Arizona recognized the crucial importance of
information technology infrastructure and access to broadband technology to the economic
viability and future of the more rural and remote counties in Arizona. With that in mind, the
Department of Commerce created a funding pool for a competitive process that would provide
grant funds for a limited number of those rural counties to undertake a detailed assessment of
their specific telecommunications needs and opportunities. The competitive application process
was conducted through the late summer/ early fall of 2002 and a prioritized list of counties was
announced in early 2003. An application from Yuma County was submitted in October 2002 and
designated as the number two priority grant recipient in the program.
The purpose of the Community Telecom Assessment was to ascertain the existing level of
telecommunications demand and applications as well as to determine if potential future demand
and applications were sufficient to warrant significant information technology infrastructure
upgrade and/ or deployment. The CTA included three distinct phases with reporting
requirements for each phase:
Phase 1:
Needs Assessment - This part of the project included public meetings, one- on- one ( or
phone) interviews with representatives from local governments, health care sector, County and
higher education institutions, business owners, and not- for- profit entities regarding current uses
and applications for broadband access.
Surveys - Two versions ( English and Spanish) of a single survey instrument were
developed, with local input that targeted residential consumers and business/ government/ not-for-
profit technology users. Information derived from these surveys was critical in helping
determine potential demand for broadband service.
Phase 2:
Infrastructure Inventory - This effort included an assessment of what current
infrastructure capacity existed and what technology was available in what locations. It included
exploring opportunities for DSL, cable, fiber optic, T- 1, Frame Relay, ISDN, fixed wireless,
satellite and 3rd Generation wireless ( PCS picture phones, etc.). Also included was a detailed
analysis of existing networks – LANs, WANs, video links, etc. and how much capacity existed
within those networks.
Business Model - Information obtained from the Phase 1 Needs Assessment was
incorporated into this phase which also examined population and household projections,
business usage projections, industry statistics, market share assumptions and pricing
assumptions. Those were components of a revenue- based model. Cost- based models were
also examined during this phase, including those provided in Arizona's Telecommunications
White Paper that was funded through another AZ Department of Commerce project.
Phase 3:
Technology Plan – Information obtained in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 was incorporated
into a more detailed strategic plan for making more efficient use of existing network resources,
as well as contemplating future investments in upgraded broadband infrastructure. This part of
the report explores potential alternatives for various types of technology as well as potential
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strategies to fill existing gaps in the network. The discussion in this section includes
recommendations for proceeding to the implementation phase.
Finance Alternatives – A comprehensive exploration of potential funding sources,
including grants, is included as part of the Phase 3 efforts. Without a realistic methodology for
funding a regional infrastructure initiative, the rest of the report becomes a fancy piece of shelf
art. This aspect of the project is critical to ensuring an outcome- based implementation follow-through.
Financing alternatives include a wide variety of approaches, and include a look at the
potential benefits of public- private partnerships, joint ventures and publicly financed bond
initiatives to support the deployment of advanced technology infrastructure across the Yuma
County landscape. These recommendations are incorporated throughout the report, but an
exhaustive section just on potential grant applications is included as a separate section.
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A vision statement facilitates communication and task focus for a voluntary group of participants
in a wide- area infrastructure development project.
Yuma County has an informal group in place, the Yuma Technology Consortium, established by
the local Chamber of Commerce that has focused on infrastructure development as a driver of
economic development for the county. The group has been meeting on a monthly basis for
approximately three years. The stated purpose of this group has been to promote economic
development through five pillars; 1) e- learning, 2) e- government, 3) infrastructure, 4) knowledge
transfer, and 5) creative thinking.
The drafting of a renewed vision or mission statement should be among the first tasks taken up
by the technology/ governance group that meets to begin any ongoing development processes
for Yuma County that result from this report. The completed statement, which may be as short
as a few sentences, will serve as a declaration of interdependence and focus for the ongoing
operations of the group.
It should be kept in mind that one of the uses of the vision statement will be to explain or
communicate the nature of the mutual aid and benefits sought by the participants. A vision
statement may also serve as a précis or summary message to vendors of what next steps or
unmet needs the major users in the area want to see addressed.
It may be necessary to follow the brief vision statement with a bulleted list of specific and
categorical outcomes expected by the participants. In effect, this document can then become a
" to do" list or agenda that can be targeted to be accomplished in the coming year, three years,
five years, and so on.
The draft text should be reviewed and approved by appropriate political and managerial persons
at participating organizations and this approval should be noted as part of the final vision
statement itself.
An example of this style ( statement followed by bulleted items) that was drafted by a community
planning group in Logan County, Colorado, can be found in Appendix A.
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[ Note: The following elaborate description of a governance process is presented as a
conceptual model. Actual ongoing governance for the Partnership may be a much more lean
process and will be a matter of determining " what works," in what priority order and for whom.]
The Community Telecommunications Assessment ( CTA) reported in this document was
accomplished under the direction of the Yuma County IT Department on behalf of the Yuma
Technology Consortium ( YTC), an informal group comprised of interested member
representatives from local telecom/ technology using organizations, economic development
organizations and other user/ stakeholders.
To continue beyond the planning process into implementation of a plan or any of several
activities recommended in the plan, the consortium will have to refashion itself into a sustainable
and productive form. Over the long term, such an organization will only be sustainable if it can
return value to its participants. If it decides to take on a future governance role for infrastructure
development in the County, Yuma Technology Consortium must define priorities and goals for
near and long term efforts that will follow- up on the potential development possibilities
presented in this report.
The governance process will require periodic meetings by representatives of major stakeholders
( government, education, healthcare, economic development, etc.) in improving area
telecommunications infrastructure. After the initial planning process is completed, the
consortium or whatever new group may be formed to take on this task will have to decide how
staff support can continue to be provided and on what basis. It may be necessary to establish a
new administrative chair of this group to set meetings and distribute agendas and minutes.
Ideally, three committees ( or one master committee and two subcommittees or work groups)
should be formed to provide governance: 1) the project management committee; 2) an informal
technical advisory subcommittee; and 3) a purchasing/ legal/ business process subcommittee.
Each committee should meet at least twice a year, but preferably quarterly, in task- focused
meetings. Other possible subgroups for periodic meetings may include a K- 12/ VOC ED/ Higher
Ed special interest group, a grant writers group, and application oriented subgroups such as an
IP VIDEO interest group or VOIP interest group. There may also be value in a government
applications group.
The project management committee will oversee the planning process, grant application or
other funding source development, issuance and evaluation of RFPs ( if any), generation of
group purchase agreements, and the scheduling and build- out of any large- scale infrastructure
implementation. It should include as broad a base of stakeholder representation as possible,
with representatives from higher education, K- 12 schools, the local library, health care,
government, public safety, non- profit organizations, the county economic development
organization, and the business community.
The technical advisory subcommittee should provide a tracking resource for the current state
of the infrastructure ( what has changed since the last meeting and what is known or planned to
be done). This responsibility of this subcommittee could include ongoing mapping of known
infrastructure resources such as fiber optic cabling, wireless towers, and other assets that could
be of use to a developing infrastructure. It should also educate and inform the project
management committee of its local/ regional/ statewide technology options, act as an
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intermediary in communications with vendor representatives, and serve as an educational/ issue
awareness resource to the larger community. Representatives of the technical advisory
subcommittee may be able to present periodic " state of the infrastructure" presentations to city
council, county commissioners meetings, and Chamber of Commerce meetings. The technical
advisory subcommittee may also consider providing regular presentations to a number of
planning and development groups in the county, such as the Greater Yuma Economic
Development Corporation, the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization ( which should be
periodically reminded that transportation development and telecom infrastructure development
can and should be closely linked), the Greater Yuma Port Authority, and the Yuma Private
Industry Council.
The technical advisory committee should review and comment on any proposals submitted in
response to issued RFPs and will provide ongoing advice to the management committee in its
decision- making process in evaluating any new proposals. The technical advisory committee
could also be asked to periodically advise the management committee on the progress and
impact of the eventual implementation of the proposed community infrastructure.
The purchasing/ legal/ business process subcommittee, if such a group could be convened,
might be the most important working group for the Partnership in the short term. This group
could address the issues of how aggregation can be accomplished within the differing
business/ purchasing/ legal environments of its constituents. It also may serve the largest number
of interested parties, if group purchase agreements -- for cell phone service, for example --
become an early focus of the Consortium. This subcommittee could also address issues such
Rapid and practical implementation of group purchasing practices for telecommunications
network technologies
A common inter- government agreement ( IGA) template, as well as identifying acceptable
common versions of other necessary agreements, perhaps modeled on those in use by
SACCNet in southeastern Arizona. ( For more information on SACCNet, see Appendix E)
Resolution of cost sharing issues for aggregate internet connectivity, including devising a
system that allows e- rate recipients to participate without jeopardizing their subsidies
Addressing legal issues of whether the Partnership would need to have a separate legal
status as a cooperative or incorporated 501( c) 3.
Using Technology for Meetings
The number of distance education sites in the county would make it possible for governance
committee representatives to meet via teleconferencing in late afternoons at several school
sites in the county. The use of the distance videoconferencing capability of educational sites
would also provide valuable experience with the technology, its current level of performance,
and any existing infrastructure problems...
Involving the Community of End Users
The number of organizations that could participate in and benefit from the infrastructure
development projects of the Consortium far exceeds the number that can comfortably or
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practically be expected to participate in committee or subcommittee meetings, or even attend
regular meetings.
Therefore it will be necessary to consider a number of ways to categorize these constituents
and communicate with them. The Consortium should identify tiers of interest such as those
organizations who cannot attend meetings but want to be notified of group purchase
negotiations and agreements. This can be accomplished by continuing, expanding, and
segmenting any e- mail and fax notification lists that may have been used to inform interested
parties for regular meetings of the consortium. The Consortium may also use these channels to
solicit topical comments such as information about interest in specific technologies or RFP
An annual technology and infrastructure conference, perhaps hosted at Western Arizona
College, could also serve to increase participation and information sharing in the Consortium.
Periodic summary documents, drafted and posted in PDF form on the Yuma County
government website could also provide broader communication with interested community
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Yuma County is located in the southwest corner of Arizona, sharing its
southern border with Mexico and its western border with the State of
California. It encompasses a land mass of 5,522 square miles, less than
11% of which is privately owned. The county has a population of 169,760
with a recent growth rate ( 2000 – 2002) of almost 63% 1. The county seat is
located in Yuma and other major communities include San Luis, Somerton
and Wellton. Eighty- nine percent of the County's land is made up of public
lands, which include the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, the Cabeza Prieta
National Wildlife Refuge, the U. S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, The Yuma
Marine Corps Air Station, the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, the Yuma Territorial Prison
State Park and the Yuma Crossing State Historical Park. Less than 1% of the land is set aside
for the Cocopah Tribal Reservation.
The County has one primary population center clustered around Yuma, the county seat, located
in the southwestern corner of the county and state along the I- 8 and U. S. Highway 95 corridors.
To the east, across the Gila mountains and over Telegraph Pass is Wellton, which serves as a
commercial and service base for the unincorporated areas of Aztec, Dateland, Dome, Roll, and
Tacna. Just south of the city of Yuma, along the Highway 95 corridor lays the incorporated
cities of Somerton and San Luis. The Cocopah East and West Reservations straddle the
highway and unincorporated Gadsden lies between the two incorporated municipalities. This
presents a significant efficiency for delivery of services to geographically clustered populations
of citizens. The economy of the County, especially the Wellton and San Luis- Somerton areas,
has historically been heavily dependent on the produce agriculture industry, especially the fresh
produce and citrus industries. Seasonal tourism is recognized as a major economic
development component for the region, especially in the rapidly growing Foothills area east of
Yuma and stretching out to Wellton. In the eastern portion of the County, which has deep roots
in ranching and agriculture, there is an emerging retirement community developing, as well as
expansion into the energy production arena.
Revenues derived from the state transaction privilege and severance tax have shown a steady,
if modest, growth over the past 5 years. Municipal property tax rates within all but the City of
Yuma are zero, with Yuma having a property tax rate of only 1.86 mils. School districts across
the county are responsible for the largest portion of property taxes, ranging from a low of 6.5
mils in Wellton, to a high of 8.2 mils in San Luis. The county also has an excise tax which has
shown steady and significant growth over the last 5 years. Sales tax revenues have also shown
steady growth.
Agriculture, seasonal tourism, the military and international trade are the major economic drivers
for Yuma County and its cities and towns. High- speed telecom is essential to protect and grow
all of these local economic sectors and to provide for competitive positioning for Yuma County in
the present and future.
What follows is a description of the main communities in Yuma County. It should be noted that
there are an additional 59,000 people residing in the unincorporated areas of Yuma County.
1 AZ Dept. of Economic Security Population Statistics Unit
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Strategically located on the international border with Mexico, San Luis is a rapidly growing city
with tremendous potential to become a light manufacturing,
distribution and retail center. The high unemployment rate
( 65.1% for 20022) derives, in part, from the seasonal nature of
the citrus and fresh produce agriculture industries in both Yuma
County and in neighboring California. San Luis has an active
economic development effort in place. It has a significant
amount of available land, is well- situated on the Highway 95
corridor and Mexico border and can thus accommodate
industrial development. A planned major increase in the size of
the international Port of Entry will present major economic stimulus potential for this
predominately Hispanic community.
The median household income ( year 2000 data) is listed at $ 22,966, below the state average.
The average cost of single family housing is considered well below the state average and is
determined to be $ 69,600.3 An interesting observation is that the percentage of rental
properties vs. owner- occupied properties for San Luis is below the state average, indicating a
significant degree of home- ownership. The 2002 unemployment estimate of 65.1% represents a
decrease from almost 70% in 20004 and is a positive growth potential indicator. This is a young
community, with the average age listed as 25.8 years. It also has a very high percentage of
foreign- born residents, 49.1% 5, a rate that is above the state average.
There is no city property tax rate, city revenues deriving from taxable sales, which have more
than doubled between 1990 and 2002. New building permits have also skyrocketed, from 240 in
1996 to 546 in 2002. The single weakness identified in this community is a degree of political
uncertainty which restrains it from capturing significant opportunities that present themselves,
including development of advanced technology applications in city hall and placement of a
digital Central Office for broadband telecommunications on the drawing board for the incumbent
local exchange carrier. This community currently underutilizes technology, but has tremendous
potential to reap considerable economic advantage from existing and emerging applications.
Affordable, reliable broadband access is key to this community's advancement.
Located on the Highway 95 corridor between the Mexico border and the City of Yuma,
Somerton is well- positioned to take advantage of significant residential and commercial growth.
While the average household income estimates for Somerton are below those found in nearby
Yuma, the cost of housing remains at an attainable, or nearly attainable, level. Conversations
with the city manager indicate that the residents of this community place a value on computers
and access to the internet, making the financial sacrifices needed to ensure that their children
have access to technology at home as well as at school. The City of Somerton is in expansion
mode, having recently completed an annexation that doubles its geographic base with plans to
pursue additional annexations in the future. Somerton currently has a very modest retail base,
2 AZ Department of Economic Security
3U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
4 AZ Department of Economic Security
5 2000 Census data
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with significant employment coming from the public and non- profit sectors. Like its neighbor to
the south, San Luis, this community has experienced rapid growth, with an assessed valuation
almost tripling in the period between 1990 and 20026. There is no city property tax, making
property taxes among the lowest in the state.
Somerton's economic indicators are very similar
to those seen in San Luis, with the median
household income considered to be below the
state average ($ 26,544) and the median house
value of $ 68,600 significantly below the state
average. 7 There is also a high percentage of
owner- occupied housing in Somerton, above the
state average. Unemployment remains well
above the state average ( 2002 estimates at 43%)
but is showing a decrease since 2000. Foreign- born residents make up almost 50% of the
population, with the majority of those from Latin America. Educational attainment levels are
significantly below the Arizona state average, with an estimated 5.5% of residents holding a
bachelor's degree or higher. 8
Current budget restraints keep Somerton from making strategic investments in information
technology software and government applications, but the administration is well- aware of the
importance of upgrading their communications network and investing in cost and labor- saving
technologies. As Somerton continues to grow, both geographically as well as economically,
such IT support systems will become more critical for planning, service delivery and monitoring
Wellton has roots in the railroad era, serving as a water station for both the
Southern Pacific Railroad and the Butterfield Overland Stage. That history
gives the town its name ( Well Town, shortened over time to Wellton). The
community was founded in 1878 but was not incorporated until almost a
century later, in 1970. Today, the community is growing into a winter visitor
resort and retirement community. Recent additions of a golf course, new
housing options, RV parks and potential development of an oil refinery near Tacna are all
significant economic development opportunities for this anchor community in eastern Yuma
County, along the I- 8 corridor. A recently opened planned unit development with 500 lots
available had such a positive response ( 300 lots sold within the first 3 months of operations),
that phased plans to develop three more PUDs for a total of 1500 additional lots have been
stepped up from a three- phase strategy to a single effort.
In contrast to the cities south of Yuma and closer to the international border with Mexico,
Wellton has a median resident age of 46.99 which is reflective of its status as a growing
retirement community and significantly above the state average. Wellton shares similar median
household income levels and median house values with the rest of Yuma County, $ 27,045 and
$ 77,800 respectively for year 2000.10 The percentage of properties being rented, as opposed to
6 AZ Tax Research Foundation
7 U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
8 www. city- data. com
9 Ibíd.
10 U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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owner occupied is also very low. Wellton also has an unemployment rate, 22.7%, 11 that is lower
than its neighbors to the south, but still exceeds the state average for Arizona. Wellton has no
municipal property tax. Assessed valuation of property has shown a steady increase from 1990
to 2002, and taxable sales have grown steadily in that same time frame. 12 Roughly one- fifth of
the population in Wellton are foreign- born, a considerable difference from the border
communities of San Luis and Somerton.
With a growing retirement population, there is a growing service sector in Wellton. Strong citizen
sentiment identifies a desire for more restaurants and more variety, as well as more retail
opportunity. Even though the median age in Wellton and the surrounding area is much higher
than the southwestern reaches of Yuma County, it is a population that understands, and
embraces new technology. A local bank manager indicated that she estimates 80% of the
bank's customers are on- line and use electronic banking services. The local library points out
that, during the winter visitor season, lines to access the library's public computer terminals can
run ten deep or more. The local developer has implied that plans for the development currently
on the drawing board will incorporate broadband access to the curb, and there is strong interest
in accessing the newly installed wireless system that serves town hall and several other
government buildings in Wellton.
The town administrative staff is developing a keen awareness of the power of broadband
access and technology, and plans to explore how the budget can accommodate needed
hardware and software upgrades in the near term. Staff recognizes the challenges of not having
on- site technical support staff, and there is some interest in how those needs might be met
through some type of arrangement with the other communities and the county. This tranquil little
community is on the threshold of a major growth spurt, with the demand for information
technology access a significant by- product of that growth and development.
The City of Yuma serves as the primary population,
economic, trade and retail center for Yuma County as
well as being the county seat. With its European
historical roots stretching back to the 1779
establishment of two Spanish missions, Yuma's
permanent European settlement began in 1850 when
an actual community was launched as a stop over
point for travelers to California. The compound was
first named Colorado City for its proximity to the mighty
Colorado River, and then known as Arizona City. It
was finally named Yuma, a reference to the native
peoples in the area, in 1873. The area experienced considerable growth and was incorporated
as a city in 1914.
Government provides a major source of employment at the Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma
Proving Grounds, Yuma County, the City of Yuma and the Yuma school districts. The service
sector is the dominant employment category, accounting for almost 87% of non- farm
employment in Yuma. 13 Agriculture and related industries provide an important source of
11 Arizona Dept. of Economic Security
12 AZ Department of Revenue
13 AZ Department of Economic Security
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employment and revenue for Yuma. The 2002 unemployment rate was determined to be 16.2%,
the lowest in Yuma County, but still well above the Arizona state average of 5.8%. 14 There is a
much larger variation in the average cost of housing in Yuma than found elsewhere in the
county, ranging from $ 70,000 to the low $ 100,000s with the 2000 median value of a single
family house set at $ 85,300. Median household income for 2000 was estimated at $ 35,374,
making it the highest in Yuma County. Like the outlying areas of the county, the City of Yuma
has witnessed exponential growth since the early 1990' s, more than doubling its taxable sales
and assessed valuation. 15
The city has embarked upon an ambitious effort to reestablish a vibrant downtown and reclaim
its waterfront heritage. The downtown plaza area has seen recent efforts to upgrade and
reinvigorate a blend of retail, arts and culture, and entertainment. The city administration is
willing to make a dollar- for- dollar match to redevelop the waterfront and neighboring downtown.
Given the rich history and substantial architectural variety, there is an enormous opportunity for
economic development to benefit the savvy investor, city and citizens.
This municipal enlightened self- interest is further evidenced by strategic investments in civic
infrastructure, including a recently constructed municipal center building and citywide
development of a fiber optic communications backbone for such civic amenities as smart
highways and traffic demand controlled, computer coordinated signal lights. Supported by
partners such as the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation and the Yuma
Chamber of Commerce, this is a community that is clearly ready to invest in itself and prepare to
capture considerable economic potential in the very near future. Broadband access and
advanced technology is viewed as a critical tool in assisting the city, its partners and its
residents in accomplishing those strategic goals and objectives for an exciting and limitless
A geographically dispersed, yet small reservation, the Cocopah Tribal Nation has developed a
clear understanding of the importance of partnering with its local government neighbors and
marketing to a growing number of winter visitors. Within nearby governmental circles, the tribal
administration has a reputation for being a good partner and for
giving back to the community, including outside the reservation
boundaries. Recent activities include efforts to reach out
across international borders and reestablish cultural ties with
the Cucupah in the San Luis Rio Colorado area in Sonora,
Mexico and Baja, California. 16 Financially supported by the
newly constructed Cocopah Casino on Highway 95, just
south of Yuma, and the golf resort on the north reservation
on the western border of Yuma, the tribe has made
progress in incorporating technology on the reservation.
The Cocopah Tribe has also made substantial progress in
lowering its unemployment rate from 37.5% in 1990 to 18.7% in 2002.17 This underserved
market is just beginning to expand its demand for access to technology, first through its
communications needs for the new casino, and secondarily because of a desire to meet the
needs of its winter visitors to the golf resort on the north reservation for broadband access. The
14 ibid.
15 AZ Department of Revenue
16 March 8, 2004 Yuma Sun
17 AZ Department of Economic Security
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tribal administration also has direct knowledge and experience within the field of information
technology and understands the importance of connectedness to the future of the tribe. Like the
rest of the communities in Yuma County, the Cocopah Tribal Nation will be a key customer for
advanced technology and broadband access in the not too distant future.
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7.1.1 Qwest Communications International
Qwest is the local telephone company ( ILEC) for most of Yuma County. Qwest services are
available in the following Yuma County communities: Roll, San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Yuma,
Gadsden, and Tacna. Aside from required disclosures, Qwest provides no summary document
of its broadband connectivity services by location, so the following information was assembled
from published sources and comments from communications with Qwest staff members.
Qwest provides ATM connectivity in the city of Yuma. ATM connectivity ( but not IMA) may also
be available in most other Qwest- served locations in Yuma County to users willing to pay
transport costs. Qwest's ATM disclosure notes:
QWEST now supports four UNI physical connections with the maximum bandwidths of 1.544
Mbit/ s ( DS1), 44.736 Mbit/ s ( DS- 3), 155.520 Mbit/ s ( OC- 3), and 622.08 Mbit/ s ( OC- 12). … Qwest
also supports IMA ( Inverse Multiplexing over ATM) access speeds 3.088, 4.632, 6.176, 7.72,
9.264, 10.808, or 12.352 Mbit/ s.
… ATM Service Points are geographic locations, designated by QWEST, as entry points into the
QWEST ATM Service Network. … Wire Centers not listed as ATM Service Points are still
accessible using the Private Line Tariff. Mileage and other construction charges may apply.
http:// www. qwest. com/ disclosures/ netdisclosure400/ news. html
Qwest maintains a single frame relay switch in Yuma County that serves the following areas:
Fortuna, Somerton, Wellton, and Yuma SE. No information on bandwidth capacity ( or lack of
capacity) is published. A complete list of Qwest Frame Relay switches and the Qwest offices
they serve is at http:// www. qwest. com/ disclosures/ netdisclosure401/ az_ data. html.
Recently, Qwest announced the expansion of availability of its DSL services in several rural
markets in Arizona. Its Yuma County DSL service areas include ( by switch location): Somerton,
Yuma Main, Yuma Fortuna, Yuma SE. Qwest is also considering the provision of DSL service
in Wellton in 2004 and in selected areas of San Luis by remote from Somerton.
Qwest has begun an initiative to work closely with communities presenting petitions for DSL
service and acknowledges an increased interest in implementing innovative low- cost DSL
remote service in selected locations. The company is testing a combo card to run DSL over
pair- gain line. Also, in areas near where Qwest DSL is available, if 60- 75 people sign a petition
within a development, Qwest will consider putting in a plan for a remote.
In December, 2003, Qwest received unanimous approval of its 271 application to reenter the
long distance business in Arizona. A 2001 Goldwater Institute Study of the potential effects of
Qwest's re- entry in to the Arizona long distance business noted that there might be a significant
benefit for school districts in the state. It predicted that smaller school districts, " which have
proportionately higher expenditures than larger districts," would benefit disproportionately,
" saving millions of dollars" [ statewide]. Estimating the anticipated savings to be approximately
15% ( based on the experience of other states) the report added,
Ultimately, anticipated price reductions in telecom services may be overshadowed by more
dramatic reductions in the price of broadband internet access. Thus we can expect 271 relief to
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impact not only the cost of telecommunications services, an important component of educational
overhead expenses, but also the cost of providing schools high speed internet access.
[ p. 29, " The Economic Effects of Increasing Competition in Long Distance Telecommunication
Services in Arizona, David Sosa, Analysis Group/ Economics; Arizona Issue Analysis 166;
November, 2001; Goldwater Institute, http:// www. goldwaterinstitute. org/ pdf/ materials/ 15. pdf ]
At a recent meeting with local government representatives in another rural Arizona county,
Qwest representatives -- without making any specific commitments -- responded to a question
about service availability in a rural, low growth location with comments suggesting that the 271
decision made the potential for service improvement in Qwest's rural Arizona locations more
Qwest Arizona President Pat Quinn visited Yuma in February 2004 and revealed the following
information about Qwest's services in the county:
As of March 1, Qwest will be providing cell phone service in Yuma County via the Sprint
network. Qwest will maintain sales, billing, and customer service for its cell users on the
service, which will share Sprint's coverage area.
" It's doubtful" that Qwest will open a business office in Yuma. The company has a local
facility with 56 employees, including three managers with a combined 100 years of
Qwest has hired one person whose job it will be to handle service and sales in the Yuma
area. This employee is based in Yuma.
[ Source: Yuma Sun, http:// yumasun. com/ artman/ publish/ articles/ story_ 9767. shtml ]
According to Qwest marketing materials, since 1998, Qwest has spent nearly $ 2.9 billion to
build and upgrade a state- of- the- art communications network in Arizona, raising the sum of its
total investment in Arizona's infrastructure to almost $ 6 billion. The Qwest charitable foundation
has contributed $ 5.7 million to Arizona charitable and community organizations since 1998.
General information about Qwest's Arizona offerings can be found at ArizonaTele. com website
( http:// www. arizonatele. com/ cgi- bin/ profile. cgi? id= 214) or on the Qwest corporate website
http:// www. qwest. com/.
A recent Qwest brochure titled " Qwest's Continued Commitment to Our Customers -- to Our
Employees -- to Our Competitors -- to Arizona" can be found in Appendix J. The brochure
includes key contact information ( mail address, phone, e- mail) for the President and eight other
executives of Qwest Arizona.
7.2.1 Arizona Educational Network ( AZEdNet)
The Arizona Educational Network is a private network created by educators for educators,
owned and operated by Portable Practical Educational Preparation, Inc. ( PPEP) a statewide
Charter school in Arizona. Arizona Educational Network ( AZEdNet) is a statewide network
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originally funded by the Arizona Department of Education in 1999, and designed to provide a
one- stop solution for secure, filtered ( Child Information Protection Act - CIPA compliant) high-speed
internet access for educational institutions. AZEdNet converted to a fee- based service on
January 1, 2002. The network currently provides internet access, e- mail, web content filtering
and hosting to numerous school districts, charter schools, and businesses throughout the state.
AZEdNet is a statewide private network originally designed to provide a secure means for
schools to submit student- level data to the Arizona Department of Education. The service
includes CIPA compliant web content filtering for participating schools. Partners include the
Arizona Department of Education, Cisco, Alpha Communications, Cable and Wireless, Qwest,
Ensynch, and Cox.
Current Infrastructure
AZEdNet is a reseller, providing services from its partner entities which may include DSL, or
digital connectivity from 56K to T- 1. They currently serve their two charter schools in San Luis
and Somerton with T- 1s.
Future Plans
AZEdNet projects the addition of a hub in Yuma in June 2004, with a future hub planned for
Casa Grande.
Contact: Rick Brow
520.294.6997 x2019
http:// azednet. org/
7.2.2 Adelphia Communications
Adelphia Communications is the primary cable television operator in Yuma County with a
network that spans San Luis to the south, the City of Yuma to the north and Telegraph Hill to the
east. The company offers cable modem internet data service to San Luis, Somerton and the
City of Yuma, including the Marine Corps Air Station and Yuma Army Proving Grounds.
Adelphia is providing data service in San Luis to the Gadsden School District with two strands to
the each school. It is building an intranet for the Crane School Distract. Adelphia has obtained
multiple bulk agreements with RV parks and mobile home parks to service the winter
" Snowbirds." In addition, the northern portion of the Cocopah Indian Reservation is served by
Adelphia. Data is the fastest growing segment of the company's business.
Current Infrastructure
Adelphia's network consists of an 860 MHz fiber backbone with coax used for the last mile.
Adelphia and Level 3 are cooperating in building a fiber backbone across the United States.
Right now data is sent via an OC- 3 from Los Angeles to Yuma. The fiber/ coax network started
with 1500 homes to the node; however, the company will be decreasing this ratio to an optimum
of 500 homes to the node via optical node splitters as demand builds. Adelphia built an intranet
for the City of Yuma with fiber to every city building. The medical center has leased 12 strands
of fiber and the school district has also leased fiber from Adelphia.
Future Plans
Adelphia is currently making plans to launch HDTV, VOD and DVR technology with 2004.
Telephony services should be available 2005.
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Products and Pricing
The internet data products offered by Adelphia are branded as Power Link or Power Link
Premier. Power Link has speeds of up to 3 Mbps/ 356Kbps ( downstream/ upstream) for $ 42.95
with cable video service or $ 54.95 without. Power Link Premier has bandwidth speeds of up to 4
Mbps/ 512Kbps ( downstream/ upstream) for $ 79.95 with video and $ 91.95 without. The modem
is leased for an additional $ 3.00 per month. Bundle packages of video/ data services are
available with cost breaks depending upon number of premium pay channels desired by the
Contact: Ricky Rinehart
ricky. rinehart@ adelphia. com
www. adelphia. com
7.2.3 Beamspeed
Beamspeed is a wireless internet service provider currently serving all of Yuma County west of
Telegraph Hill, and the portion of Mexico bordering San Luis. Because Beamspeed uses 2.5
GHz licensed spectrum, there is no interference and the MMDS ( Multichannel Multipoint
Distribution Service) 18 signal can transmit through trees and buildings.
Current Infrastructure
The MMDS signal is transmitted through base stations in Winter Haven ( on the cell tower with
the strobe), Yuma ( Crescent Center) and San Luis ( on the border at RL Jones Trucking). These
base stations transmit a signal in a 20 mile radius pattern meaning that the total coverage area
currently includes all of Yuma County west of Telegraph Hill.
Future Plans
Beamspeed is in the process of installing a fourth base station on the top of Telegraph Hill that
will cover a 30 mile radius to reach communities ( including Wellton) east of the City of Yuma.
Products and Pricing
Beamspeed offers two tiers bandwidth speed: Tier 1 has a burstable downstream speed of 756
Kbps and upstream of 128 Kbps for a $ 99.95 set up fee and $ 59.95 monthly fee; Tier 2 has
burstable speed of 1.544 Mbps downstream and 200 Kbps upstream for $ 199.95 set up fee and
$ 89.95 per month.
Contact: Philip Merrill
philipcmerrill@ beamspeed. net
www. beamspeed. net
7.2.4 C2i2
C2i2 offers dial- up internet services in Yuma, Somerton and Wellton. C2i2 is also a reseller of
DSL service in Yuma only. It does not directly provision services but has relationships for DSL
18 See Glossary in Appendix E.
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broadband sales with DakotaCom. net utilizing Qwest DSL and New Edge Network's national
infrastructure. This infrastructure includes Cisco carrier- class routers in over 30 major
metropolitan markets, DSL in 600 central offices serving 350 small to mid- sized cities
Products and Pricing
Residential dial up accounts start at $ 19.95 per month with discounts available for special
accounts ( Military, Senior, Student, Education). Business accounts start at $ 28.95 with a $ 40
one- time set up fee. DSL service pricing varies by customer location and level of service
Contact: Patricia Jenne, Customer Service
c2i2mgr@ c2i2. com
www. c2i2. com
7.2.5 Cybertrails
Cybertrails is headquartered in Phoenix and offers dial- up service in the City of Yuma, San Luis,
Somerton and Wellton. Redundancy is guaranteed through fiber connections with Cox, Qwest
and ELI, and backbone providers UUNET, Broadwing and Global Crossing.
Current Infrastructure
Point- to- point and frame relay is offered to the business sector and is available to residential
households as well. No DSL, ISDN or wireless service is currently being offered in Yuma
Products and Pricing
Dial up pricing is $ 21.95 per month for statewide access with discounts given to Senior Citizens,
students and educators.
Contact: Paul Fox
paul. fox@ cybertrails. net
www. cybertrails. com
7.2.6 Digitaldune Networks
Digitaldune Networks is a dial- up, wireless and DSL
provider of data services to residential and business
customers in Yuma County. It is owned by Fisher
Wireless Services, which is headquartered in Blythe, California. Digitaldune, however, has
operated out of its local Yuma office since 1996.
Current Infrastructure
The company owns an unlicensed, 2.4 GHz wireless system in the City of Yuma. The wireless
system with multiple access points is located throughout the City of Yuma, with plans to expand
the coverage area in the near future. DSL is offered through Digitaldune's partnership with New
Edge Networks. Dial up service is available throughout the 928 area code.
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Products and Pricing
As mentioned above, dial- up internet service is available throughout the county in the 928 area
code with unmetered service starting at $ 19.95 per month.
Wireless service is offered primarily to the business community and is priced at $ 50, $ 75 and
$ 125 for burstable rates of 128Kbps, 256Kbps and 1024Kbps respectively. Dedicated point- to-point
T- 1 speed lines are also available on an individual case basis. There is an installation fee
of $ 250 for wireless service and the option to lease or buy the station adapter. Business Class
DSL can be obtained in speeds ranging from 192k to 1.1Mbps SDSL and 144K IDSL. The
monthly fees start at $ 79.95 and can go up to $ 210.95 per month.
Contact: James Fredy, Sales Manager
jfredy@ digitaldune. net
www. digitaldune. net
7.2.7 Telespectra
TeleSpectra LLC was formed in 1999 to provide network services,
specifically, broadband transport and access services for business
in the rural Southwest, including the states of Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and California. Although the current
company was originally formed in 1999 it is comprised of merged
and acquired assets from companies such as MCI/ American
Television Relay who have been operating in the rural southwest
for nearly 50 years. Overall, TeleSpectra can be characterized as
a telecommunications service provider specializing in the design, build out, installation and
maintenance of wireless microwave systems offering voice, video, data and broadband network
services. Telespectra partnered with Beamspeed, the local video provider ( see above) to apply
for a RUS grant. This $ 1.3 million Community– Connect Broadband Grant was recently awarded
to the partnership by the Rural Utilities Service to deliver high speed internet access to Wellton,
Arizona, a rural town with a population of under 2000 people. " The grant will provide funding for
the implementation of a broadband telecommunications network… In addition, the network will
provide Wellton with broadband connectivity to Yuma, Arizona." The full news release can be
found at
http:// www. telespectra. com/ TeleSpectra% 20Press% 20Release% 205- 20- 03. pdf
Current Infrastructure
Telespectra's network across the southwest United States includes towers, points- of- presence
( POPs), and a licensed frequency microwave backbone. In Arizona, the company offers Hi- Cap
( T- 1 and up) services to over 100 locations and high- speed wireless internet to Wellton and the
Scottsdale Airpark area. The network is backhauled to Phoenix through a 3 x DS- 3 microwave
Future Plans
The wireless High- Speed Internet Service will be expanded from Wellton to Yuma in 2004,
offering service initially to over 75% of the City. Other areas the company is expanding to
include Williams, Rio Rico and Springerville. Telespectra does not currently offer VoIP but
might, in the future, partner with other companies to offer this service with Telespectra
contributing the connection to the internet as its part of the partnership.
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Products and Pricing
Telespectra offers high speed internet services, transport and access products and video
services. Pricing starts at $ 45.95 per month for residential customers and $ 85.95 per month for
business customers. In addition, minimum installation and activation charges are assessed
starting at $ 50 for residential and $ 200 for business customers.
Contact: Daman Wood, Sr Account Manager
dwood@ telespectra. com
www. telespectra. com
7.2.8 The River
The River Internet Access Company, headquartered in Tucson, has been in business since
1995. Through acquisitions of Sierra Internet, Innovative Systems Design, First Internet
Alliance, gila. net, fiaaz. net, oz. net, Bainbridge. net, and Serv. net, The River has grown to be one
of the country's largest independent ISPs and maintains a local presence with over 20,000
customers in Arizona and Washington. It offers nationwide dialup access at no extra cost, and
worldwide access is available through the iPass network.
The River provides internet service to customers in the City of Yuma as well as numerous cities
in Gila and Pinal Counties. In addition, The River has large concentrations of customers in
Tucson, Phoenix, Sierra Vista, and Nogales in Arizona and in Seattle, Washington.
Current Infrastructure
The River has a very robust regional network consisting of T- 1s, multiple DS- 3s, a 100 Mbps
Ethernet and an OC- 3. This network provides for redundancy, connecting facilities in Tucson,
Seattle and Phoenix through a ring of private DS- 3 circuits. The OC- 3 into The River's Tucson
Point- of- Presence ( POP) is split into 3 DS- 3s connecting to the Qwest ATM/ DSL network, the
Qwest Frame Relay network and the third, a private DS- 3, connecting The River's facilities in
Tucson and Phoenix. A diagram of this network can be seen in Appendix H.
Their Seattle facility is also home to a state- of- the- art server farm, developed to replace
separate Email, WWW ( Web), DNS and Authentication servers with a fully- redundant, highly-available
cluster of servers. This server farm consists of many individual servers, with fully
redundant load- balancing and routing equipment, all networked to an industrial- grade EMC
Celerra mass- storage subsystem ( based on their " five- nines" Symmetrix platform, used by
financial institutions worldwide) for the most robust data integrity, availability, and redundancy
Through partnerships with Qwest, New Edge Networks and Verizon, The River provides DSL
service throughout large parts of its service area. It offers both Qwest and New Edge Networks
DSL in Yuma. Qwest is generally a cheaper option and is popular with residential and small
office/ home office ( SOHO) customers, while New Edge offers a larger availability area and more
choices for business customers.
Future Plans
The River is aggressively expanding its DSL services, focusing on areas where Qwest is
installing new DSLAMs into central offices. In the past year they have added national dial- up
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access and a sophisticated Spam and virus filtering service. The River has recently added
satellite access and a " dial- up accelerator" package to better serve markets where broadband
options are limited.
Products and Pricing
The River offers dial- up or ISDN internet access ( starting at $ 22.95 per month for nationwide
service). The Company partners with New Edge Networks, Qwest and Verizon to offer DSL in
the following towns:
• Yuma ● Phoenix
• Sierra Vista ● Nogales
• Tucson/ Green Valley ● Flagstaff
• Prescott ● Seattle
• Western Washington
Most dialup, ISDN, and DSL service plans include 5 email addresses and spam/ virus filtering.
Dialup Accelerator is available as an option. Frame Relay is available in most markets at
speeds of 56kbps to 1.536Mbps ( T- 1). Web hosting, static IP addresses, domain email spooling,
co- location and data transit without co- location are also available. Technical support is 24x7 and
is included for free on most service plans.
DSL speeds offered are 192Kbps, 256Kbps, 384Kbps and 768Kbps. DSL pricing ranges from
$ 35.95 to $ 80.00 per month ( including DSL provider fees) with set up charges ranging from $ 0
to $ 349. Residential rates are on the lower end of the scale and business rates on the upper
end. Satellite service is available in all areas.
Contact: Marcus Needham, Vice President Development
marcus@ theriver. com
www. theriver. com
The following tables summarize the cable television providers showing markets served, product
offerings and pricing.
Provider Markets Products
1 Adelphia San Luis, Somerton, Yuma, MCAS, US Army Proving
Cable Modem
2 AZEdNet San Luis, Somerton ( Yuma- Future) T- 1
3 Beamspeed San Luis, Somerton, Yuma ( Wellton- Future) Wireless
4 C2i2 Somerton, Wellton, Yuma Dial Up, DSL ( Yuma)
5 Cybertrails San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Yuma Dial Up
6 Digitaldune San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Yuma Dial Up, DSL, Wireless ( Yuma)
7 Qwest San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Yuma Dial Up, DSL ( Yuma, Somerton)
8 Telespectra Wellton ( Yuma in 2004) Wireless
9 The River Yuma Dial Up, DSL
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Community Video Cable Modem DSL Wireless Dial Up T- 1
San Luis Adelphia Adelphia Cybertrails, Digitaldune, Qwest AZEdNet
Somerton Adelphia Adelphia Qwest, Digitaldune Beamspeed C2i2, Cybertrails, Digitaldune,
Wellton Beamspeed Telespectra C2i2, Digitaldune, Qwest
Yuma Adelphia Adelphia C2i2, Digitaldune,
Qwest, The River
Beamspeed, Digitaldune,
Telespectra ( future)
C2i2, Cybertrails, Digitaldune,
Qwest, The River
( future)
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Community meetings were held in Yuma, Somerton, San Luis and Wellton to discuss and
provide input for the development of the Community Telecom Assessments. In addition, the
survey was posted in English and Spanish on the Yuma County web site.
The objective of these community meetings was to provide and collect:
• An overview stating the purpose of the State of Arizona's Community Telecom
• An outline of the telecom planning process
• Possible outcomes and impact to the community
• An opportunity to participate in the planning process
• Provide input as to community telecommunications priorities
• Data regarding the state of telecommunications services
Presentations used in the meetings can be found in Appendix A.
Team members conducted one- on- one interviews in as many cities/ towns as feasible with
people representing the government, medical, educational, library and business communities. In
addition, American Research Interviewing, a survey research firm, called over 600 businesses
in Yuma County resulting in 164 completed telecommunications surveys.
The project team feels that these meetings, the phone interviews and one- on- one interviews
were a valuable part of the overall process. Information gained through these meetings and user
survey questionnaires was used to establish a " demand- set" of telecommunications services for
the area. Additionally, this information was used to help establish telecommunications
networking priorities for the region. What the surveys indicate is that high- speed data service is
present in all the communities studied to some extent. However, the service is not available to
all areas of the county and affordability is an issue for many residents and businesses.
Comments from the surveys indicate that fast, reliable data service is an important issue to
public offices, private businesses and individuals in Yuma County and is an important element
in managing growth.
8.1.1 Survey Results
Through public meetings and telecom surveys, public, private and non- profit offices are saying
that their primary telecommunications goal is to access greater bandwidth capacity over the
next five years to support and improve their current work processes as well as future growth.
Telecommunications surveys were distributed throughout the county via: the county's web site,
More and more, an adequate living standard depends on computer
and phone access. Resident, Yuma County
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in all town/ city halls, county complexes, economic development corporations, chambers of
commerce, the Small Business Development Center, and the Yuma Private Industry Council. As
mentioned above, public offices, libraries, educational institutions and medical institutions were
interviewed and key businesses were contacted urging them to complete and send in the
Surveys by City Grouping
Dateland 1
San Luis 39
Somerton 9
Yuma 239
Wellton 50
Library District 106
Total 444
These efforts generated 444 surveys from the public and private sectors of the local economy
as well as individuals. The library district created their own " short form" survey and distributed it
in the libraries throughout the district. Unfortunately, there was no place on the form for the city
to be filled in; however, from the content we can tell that the bulk of the surveys originated from
San Luis and Yuma.
We are thrilled with the volume of responses from Yuma County. Residential surveys returned
at 259 are 1% of total households in the county, a good return. Surveys from businesses totaled
185 or 7% of total businesses in the county ( per the InfoUSA database19). It should be noted
that the quantity of public surveys is understated due to the large number of public and non-profit
sector one- on- one interviews with project team members.
The business response was even greater, when looking at the number of businesses given to
the interview firm to call. This list of 652 did not include businesses in industries that typically do
not have a need for high- speed data, such as beauty shops, T- shirt shops and restaurants.
Using the more targeted database, 28% of businesses responded to the survey.
The chart below shows that, even though cable modem service is available throughout most of
the county, the prevalent technology still being used is dial- up ( 52%) with DSL and cable
modem a distant second and third ( 17% and 15% respectively). Residential surveys completed
for this statistic ( n= 47) showed 85% respondents using dial- up and the remainder ( 7 surveys)
using cable modem service. This is not surprising as the cost of service was much more critical
for residential consumers in cities with lower income levels and for retirees.
" Why does high speed access have to be so costly? If the cost were less, it would be
more accessible to more families." Resident, Yuma
" I use the library computer because I can't afford a computer. The only way to do
homework is in the school or library." Individual
19 InfoUSA lists can be found at http:// www. listbazaar. com/ cgi-bin/
abicgi/ abicgi. pl? bas_ session= S42730867010015& bas_ vendor= 0& bas_ type= LC& bas_ page= 999& bas_ action= ho
Surveys By Sector
Public/ Non Profit Sector 9
Private Sector 170
Home Office 6
Individuals 259
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Businesses also followed the trend of primarily using dial up service, followed by DSL and cable
modems. But, they also are more likely to either have higher speed service options such as T- 1,
T- 3, satellite, frame relay or ISDN, if high- speed is critical to operating their business.
Type of Access - All Respondents
1 1 1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Frame Relay
Cable Modem
Dial- Up
Type of Connection - Business
5% 6%
1% 1% 1%
Frame Relay ISDN T- 3
Satellite Wireless T- 1
Cable Modem DSL Dial- Up
Of respondents ( n= 308) who said that they have internet access, 23% of the residential surveys
said that internet access is critical versus 57% of businesses that said it is critical to their
business operations.
Paying for Greater Bandwidth
$ 0 $ 10 $ 15 $ 25 $ 50 $ 75 $ 100 $ 300 $ 300+
Business Residential
To determine the true demand in Yuma County, we asked respondents how much extra they
would be willing to pay for greater bandwidth ( or faster speed). Household residents seem to not
want to pay any more than $ 10 extra per month for greater speed than the $ 23 average they are
paying now for dial- up service.
The business community's results ( n= 97) fell into three groups: those who would not pay
anything or did not want additional bandwidth ( 49%); those willing to pay about $ 25 ( 33%) and
the nine companies that would pay $ 75 or more extra per month for greater bandwidth ( 9%).
These findings are in line with similar telecom studies conducted in the past. The businesses in
this Yuma study are currently paying from $ 10 to $ 6000 monthly for internet access with an
average of $ 160 [$ 86 per month excluding the two highest amounts noted of $ 1000 and $ 6000].
The most frequently stated amount ( the mode) paid monthly was $ 20.
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8.1.2 Satisfaction with Service Providers
The following tables shows satisfaction values across respondents with a scale of 1.0 ( Very
Satisfied) to 5.0 ( Very Dissatisfied). Interestingly most respondents fall in the " Satisfied" to
" Neutral" range with their current service providers for local phone, long distance, cellular
phone, cable television and internet service. Residential households ranking local phone
service the highest and internet service lowest. Businesses ranked long distance first and cable
TV last but all scores were very similar.
Service Provider Residential Business ALL
Local Phone 2.1 2.0 2.0
Long Distance 2.3 1.7 1.9
Cellular 2.2 2.2 2.2
Cable TV 2.3 2.1 2.3
Internet Provider 2.4 1.9 2.0
If one looks at the same data sorting by city, the results are not much different with the scores in
the Satisfied to Neutral range ( 2.0 – 3.0). San Luis has the most service issues with their
cellular phone service. This is most likely due to the frequency interference from Mexico.
City Local Phone LD Cell Cable TV ISP
San Luis 1.9 2.1 2.7 2.5 2.3
Somerton 2.4 2.4 2.3 1.8 2.3
Wellton 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.2
Yuma 2.0 1.8 2.2 2.2 1.9
Total 2.0 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.0
Yuma ranked their long distance service best as did Somerton with their cable television
service. The internet service providers' performance also centered around the Satisfied to
Neutral range, whether the performance statistic is determined by residential or business
markets or by city. This is somewhat surprising considering the many comments expressing
dissatisfaction with internet service. A sampling of these comments can be found in Section 8.2.
8.1.3 Bandwidth Usage
Survey respondents showed interest in the qualities and applications of bandwidth usage as
follows ( ranked by number of responses):
Top 5 Residential Top 5 Business All Surveys
1. Faster Speed 1. Faster Speed 1. Faster Speed
2. E- Mail 2. E- Mail 2. E- Mail
3. Research/ Surfing 3. Research/ Surfing 3. Research/ Surfing
4. High Speed Data Transfer 4. Video Arraignment 4. Video Conference
5. Voice over Internet 5. Video Conferencing 5. Video Arraignment
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Almost 90% of all respondents who answered this section of the survey ranked " faster speed"
as the most desired quality they required from their internet access provider. Email was the
application used by 75% of all survey respondents and 63% used the internet for research or
internet surfing. When the surveys were analyzed by city, the top three most used applications
were the same across all cities: faster speed, email and research/ surfing.
A full listing of attributes/ applications desired, in priority order are:
Internet/ Bandwidth Uses
1. Faster Speed 6. Web Hosting 11. Training
2. E- Mail 7. Data Backup 12. Telehealth
3. Research/ Surfing 8. Data Transfer 13. Telemedicine
4. Video Conferencing 9. Link Multiple Locations 14. Voice over Internet
5. Video Arraignment 10. Distance Learning 15. GIS Data Sharing
A table listing the application priorities for each city as well as breakouts by residential/ business
can be found in Appendix C.
The citizens and business leaders in Yuma County spoke out forcefully about the current state
of telecommunications where they live and work. These comments contribute greatly towards
understanding current frustrations and future needs with regard to high- speed
telecommunications access. Here are a few comments on the subject of current frustrations
from the surveys:
"[ The problem is] the speed and ties up our phone lines – we have a limited number of
phone lines since we're out in the County. That is, it takes too long to search or
download." Agricultural Business, Yuma
" It is not fast enough to download the info and it takes forever to bring up."
Agricultural Business, Somerton
" Would like faster, more reliable service." Packing Company, Yuma
" It is not fast enough to go to web sites to do research for parts I need. When I have to
find information about vehicles, I have to go home and do it on my cable internet."
Aircraft Company, Yuma
" It's just slow. Everything is slow. It takes minutes to download pictures – a lot of
waiting." Jewelry Store, Yuma
" I just hear people complaining about slow speed. If it was faster,
people wouldn't complain." Farm Equipment Company, Yuma
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" At home we do genealogy research. Also do on- line searches for products
( books/ software) and travel. At work I order office supplies, code books and do code
research. Our dial- up access through C2i2 is tedious and extremely slow. It is frustrating
when we are doing research and have lost our connection to the site. Our dial up service
is slow when there are several users on at the same time and the internet cannot be
accessed at all, or getting " kicked off" when we are trying to access information. [ We
are] sometimes unable to access email to either receive or send." Resident, Yuma
Applications are what drive the need for high- speed access. The following are a few examples
of how the respondents currently use their internet connections.
" For educational purposes including reference and research and for administrative
purposes such as State and Federal reporting…. We use Frame Relay T- 1 for voice and
data between all of our schools and to our voice and internet service providers… Our
biggest issue is trying to get our enhanced 911 service approved." Somerton School
"[ We use the internet for] customer support, take orders over the internet, customer
tracking research, communicating with sister companies and email. Some higher speed
options are not available at certain locations; that tends to cause some problems. In the
future, would use for data transmissions to multiple location sites and e- commerce."
Farm, Yuma
" Direct connection to network for [ sister branches]; includes looking for parts all over the
US for customers, web site, some e- commerce. Use for training network in each store."
Motorcycle Dealer, Yuma
" Real estate listings, email, web pages, open escrows, access tax records." Realty
Company, Yuma
" Transfer documents easier, email faster, more training and lecturing." High Tech
Company, Yuma
" Use high- speed internet to access web sites, INS, Department of Labor, information on
health and wellness, OSA, IRS." Manufacturing Company, Yuma
" To retrieve authorizations for insurance; they submit insurance work to the labs to order
glasses." Vision Store, Yuma
Two groups of Yuma County citizens with special technology needs are low income citizens and
the large retiree population – both full time residents and snowbirds. The library district has
bridged the ' digital divide' between those who can afford internet access and those either with
very low income or fixed incomes and cannot afford neither a computer nor monthly access
costs. The biggest beneficiaries of library access are the student population – both for
homework assignments and for ' clean' entertainment.
[ High Speed] It's our oxygen! NBC News, Yuma
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" I use the library computer because I can't afford a computer. The only way to do
homework is in the school or library." Individual
" I use the library computer to entertain myself with the music and games because I'm
bored at home." Individual
I have no phone line. I use the library computer for email and research. The library's
computers are fast and they never break. Individual
I use the library computer for internet and college work. Even though I have a computer
at home, I am always in Wellton and I live in Roll. It is convenient for me to be able to
use the Wellton library's computers. Thank you. Student
I use the library computer for email and research. I can find the information for my
medicine and parents' illnesses on line. I can keep in touch with home with email. Have
you thought about a donation jar for computer users? Snowbird
We are full time RV people. We email to maintain contact with our family and keep track
of our finances. The library computers enable us to pay some bills and check our
finances in a timely manner. Also correspond with family and friends in different states.
We really appreciate being able to do so at the libraries. RV/ Snowbird
We use the library for banking, shopping and to keep in touch with friends and family
when away from home. The library is one of the main reasons we decided to make
Wellton our winter home. Snowbird
I use the library's internet access for searches and voice relay phone calls because I'm
nearly deaf. There is no phone port in my RV so this is the only way I can make phone
calls. Often need computers searches – very important to me. Retiree, Yuma
I use the internet for banking, business, shopping, research and email. Now that I am
retired, speed is not as important as a few years ago. I would pay a reasonable amount
for an increase in speed. Retiree, Yuma
During the 2003 Iraqi War, soldiers at the military camps in Kuwait would either have to get up
in the middle of the night to sign up for a spot on the internet or would have to wait four to eight
hours during the day for 30 minutes of use. No matter what base you are stationed at, the base
library is the soldier's connection to family and friends. The library district in Yuma County, as
others across the world, supports our military.
" I use the library's internet access for personal email. Many military personnel are
stationed in the vicinity. I know it helps me keep up morale and I'm sure that it helps
maintain the morale of others who are far away from home." MCAS Marine
The library district noted that, " At each of our library locations, we use the internet for work and
also we provide Yuma County residents internet access. We have 100+ computers in our
District for the public to use for internet access and 70 staff computers. Internet access is vital to
our offered services…. We want to be able in the near future to tie all of our locations together
with VoIP… We get our internet access through the Yuma Educational Consortium."
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A full summary of survey results and comments by respondents are in Appendix C. A notebook
of completed surveys organized by public entities, private businesses and individuals is
available at the Yuma County offices.
The leading edge of the Baby Boomer generation20 will start to retire within the next 4 to 7 years
and this often quoted generation will continue to begin their retirements for the next 18 years.
This phenomenon will impact Arizona and Yuma County as the Boomers look for warmth and a
cost effective location for their retirement years. Along with the increased population will be
increased demand for improved broadband access and other services.
Demand for applications and services will also be a function of software and equipment and, as
long as reasonably priced capacity is available, applications and services should not be an
issue. Future applications Yuma County will " grow" into include advanced voice services, video-conferencing,
video arraignment, high- speed data transfers, Virtual Private Networks,
transparent LAN services, electronic town hall meetings, electronic voting, and other
applications not yet created.
Businesses located along the planned port authority corridor and along the major interstate will
continually demand greater capacity at faster speeds and advanced telecommunications
services, via wireline or wireless technology. A new generation of applications such as county
security applications and e- government services needs to be deployed.
" I would use high- speed for data research, email, connect to out- of- town engineer,
advertise our company better, have our own web site."
Precooler Business, Yuma
" In the future might use connection for VPN connection and possibly web hosting."
Electrical Business, Yuma
" Would use in the future to research products, equipment, trucks and shopping for
tickets." Construction Company, Yuma
There is still a portion of the population that has difficulty envisioning how higher- speed access
will impact their lives. A big educational effort is needed both now and as more applications
become available throughout the county. Bringing greater speed/ bandwidth and applications to
the county will require classes, seminars and marketing campaigns so that citizens and
businesses can understand how internet and other high- speed applications can enrich their
lives. Here are some comments from those that are not now able to see how higher- speed
access and applications will impact them:
" I don't know enough about it to know how I would use it." Produce Company, Yuma
" I wouldn't do anything different from what I do now." Dairy Farm, Yuma
" It would just make everything faster… instant speed would be the best."
20 The " Baby Boomer" generation is generally defined as those people born between 1946 and 1964.
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Agricultural Company, Yuma
" More interested in saving time than anything." Nursery, Yuma
No particular advantages [ to higher speed]. Farm Service Company, Yuma
I don't know much about high speed. Heating Company, Yuma
Don't have a clue what the difference would be [ with faster speed]. Bank, Yuma
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Revenue = Price x Demand
A revenue assessment is ostensibly very simple — one just needs to multiply price by demand
to yield revenue. Price ranges are determined by looking at comparably priced services in the
relevant city, county, in Phoenix and industry- wide.
Demand Estimates and Projections
The demand side of the equation is a little trickier. In order to aggregate the bandwidth needs of
the County we need to know who will buy what demand of the various levels of bandwidth that
might be offered.
One should note that we have categorized this bandwidth by high, medium and low. We have
established these categories to recognize that what we consider high, medium and low today
will have a totally different definition in ten years.
Our current definition is that " high" is 1.5 Mb/ s or greater, " medium" is 512 Kb/ s and " low" is 128-
256 Kb/ s. A telecom " think tank" study by Dr.
Lawrence Vanston called The Local Exchange
Network in 2015 looks at a probable scenario for
telecommunications in the future. His advisory
board included input from Verizon, SBC, Bell
Canada, BellSouth, Sprint and Qwest. The report
suggests that, by the year 2015, " high" bandwidth will be 100 Megabits per second and above;
" medium" will be 6- 24 Mb/ s and " low" will be 1.5 Mb/ s and lower. 21
Residential demand
Population and household data estimates and projections for each community are based on U.
S. Department of the Census ( census 2000) and official State data sources. 22 A recent Northern
Arizona University study, Grand Canyon State Poll, stated that 76% of the respondents have
access to the internet. 23 The study also commented on the relationship between household
income and internet access.
To be able to establish a " starting point" for internet access for each city, an index was created
based on the relationship of each community's median household income compared to the
State of Arizona. This index then is used to interpolate an estimate of the percentage of
households with internet access in each community. Since the Cocopah reservation is included
in Somerton, each community's percentage ( of internet access users) is weighted by its number
of households to yield an overall percentage of internet access for the total households. This
percentage is increased over the ten- year period.
21 Lawrence K. Vanston, Ph. D., The Local Exchange Network in 2015, Technology Futures, Inc., 2001.
http:// www. tfi. com/ pubs/ 2015. html
22 http:// www. de. state. az. us/ links/ economic/ webpage/ popweb/ index. html
23 Grand Canyon State Poll, Northern Arizona University Social Research Laboratory, April 17, 2002.
http:// www4. nau. edu/ srl/ News/ 04- 17- 02. pdf
BW Now 2015
High 1.5 Mb+ 100Mb+
Med 256- 512Kb 24- 50Mb
Low- Med 128Kb or less 1.5Mb or less
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The bandwidth accessed by households is segmented into Medium, Low, and Dial- Up
households so that the appropriate pricing can be applied to yield revenue projections.
Bandwidth has not been designated by absolute demand ( e. g. 256Kbps or 1.544Mbps) because
we believe that bandwidth, over a ten- year period of time will become commodity- like similar to
what has happened with the cellular telephone industry. As the cell phone industry matured,
providers offered a greater demand of minutes for the same monthly fee to protect their revenue
stream. Projections for medium and low residential bandwidth demand was estimated by the
project team based on the existing infrastructure, discussions with existing providers, and
industry- wide research, such as the Technology Futures, Inc. white paper.
Public/ Private/ Nonprofit Demand
This category includes the " big users" of large amounts of bandwidth; therefore we need more
specific input from these potential bandwidth customers. A database of all the private and
public businesses in the County, by municipality was developed ( using Dun & Bradstreet
primary data). A growth factor was assigned to each community based on the characteristics of
the community ( e. g. income level, broadband availability, historical growth rates, support of local
government and community leaders). For example, the 2,614 entities in Yuma are projected to
grow 4% per year as businesses spread east from California and southwest from Phoenix and
broadband becomes more widespread.
Information collected from the telecom survey results, interviews with government, educational,
medical, private business and bandwidth vendors was used to estimate what bandwidth
businesses have now and will most likely need in the future. These quantitative results
( bandwidth by category – high, medium, low) were then fed into the revenue model along with
the up- to- date population projections, business growth and industry statistics customized to
meet the specifics of the telecommunications environment Yuma County.
Demand Results
The result of the above calculations is the projection of the number of households or firms
buying various levels of bandwidth over the next ten years ( see financial model in Appendix I).
One should note that we are projecting that the " mix" of bandwidth will also change over the ten-year
period. As greater bandwidth becomes available at affordable price points; dial- up access
becomes almost obsolete.
The primary issue with " take rates" or how many firms ( or households) will buy a high- speed
connection, is the pricing levels – how affordable the services are for the long term. We have
assumed that pricing for public and private entities will start at rates currently being offered by
the more competitively priced high- speed access providers in each of the communities. Over
time, we are predicting that prices will decrease as either competition increases and/ or the
wholesale cost of the bandwidth decreases. By year 6, we assume that equipment fees will be
included in the monthly service price.
Using the above assumptions for quantities bought and pricing schedules, the following table
displays possible total high- speed revenue potential for the community clusters ( amounts in
thousands of dollars).
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Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
Yuma COUNTY
San Luis $ 178 $ 450 $ 647 $ 831
Somerton 186 366 459 639
Wellton 135 194 209 235
Yuma 5,117 6,668 8,461 12,072
So what options does this information generate?
1) Private providers can insert the projected revenues into their cost models to determine
whether or not they want to provide service in the county.
2) Community clusters and/ or counties may, individually or jointly, put out a Request for
Proposal that quantifies the revenues for the public entities as anchor tenants and
potential revenue throughout the county.
3) The county may decide to build a backbone network in a portion of the county and, with
the development of the cost structures for various technology options, could determine
whether the investment in a telecommunications infrastructure makes sense.
4) This information could provide the impetus for incumbent providers ( telephone, cable,
ISPs) to enhance their facilities and services provided.
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Yuma County covers a geographic territory of 5,522 square miles with a majority of the land
mass incorporating an arid desert environment with elevations
ranging from 100 feet to 1,000 feet in the numerous rugged
mountains that dot the landscape. Primary economic drivers
for Yuma County include agriculture, tourism, government and
the military industry. In spite of its large geographic
boundaries, only about a 10th of the land mass is privately
owned ( 10.5% of the land is owned by corporations or
The City of Yuma is the county seat and is located in the
southwest corner of the county, central to the other 3
incorporated cities and towns in Yuma County. Yuma is also
the largest population center in the county. The majority of the
county's population is concentrated in the geographic corridor
that runs between Wellton in the south central portion of
Yuma County, on I- 8, west through Yuma and then south on the Highway 95 corridor that
encompasses Somerton and San Luis ( which is directly on the U. S.- Mexico border).
Yuma County is home to additional, much smaller settlements that are not incorporated and
have extremely limited government services. Those communities include Gadsden in the south
between Somerton and San Luis, and Tacna, Roll, Dateland and Aztec which all lie to the east
of Wellton on the I- 8 corridor. There is also a very large and rapidly growing development on the
eastern limits of the City of Yuma, an area called the Foothills, which lies at the base of the
western slope of the Gila Mountains.
Yuma County enjoys a robust network, employing multiple T- 1s, SDSL and a gigabit Ethernet
for the county's local and wide area network in Yuma ( the city). The county does employ GIS
and maintains a strong web presence. It has plans to expand its active use of this technology,
intending to create an interactive web interface for its citizens' benefit, as well as increased
access to state and federal data bases.
The County's Community Development Department is advanced in its grasp of technological
capabilities and is very keen to capture the economies that such technology can provide to a
sophisticated and well- run operation. The County also has the benefit of a well- trained and
sizable IT support staff which stays well ahead of the technology needs of the county's
departments and administration. Existing networks, projects and contracts can be characterized
as adequate and redundant, and the County should certainly consider this a tremendous asset.
Current broadband usage is very high and future demand is anticipated to continue to be very
high. The deployment of these new applications is proof that the need for additional bandwidth
is inevitable.
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10.2.1 Yuma
The City of Yuma serves as the county seat of Yuma County and is the site of a major military
installation, the Yuma Marine Corp Air Station. Yuma is located just below the confluence of the
Colorado and Gila Rivers, and the site has been recognized since prehistoric times as a
preferred location for crossing the mighty Colorado River into what is now California.
Agriculture is the major employer in Yuma followed by government ( all levels) and the service
sector ( medical, professional and tourism related). Yuma's location in the deep southwest
corner of Arizona establishes it as a major port of entry between Mexico and the U. S. as well as
a significant hub on the I- 8 transportation corridor between San Diego, California and Casa
Grande, Arizona and the intersection with I- 10. In 2003, Yuma was listed as the 3rd fastest
growing city in the United States.
Qwest Communications is the area local exchange carrier and does have fiber optic cable in the
city, as well as digital switching capacity. Adelphia is the cable service provider and is providing
digital cable service. There are numerous internet service providers in Yuma, ranging from
cable to DSL to wireless services.
The City of Yuma maintains an extensive data communications system networked out of its
newly constructed city hall. It has recently invested in new network infrastructure and has plans
to deploy a citywide fiber network to support an " Intelligent Traffic System." The city has
deployed various network topologies to support the city's needs over the past several years.
The network consists of a combination of T- 1' s, ISDN circuits, wireless networks, TCP/ IP
circuits and VoIP for voice communications. Like the County, the City of Yuma enjoys the
advantages of a forward- thinking, sophisticated IT team that manages an extensive network for
the benefit of the community. This department has already captured significant cost savings
through the employment of VoIP technologies and has plans to expand cost- savings
technologies on an even broader basis. Existing bandwidth demands for the City of Yuma are
already very high and are anticipated to remain so, and even increase, in the foreseeable future.
MCAS Yuma has cable service from Adelphia serving approximately 2300 billable addresses.
The service coverage includes cable TV and broadband for the base housing and barracks.
Qwest is positioned to deploy DSL to the same service area on the Air Station by mid- to late
February, 2004.
10.2.2 San Luis
This rapidly growing community is a short 20 miles south of the City of Yuma. San Luis is the
site of a large international border crossing. Its sister city, San Luis Rio Colorado is in Sonora,
Mexico and has a population of over 200,000. The Town of San Luis has experienced
exponential growth with the population rapidly increasing from 4,212 in 1990 to an estimated
19,764 in 2003.
Surrounded by very highly productive agricultural lands, San Luis enjoys an economic boost
from light industry that serves both sides of the border. There is active development of a 40 acre
industrial park and 40 acre commercial development on the state highway 95 frontage in the
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northern section of San Luis. A major expansion of the border crossing is planned to
accommodate the significant increase in demand for transportation of products across the
border between the U. S. and Mexico.
Local exchange service is provided by Qwest Communications, Adelphia provides cable
television service and BeamSpeed offers wireless internet access in the community. Access to
fiber optic cable does not yet exist and the local switch is not digital ( the PSAP is located in
Somerton, 14 miles to the north). The city does maintain a local area network in the city hall as
well as a wireless wide area network to some, but not all, of its external city sites. The city does
not use GIS, depending instead on aerial photography for planning purposes. However, there is
recognition that digital applications for planning purposes in the near term are an important tool
for the city, especially in the face of such rapid growth and development.
The police department currently has direct access to the ACEGIS and NCIC databases, but
would like to have broadband digital access, especially since both databases are scheduled to
go digital by 2005. With its location on the international border with Mexico, San Luis recognizes
that Homeland Security is extremely important and cutting edge technology will be required to
meet security demands.
The economic development community in San Luis, and at least a few of its businesses,
recognize the need for enhanced access to broadband technology, especially given their efforts
to attract and locate intensive manufacturing and assembly plants to the area. Current
technology applications and bandwidth demands are deemed to be moderate, but it is
anticipated that in the very near future, bandwidth demands in San Luis will rocket into the high
demand category.
10.2.3 Somerton
Located just 10 miles south of Yuma, on state highway 95, Somerton is a small, agriculturally
oriented community. Its location is the same distance from the Mexico border as it is from the
California border. Like the rest of the southwest region of Yuma County, Somerton is
experiencing significant growth and just recently undertook an ambitious annexation endeavor.
This community has recently added an elementary and middle school as well as some new
retail development.
Qwest Communications is the local exchange carrier and Adelphia is the cable television
supplier. DSL and cable modem service are not currently available in Somerton. The city hall
does have a local area network, as does the police department, but there is no wide area
network capability to the outlying city offices like parks and recreation or the fire department.
The police department does not have laptops in the cars, nor are there any plans in the near
term to equip them with that capacity.
The city hall used to have a T- 1 connection for internet access, but its private sector IT
consultant recommended ending that service and switching to a wireless connection to the
internet via BeamSpeed in order to save the city money. External departments have a shared
dial- up access to the internet, but it can only be used by one computer at a time. The town
engineer prefers to maintain mapping records in AutoCAD drawings, but the city manager
recognizes there would be benefits in migrating to a GIS- based system, especially with the
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planned annexation. The city is currently exploring having its sewer system migrated to GIS and
has ArcView software installed.
The city does not maintain a webpage and does not have capacity to provide for that avenue of
citizen access. The city manager did indicate that the residents of Somerton did value
technology, and that many families made the financial sacrifice required to obtain computers
and internet access for their children. Current bandwidth demand is considered to be low, but it
is anticipated to increase in the short term to at least the moderate level, and perhaps even into
the higher demand category in the longer term.
10.2.4 Wellton
This idyllic agrarian community is located 29 miles east of Yuma, on I- 8 on the east slope of
Telegraph Pass and in the scenic and fertile Mohawk Valley. Incorporated in 1970, Wellton
combines a long- standing history in ranching, agriculture, and water with a more recent
phenomenon of serving as a winter resort and retirement community. The area's mild winters
and year- round growing season ( and golf season) make it a new and highly desirable
destination for the winter snowbirds from up north. There is a small, but growing retail sector in
Wellton. While agriculture remains the largest economic driver and employer, energy
development interests and manufacturing may be positioning themselves to exert a new
economic influence on Wellton and its neighbors.
The Town of Wellton was recently awarded a $ 1.3 million dollar grant from USDA to provide
broadband wireless internet access to the community. Telespectra, in partnership with
BeamSpeed was the successful project bidder. Facilities that now have high speed wireless
internet access in Wellton are:
• Wellton Library/ Community Center
• Wellton Police Department
• Yuma County Sheriff Sub- Station
• Wellton Elementary School
• Antelope Union High School
• East County School Healthcare Center
• Arizona Western Farm Service
• McElhaney Cattle Company
• Wellton Mohawk Irrigation
See Appendix H for additional information about Telespectra.
Wellton is just starting to understand and capture the opportunities that such accessibility offers,
and is working steadily to harness the benefits. The police department would like to equip its
patrol cars with laptops to access the NCIC database in real time. The fire department is
interested in GPS and GSD applications for real time access to information on haz- mat
locations and other resource databases.
The town does have GIS capability through its designated town engineer, who is based in
Yuma. There is concern and frustration with its proprietary software developer because the
financial software packages currently available are not oriented toward small, rural community
financial needs and technical assistance is remotely located. The town maintains a web
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Manweiler Telecom Consulting, LLC 45
presence, but there is no designated IT position on town staff, a shortcoming that the town
would like to address but encounters financial limitations to do so.
Because Wellton is just starting to employ the technologies that demand broadband access,
and given that it currently has wireless broadband access through a USDA- funded
demonstration project, the current bandwidth demands are considered to be moderate.
However, with the rapid development of a 500 unit planned unit development on its southern
flank, and an additional 1500 units potential, this community's demand will likely leap into the
high demand category in the near future.
10.2.5 Cocopah Reservation
The Cocopah Indian Reservation is a network of three tribal locations that total almost 8,000
acres. Established by a Presidential Executive Order by Woodrow Wilson in 1917, the
reservation land mass was increased by Congress in 1985. There is an east and west
reservation, as well as the newer, north reservation. The tribe just recently completed the
construction of a new casino on state highway 95, replacing an older, smaller version in a
neighboring location. The north reservation hosts a golf course resort and is a favorite
destination of winter snowbirds. Agriculture remains a major economic sector for the tribe, with
large tracts of irrigated agriculture leased to corporate interests. Income from agricultural leases
provides a level of income secondary to the casino revenues and golf resort revenues.
The unemployment rate for 2000 was 13.2%, a very low figure compared to other reservation
statistics, but the 2002 estimated unemployment figure has risen to 18.7%. The Cocopah Tribe
has been recognized for its ground- breaking intergovernmental agreement on mutual aid fire
protection with the City of Somerton which borders the west and east reservations. The tribe is a
member of the Yuma Metro Planning Organization and has participated in the Area Service
Highways project which runs from Yuma to the border.
Qwest Communications is the local exchange carrier. The tribal administrator has indicated that
service quality is not good and there is a need for expanded access for the casino, which
currently has 2 T- 1s in service, one for voice and one for data purposes. Adelphia has installed
fiber to the golf resort on the north reservation, but has not extended service to the west and
east reservations, stopping just short of the casino location on the east reservation. The casino
is currently using satellite access for television service.
Internet access is available from Cochise Internet and Sierra Vista but DSL and cable modem
service are not available. In 1995, the tribal council authorized the purchase of new computers.
Since that time, a plan has been developed to obtain 200 state- of- the art computer modules
with a refresh rate of 3 years. The tribal administrator, who has a background in IT, clearly is
cognizant of the importance of technology for the future of the tribe. There is interest in
educational, cultural, environmental, and health- related applications using broadband access.
At the current time, there is low demand for bandwidth, but that demand is expected in increase
in the near future with the addition of the new casino and other tribal plans, to the high demand
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Manweiler Telecom Consulting, LLC 46
No other market segment has had the price subsidy
support and statewide design assistance that K- 12
schools have had. Two key factors in recent
development of the K- 12 network infrastructure are:
• Federal E- rate subsidy support for
telecommunications services, internet
connectivity, and internal connections ( such
as routers); and
• The Arizona School Facilities Board's Students FIRST program which upgraded network
technology to provide school LANs and district WANs that aggregate school district
internet access to a single broadband connection point, called a District Aggregation
Point, or DAP
In most rural communities the school is often the only user of higher- bandwidth connectivity, but
even in their larger, more urban communities, it may be the first place residents are exposed to
advanced network applications and higher bandwidth services.
Typically, network development planning encourages just the sort of district- level aggregation
that has already been achieved in Arizona via the Students FIRST initiative. Connectivity to the
Students FIRST program's minimum standards ( established in May of 2000) was reported
completed as of June 30, 2003, so connectivity goals can be said to have been met. [ No
summary project report or individual county data was available from the Arizona School
Facilities Board. A public information request for individual district information identifying district
aggregation points ( DAPs) was pending as of February 10, 2004.]
The definition of " broadband," however, may still be subject to local limitations. One Yuma
County town – Dateland – was unable to get a T- 1 circuit for its schools from its local
independent telephone company, the Arizona Telephone Company ( a TDS company), and has
had to resort to satellite connectivity. The satellite connection is at T- 1 bandwidth, but appears
to have some performance problems due to latency issues.
Interviews with d
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