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Broadband Connectivity for Tribal Nations

It can be difficult for rural communities to find doctors and staff to serve their residents. This tribal nation provides housing to attract and retain competent provider staff, however, the residential neighborhood has only spotty satellite internet service. Native families living on remote reservations often rely on community libraries, schools, clinics, and tribal offices as sometimes their only source of a WI-FI signal, and many homes are located miles from the nearest access point.

Their main medical facility is the hub of healthcare services, covering the entire nation. MSB worked with the facility’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and IT Director to modernize and improve the nation’s existing wireless internet network by leveraging existing telecommunications assets. The nation had built a wireless ISP fiber backhaul at the healthcare center and attempted to provide internet through three communication towers a few miles from the center, but achieved connectivity delivering only approximately 1 MG per second.

MSB focused its solution on adopting the most efficient and cost-effective means of connecting the healthcare provider housing to the hospital’s WISP. MSB assessed the existing communications towers and determined that grounding and power were deficient, and the cabinets suffered frequent failures due to the lack of air conditioning. MSB supported the nation’s grant application to capitalize on available pandemic recovery grant money to fund tower upgrades. The improvements would make the towers more resilient by replacing nodes, grounding and switching, installing air-conditioned cabinets, and an upgraded power supply to the towers. MSB also performed commissioning and startup of the network and will provide ongoing technical support and monitoring to ensure reliable connectivity.

Services Provided:

  • Engineering Assessment & Cost Analysis
  • Value & Consulting Engineering
  • Schedule & Budget Development
  • Grant Application Support
  • Tower Assessment & Upgrades
  • Hardware Research & Selection
  • Network Build & Integration
  • Permitting & Negotiations
  • Construction Management
  • Commissioning & Startup
  • As-Built Documentation
  • Ongoing System Maintenance & Support

San Mateo County

MSB and Kaizen Technology collaborated with county planners to design a high-tech rural broadband grant application package to fund infrastructure for residential areas, a community center, and drive-up internet cafés serving as Wi-Fi hotspots.

Engineering Solutions to Bridge the Digital Divide

Municipalities need professional guidance and expertise to seek out resources and technology to create a pathway to ensuring wireless connectivity to communities both remote and rural and urban yet isolated. Causes contributing to a lack of internet access vary by community and require diverse solutions.

MSB’s rural broadband grant application services included technical engineering, wireless network conceptual design, planning, vendor coordination, and hardware selection to meet the grant requirements. The network solution incorporates a combination of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites for internet backhaul and last mile broadcasts utilizing CBRS and Wi-Fi frequency spectra.

“Our client’s grant application required a solution design and schematic from a licensed engineer. MSB’s experience designing internet access solutions for hard-to-reach areas was a key selling point. The team at MSB was collaborative and responsive to the requirements and tight deadlines. We look forward to working with them on more projects in the future.” – Dao Jensen, CEO Kaizen Technology Partners

The deployment of this broadband solution will ensure reliable, high speed internet connectivity for residents in the mostly rough, mountainous terrain of San Mateo County. In this economically challenged area, the network will establish a lifeline for public safety communications and serve as a catalyst for economic opportunity by facilitating civic engagement, furthering educational attainment and creating jobs.`