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March 13, 2015
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Islander aims to expand rural broadband access
by Arlene Benham

 

    Building a better mousetrap is a common idea, particularly for many small businesses seeking to improve on advances in technology. Centering an entire project within its community of origin -- funding and all -- is a bit less common, but this is what Howard Small of Grand Manan is hoping to do with his Internet service, Crave Technologies. Small is currently fundraising and seeking investors to build a system to bring "city‑grade, high‑speed Internet to the rural consumer."
     Grand Manan has struggled with slow Internet service for some time. Last fall, an island‑wide outcry from residents led to some improvement, although explanations as to how that was accomplished vary; it is unclear whether more capacity was added. What isn't in doubt is that Grand Manan is considered a "congested area," meaning that demand for high‑speed services like video streaming sometimes exceeds Bell Aliant's ability to deliver. Small explains, "It's all about how much pie there is." A certain capacity is available to the island. A few business customers pay for costly dedicated higher‑service levels. Some reserve capacity exists; some covers mobile service and land lines and "the rest has to serve 1,100 homes," he says. Available bandwidth varies with time of day, and problems arise when "everybody wants it all at the same time."
     Small says it's hard to make a business of "wire‑line technology" in low‑density areas. His "better mousetrap" is a wireless system with towers providing high‑speed transmission to "places regular high‑speed Internet can't go." So far, he has proven the idea with service to about 90 Grand Manan homes, White Head and some pioneering projects with the Canadian Coast Guard on Machias Seal Island and Bowdoin College's Kent Island research station. Coastal Transport is also a client.
     Small has been interested in computers since he was eight years old and has been building them for 20 years. He's always liked mechanical and electronic things and has experience in auto and industrial mechanics, power engineering and welding, but over the past 10 years, he says, "[Computer networking] has really captured my interest. It's amazing you can send data from here to another point on Earth in a millisecond." Crave Technologies began with Fundy Bay Networks, part of another business he and his wife owned. When they sold that business, Crave was incorporated in 2009 and is now registered with the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a non‑dominant carrier.
     "Finding the first customers wasn't hard," Small says.  "Convincing them it would work was hard. 'How can this guy provide high‑speed Internet to places where big guys can't?' It took a long while for people to understand the little guy could do it. The service is better, but the product is [also] better." Wireless transmission isn't limited by a lack of physical connections. Small pitched the Seal Island system to the Coast Guard and paid for it until it was installed and working, then surprised his contact with a call from the island. That was five years ago, and the equipment is very weather‑resistant. "It's seen 120‑knot wind [and] freezing spray," he says.
     His current customers praise the service and were particularly vocal last fall when Bell Aliant users were struggling. Unfortunately, Small is not able to take on more customers now because he has to allow for peak demand, and about 15% of the time his capacity is maxed out.
     Now he is hoping to raise $100,000 to build a new wireless link to the mainland, with faster service, more connections and up to 500 megabytes of capacity, over 1.5 times the capacity Bell currently provides. While the plans are "still very much fluid," they include two new transmission towers, two 1‑gigabit‑per‑second links, some fibre cable, routers and relay stations. The first phase is the mainland link. Then he wants to expand coverage on the island, with hopes of one day serving 80% of Grand Manan. "It should be smokin' fast," he says.
     The project is very much driven by his ideal of keeping the money in the community. While he says "it makes sense" to approach a bank or find a grant, he envisions instead a company funded by the community it serves. He's launched an Indiegogo fundraiser that runs until Monday, April 6, and is selling shares in the company. At $10 per share with a $100 minimum, he says the response has been very good. "People get a stock certificate and a piece of the company." A corporate investor with some expertise has given him a boost. Small says, "People know me. They've seen me build this from nothing. If I can engage people, they'll be lifelong customers and promote the company." While the first year of the project would be a building phase in which any dividends would be small, he is optimistic about paying good returns in the second year after expansion, in late 2016B17. "So investors get dividends to spend in the community." Small eventually intends to buy back the stock, perhaps by the third to fifth year. "People can park their money, make a return, then cash out." It's a loan from the public he hopes to serve in order to get the company going.
     He doesn't think Grand Manan is too small a place to raise $100,000. "If each home put in $100, we'd be done," he says. If all the current commitments come through, he'll have reached 20% of his goal. "It's not all about building capital," he adds. "You can't have financial capital without people capital." He's excited about four partners with business or technical expertise. "I'm putting together a great team."
     Convincing the skeptics hasn't always been easy. Recalling his pitch to the residents of White Head, Small says, "It feels like I'm auditioning all over again. I know I can do this. It's always been about helping the community. Yes, I want to make a living and provide good service. This is something we can do as a community. Why should we be at the mercy of some big faceless corporation?" He points out that all of his customers have his cell phone number and that no matter where he is he can log in to check on the system from that phone. He sets everything up and says, "When I leave you can sit down and use it."
     Why should non‑islanders be interested? Small envisions taking what he learns from this project and developing a system that could be deployed anywhere in the world, including to restore communication in the wake of disasters. He would be able to consult or set up such systems. "Anyone in a rural community anywhere can benefit from this. Nobody has to live with dial‑up anymore."
     For more information on Crave Technologies and Small's project, visit <www.indiegogo.com/projects/ultra‑high‑speed‑rural‑broadband‑network#home>.

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