Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SGRITA Broadband Initiative?
What is Wireless Broadband?
When and Why was SGRITA created?
How do I sign up?
What will the broadband network be good for?
When will the network be built?
Who will build the network and with what equipment?
Will the network help schools, hospitals and police?
How will the network provide coverage throughout the five Counties?
What is a CPE? What size is it?
Will the CPE impact the look of my home, business or farm?
Will the network be accessible indoors or outdoors?
Is wireless broadband technology secure?
Is there any evidence of negative health consequences related to wireless broadband?
Is wireless broadband service affected by weather changes?
What will I need to log on? What can I log on with?
Will the network become obsolete?
What data speeds should I expect?
What fees will be associated with using the network?
What process will SGRITA use to select vendors?
What is the SGRITA Broadband Initiative?
The South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority Broadband project is a five County initiative to provide outdoor wireless broadband coverage to all residents and businesses throughout Baker, Calhoun, Early, Miller, and Mitchell counties.
The project is not the doings of SGRITA alone. The project owes much of its beginnings to the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District (FRSWCD) going back to 2001 and earlier in its work with Variable Rate Irrigation with UGA-NESPAL and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. You can read an early press release here. The Flint River District has demonstrated the viability of wireless broadband in the area over several years.
FRSWCD is a significant funder of the project as is OneGeorgia Authority through the OneGeorgia BRIDGE program.
Georgia Technology Authority, Civitium LLC, Georgia Tech, and Coastal Broadband have provided expertise for this project and prior work.
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What is Wireless Broadband?
Wireless broadband is very similar to cable, DSL, or fiber in that it provides a high speed data connection to the Internet. It is different from those services though in that it doesn't require a physical line to be run. Instead, service is delivered via a wireless link to tower sites, much like cell phone service. It can be slightly less reliable than a wired service, but it can reach places other broadband services cannot and provides a way for us all to re-invest in the community and help our area grow.
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When and Why was SGRITA created?
SGRITA was formed in March 2007 after enabling legislation was passed through the foresight of Representative Gerald Green.
SGRITA was created to provide broadband and technology leadership within the five counties. The five counties recognized they are significantly behind other parts of Georgia in broadband availability and that the US in general is falling behind other parts of the world. SGRITA recognizes that technology is increasingly important for our education, health, safety, communication, and economic competiveness. SGRITA wants rural farms, businesses, and residents to be able to compete with anyone and anywhere in the world.
SGRITA's Board consists of five County Commissioners or their designees and five additional members of SGRITA's choosing. Meetings are open to the public.
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How do I sign up?
SGRITA's board of directors is currently considering all the options for the build out of phase 2, which is intended to provide service to commercial and residential users. At this time, if you are interested in pricing and availability, please make sure to add your information to our contact list. We will notify you as soon as the service is available in your area. CLICK HERE
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What will the broadband network be good for?
SGRITA has conducted surveys and interview sessions to understand how people in the region want to use broadband and examined applications from pivot control to remote learning. The network will be designed to support these as best it can in a cost effective manner.
If you have a question on what the network can do, or ideas on what you'd like to see, please send them to info@sgrita.org or call our main number. We'd love to hear from you and know folks will think of ideas we've never considered.
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When will the network be built?
It is estimated that the network will require approximately two years to build and the deployment will occur over two phases. Phase one will consist of building the wireless backbone around the counties to serve a limited set of education and business applications. Phase two will consist of the remainder of the build out to serve residences, businesses, and farms throughout the five counties.
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Who will build the network and with what equipment?
SGRITA will release RFPs (Requests for Proposal) to for open bidding. We welcome all proposals and alternative proposals during the course of those RFPs.
Will the network help schools, hospitals and police?
Yes. The SGRITA network will bring affordable and competitive high speed broadband to the five county area and will provide much more advanced and ubiquitous data services than the options currently available.
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How will the network provide coverage throughout the five Counties?
Much like cell phone networks, towers will be utilized to provide wireless coverage throughout the five County area. Each tower will consist of a wireless base station that will provide a wireless data connection to devices located at businesses and residences. SGRITA will do its best to ensure complete coverage to citizens and farms but knows that more funds will be required to provide 100% coverage.
If you have any structure sixty feet tall or higher that might be useful for an antenna for the network, please contact info@sgrita.org. Your structure may be helpful to us and will serve to benefit the community.
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What is a CPE? What size is it?
An outdoor CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) device is typically a small, approximately 12" x 12," radio that is used to relay the wireless signal to your home, business, or farm.
Will the CPE impact the look of my home, business or farm?
Due to their relatively small size and low profile, a CPE device is not much different than a DirectTV satellite dish. SGRITA does not expect any significant concerns.
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Will the network be accessible indoors or outdoors?
With a proper outdoor CPE installation, you'll be able to use the network indoors and out. In some cases, people located close to a tower may be able to use the network without an outdoor installation.
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Is wireless broadband technology secure?
Yes, the SGRITA system will be designed with robust security mechanisms. All wireless links will be 100% encrypted, 100% of the time using the AES ("Advanced Encryption Standard"), a cryptography mechanisms embraced by the National Security Agency.
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Is there any evidence of negative health consequences related to wireless broadband?
No. There is no compelling evidence to indicate that wireless broadband is a public health issue. Further information on wireless emissions can be found at the Federal Communications Committee website. The FCC states that all devices complying with its standards are not harmful to anyone's health.
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Is wireless broadband service affected by weather changes?
Wireless broadband service is generally not affected by changes in the weather, but it can be a little less reliable than the best cable or DSL services.
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What will I need to log on? What can I log on with?
To connect to the network, users will require a Customer Premise Equipment ("CPE") device. Typically, the CPE will be a self-contained radio and antenna device that will be mounted on or near the eaves of the rooftop much like a satellite dish (though much smaller in size). The CPE will provide an Ethernet connection to the residence or business, to which a desktop computer, laptop, switch or Wi-Fi router can be connected. A single CPE can easily support one to many network users.
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Will the network become obsolete?
SGRITA will use revenues from the project to maintain and upgrade the network to avoid obsolescence.
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What data speeds should I expect?
An effort is currently underway to examine the best options for the technical architecture and network design of the SGRITA broadband network. The network will be capable of broadband speeds and will likely offer multiple options for people to choose from.
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What fees will be associated with using the network?
Final introductory pricing will be determined after the engineering is completed. SGRITA will make the pricing as reasonable as possible while meeting the costs of the network.
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What process will SGRITA use to select vendors?
A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued and the SGRITA Board will follow a standard process to evaluate the proposals the Counties receive in response to the request.
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