Two broadband companies express interest in Hillsboro
Two more companies offering broadband Internet service may soon be vying for your business.
Within the space of a few weeks, a company from Council Grove and a company from Pennsylvania have each expressed interest in offering wireless Internet here in Hillsboro.
Area residents can already buy wireless Internet from DTN SpeedNet, which has two representatives in Hillsboro and one in Marion. Through DTN, subscribers must have an antenna that's in the direct line of sight with equipment fixed to the top of the Cooperative Grain and Supply grain elevator.
One of the new companies, Tri-County Telephone out of Council Grove, would also need to install equipment at a high location. They've approached the City of Hillsboro to ask if equipment could be put on the water tower.
TCT approved a similar agreement with the City of Marion two weeks ago. In exchange for use of the water tower, TCT is giving the city five free Internet connections.
TCT currently offers regular telephone service in nearby towns including Tampa, Lost Springs, and Ramona.
The company began talking informally to Hillsboro a few weeks ago, said TCT representative Phil Brockmeier. They will soon offer Internet to Marion and Herington, and they're in talks with Abilene, Chapman, and Enterprise.
Why do they need to use the Hillsboro water tower? It's the best place to install their equipment, he said.
"That's definitely the highest thing around," Brockmeier said.
The other company interested in bringing broadband to Hillsboro is Pegasus Communcations, a division of Pegasus Satellite Television out of Bala Cynwyd, Penn.
Pegasus published legal notices in last week's Hillsboro Star-Journal and Marion County Record, each stating the company's intent to bring their broadband services into the area.
Pegasus is applying for loan money from the United States Department of Agriculture's rural utilities service. Under the USDA's broadband pilot program, companies can borrow funds to bring broadband service into rural communities.
It's a result of the Rural Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, which was signed into existence in late January by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman.
The loan program does give preference to those communities who have no broadband access at all and have a population of fewer than 2,500.
Attempts to contact Pegasus representatives before press time were unsuccessful.
