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Recommended Broadband Initiatives <br />OPTIONS <br />1. Consider partnering with the City of Fellsmere and potentially help fund <br />Fellsmere's broadband plan which will bring broadband services to the <br />underserved in western rural IRC. Specifically, the Fellsmere plan calls for <br />fiber backhaul from Wireless Tower locations in unincorporated parts of IRC. <br />These towers will be equipped w'th CBRS radio gear that would provide <br />internet access to the unincorporated areas around Fellsmere. Fellsmere <br />proposes to build a conduit system underground to be used by both ISP and <br />WISP broadband providers. The entire Fellsmere plan is about 2.7 million <br />dollars. Please see attached Fells;rnere plan, maps and cost. <br />2. Consider extending the county's existing or proposed fiber network to the <br />Gifford area and work with ISPs to use this connectivity to extend the ISP's <br />last mile to underserved areas of Gifford. If unable to forge a partnership <br />with an ISP to serve the Gifford a.-ea's underserved, consider working with a <br />WISP (Wireless ISP provider) to build a low cost CBRS wireless network that <br />would serve the Gifford underserved areas. A recent grant application <br />estimates that a retail fiber network would cost about 11 million dollars to <br />construct. IRC could consider a split cost model (fiber build) with an ISP to <br />serve the Gifford community. A much less expensive alternative is a <br />complete wireless broadband network with fiber backhaul to the wireless <br />tower positions. The details of providing a low-cost high output wireless <br />broadband network are these: <br />A CBRS wireless broadband network study has been prepared for the Gifford <br />area. The network is designed as a fixed network meaning the receiving <br />locations are buildings, public places or residences that are not in motion. <br />Public assets (water tower and E©C tower) are proposed as base station <br />sites. Both are on the conceptual fiber connection plan that Magellan <br />prepared for Indian River County and as outlined in this report. Each location <br />will have a 4 -sector base station located on the tower. This will provide good <br />coverage and capacity for the area. Towers close to airports have height <br />restrictions and must be lighted. The tower assets used for this design are <br />existing structures. The height is not raised by the addition of the CBRS <br />equipment. The existing registration with FAA will not be changed by this <br />installation. Much has been made in the news about 5G interfering with <br />37 <br />WWW.MAGELLAN-ADVISORS.CoM 212 <br />