To address this issue in their state, the 400 member cities of the Oklahoma Municipal League have created the Oklahoma Municipal Services Corporation (OMSC) to develop broadband services in the area. Now, construction has begun on the first of three scheduled wireless broadband projects, this one in Durant.

Regional Firm Begins Construction

AARO Broadband Wireless Communications is installing the infrastructure required for a wide variety of broadband services in Durant -- including Internet access, virtual private networks, videoconferencing, electronic mail, and electronic commerce. These services will be available within 30 days, according to the company.

AARO operates in Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Durant is the first of three towns slated for joint development between AARO and the OMSC using OMSC funds.

As AARO chief technology officer Mike Erhart told Wireless NewsFactor, the firm used its own funds to complete a demonstration wireless infrastructure last year in Stroud. According to Erhart, that project generated the interest that triggered the organization of the OMSC.

Big Town Services in Small Town, USA

With a population of about 14,000 covering 17 square miles, Durant is smaller than many suburbs of major metropolitan areas still awaiting broadband service. But despite its size, the city is home to Southeastern Oklahoma State University, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma, and it serves as state headquarters of the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center.

When the network is complete, Durant will become a "Wireless Village," according to AARO. Durant's City Hall, police and fire departments, and library will be connected via a high-bandwidth wireless network.

Videoconferencing equipment at a local library will give patrons and civic groups access to other videoconferencing facilities throughout the world. AARO said it also will install a wireless local area network at a location to be determined, allowing users of laptops, palmtops and other mobile devices to access the Internet at speeds of up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps).

Initially, AARO said it will offer VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, such as toll-bypass, to the business community in Durant. The company said it expects to offer broadband services to the residential sector in the near future.

Jumping the Digital Divide

AARO president and chief executive Jerry Thetford described the launch of high-speed wireless service in this rural Oklahoma town as another step toward bridging the "digital divide" that plagues many small communities throughout the United States.

"Initially," said Thetford, "the potential public safety and public service applications for this service are phenomenal. People who choose to live in a small town deserve access to the same high-quality telecommunications infrastructure that is available in larger communities."