Rural Areas Find Internet Answer in the Air

Loudoun resident Richard Biby set up a station on his neighbors' property to relay a wireless Internet signal to his house. But it still didn't work, so he installed a second retransmitter and buried cable the last 400 feet or so. (Photos By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

She said that unreliable access to broadband puts whole stretches of the county at a disadvantage in recruiting businesses or employees.

"I think Loudoun County needs to look at broadband as being another utility as important as electricity and the telephone," she said.

In an effort to expand access, the county brought on a manager of broadband services last year. At the Board of Supervisors' request, Scott W. Bashore recently developed a plan to bring fiber-optic lines to every household in Loudoun. But the $320 million proposal has little prospect of offering a return on the investment, and he said the foreseeable future probably rests with wireless.

Now he's looking for ways to build more towers and transmitters, in part by offering incentives to companies, to help them grow and improve their services.

Lucketts.net has brought wireless Internet to 200 customers, mostly in Loudoun, but not without some hiccups, said founder Steve Acup. One customer lost his signal every day around 5:30 p.m. when a farmer would come in from haying his field and park his tractor in his wireless path. Another got a signal only when the hay loft doors of the barn across the field were open, he said.

Many residents still cannot get any service. Dougherty said he has to turn down about three in 10 potential customers because they are out of range or too deep in the trees.

John Westerman, co-owner of Loudoun Wireless, which has 250 customers in the northernmost part of the county, said his company likes to go after the tougher jobs for customers running out of hope.

Trees aren't always a deterrent. "It's more expensive to shoot through trees," he said, but using lower frequencies, it's sometimes possible.

All in all, the wireless service providers say, it's gratifying to bring broadband to rural places.

Westerman said one customer offered to erect a statue in his honor; another cried in gratitude.

"Dancing in circles is not an uncommon thing," Dougherty said. "People have been searching for broadband for years, and when they finally get it, they are just thrilled to death."