— by Margie Doyle –

Rock Island Communications, an OPALCO company, has formed a strategic partnership with T-Mobile to provide LTE wireless services in San Juan County by sharing their collective infrastructure and expertise to the mutual benefit of each organization, according to Rock Island Executive Vice President Gerry Lawlor.

Each party has agreed to share their collective FCC spectrum leases (700MHz & 2100MHz). Rock Island has agreed to build and provide fiber connectivity at each location for data transport to the mainland. T-Mobile provides the technology and expertise to utilize the 700MHz spectrum which OPALCO acquired in November 2013 through a lease with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

As it happens, T-Mobile acquired the same spectrum leases through much of the nation soon after OPALCO purchased its spectrum for use by field crews and co-op members. The combination of spectrum allows for increased capacity while still enabling coverage throughout our hilly, wooded terrain. Rock Island will provide internet access for those for whom fiber is too costly to reach. “Our LTE Fixed Wireless product provides service in the 7Mbps to 20Mbps range depending on your exact location. This is far better than standard DSL to homes that may never be able to avail of the benefits of fiber due to cost,” Lawlor said.

“This partnership allows Rock Island to deliver more service to more people while allowing for complete access for all first responders and cell coverage throughout the county. Working together, we have both the technology and the expertise to achieve our priorities.” Customers are already receiving service in a variety of locations around the county and testing is ongoing with various first responder and county organizations.

“With T-Mobile’s expertise in engineering and design, we’ve reduced the number of pole locations needed from 120 to 38. The sites are camouflaged to blend into the surrounding area to make them as unobtrusive as possible.

“We have the network, they have far superior technology than we could obtain ourselves. Having an organization like T-Mobile step up and work with our small rural community like this is rare. The benefits will be far reaching for a long time to come,” said Lawlor.

He added that the agreement with T-Mobile is an exchange of services and no money was exchanged. While the agreement was made late last year, the build out is ongoing around the county.

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