Published: April 21, 2008 12:14 pm      

High-speed Internet on way in Cambria County

EBENSBURG — Cambria County soon will have a wireless telecommunications highway making high-speed voice, video and data communications available simultaneously to even the remotest areas of the county.

Cambria is the first county in Pennsylvania to set up the high-tech, state-of-the-art system. It is expected to become a revenue-producer for county government.

The "highway" infrastructure is a ring of 17 towers that relays radio signals for the communications network.

The innovative network is being touted as a powerful drawing card for business, industry, educational and medical facilities to open or expand here while also making the services available to residents at a low cost.

Known as Cambria Connected, the services are expected to be available this spring, President Commissioner P.J. Stevens said.

The $10-million system also includes upgrades to the Cambria 911 Center and the emergency communications network that is converting from low-band to high-tech, UHF frequencies.

Cambria borrowed the $10 million for the project - $4.5 million for the Cambria 911 upgrades and $5.5 million for the wireless information network.

The network is projected to generate $225,000 a month in revenues for the county after three years. That's $2.7 million a year, the equivalent of more than 2.5 mills of property tax.

Officials said that customers will be able to have:

- High-speed Internet access with a system that is much faster and has greater capabilities than those now offered in Cambria County.

- Opportunity to do voice-over IP (internet protocol) between locations. An example would be the CPC Building in downtown Johnstown and the courthouse in Ebensburg for the county, and available for conventional telephone service.

- Video surveillance, which could be used by a homeowner of his property or water authorities of their dams. Infra-red high-definition cameras can be used.

- Secured transmissions between locations, such as a main business and branches, hospitals and doctors or a home and business.

"The network will provide HIPPA and NCIC security and dedicated bandwidth options for sensitive applications, where a high level of security is required," Stevens said.

In addition, Wi-Fi "hotspots" - areas for wireless communications - will be available, initially in the Greater Johnstown-Richland Township area; Ebensburg and the courthouse; and in the vicinity of St. Francis University in Loretto and Mount Aloysius College in Cresson.

"This is an exciting opportunity, so very unique for government," Stevens said. "It will provide revenue for the county in lieu of taxes and will be a cost-savings for users."

Businesses and homes that connect to the system will have small receivers on their properties, Stevens said.

Robert Layo, executive director of the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, says that wireless communications is as necessary today for business expansion and economic development as highways have been in the past.

One area of growing need is for companies to have the ability to communicate from remote locations, he said. A chamber business survey two years ago identified that as a need, Layo said.

Cambria's system was designed and installed by Conxx of Cumberland, Md., which designed a similar system for Alleghany County, Md.

Conxx is under contract by the county to operate, maintain and market the system, with the cost to be approximately $325,000 a year for the next two years.

Because the county cannot compete with local business, the Internet Provide Services (IPS) will be reselling the Cambria Connected Services.

Three companies - with a fourth expected to be named soon - will be selling the service to businesses and residents. They are:

- ComConn.net, a division of Precision Business Solutions, 720 Rowena Drive, Ebensburg.

- Digital Razor, 300 Indiana Springs Road, Indiana.

- Sky Packet, being set up by Conxx Co., at the CPC Building in downtown Johnstown.