Broadband Operations

In November 2002 the Coeur d’Alene Tribe submitted an application for the USDA RUS Community Connect Broadband grant.

In our application we proposed to develop a state-of-the-art Tribal Community Technology Center in the hub of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation - Plummer, Idaho. This included the deployment of a broadband system that would provide broadband transmission services to critical community facilities and local residents, as well as isolated farms and rural home sites.

The basic goals of the project are:

Offer basic broadband transmission service to all residential and business customers.
Deploy basic broadband service to critical community facilities free of all charges for at least 2 years located within our service delivery area.
Build and operate a Tribal Community Technology Center in the city of Plummer, Idaho, and make broadband transmission service available, free of all charges to users within the center for at least two years.
Assist community members at the Tribal Community Technology Center to increase their computer literacy and technical skills.
Promote the use of the Technology Center as a focal point for education and distribution of broadband to interested subscribers.

The main considerations in our system design includes:

The Community Technology Center:

Network Operations Center (NOC): broadband connections and equipment.
The computer lab: community workstations & peripherals.
The Customer Service office: account setup, billing, and customer support.

The Wireless Local Loop: communication towers and microwave equipment.

Customers: end user equipment and lab needs.

With this in mind, the broadband system has been carefully planned and designed to be as economical and practical as possible while meeting the requirements of the RUS grant. The network elements and components used have been extensively tested and verified. It is a straight forward and easy to understand network, which will serve as the technology foundation for delivering broadband services to the residents of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.