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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>All,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>First, I want to thank Chris for his kind
words, but it must be pointed out that it was his initiative to bring economic
development to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Latah</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> that brought this
to our attention. Chris was instrumental in mobilizing local resources
and the various community leaders to pursue the Rural Utilities Service
opportunity. As a result, service is now coming online which will deliver
high speed broadband access (at a fraction of the cost for T-1’s, etc.) to
those entities Chris mentions below as well as the citizens in those
communities. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>A few years back many of us met at the UI
for a Smart Palouse conference and discussed how to “bridge the “digital
divide” in the region. With the work that has been accomplished
thus far, we are well on our way. And not just in <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Latah</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>…First Step Internet has, since
that meeting, deployed wireless broadband in <st1:City w:st="on">Garfield</st1:City>,
Palouse, Genesee, <st1:City w:st="on">Troy</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">Colton</st1:City>,
Orofino, Colfax, Orofino, <st1:City w:st="on">Lewiston</st1:City>, Clarkston
and of course, expanded service in <st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City> and <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pullman</st1:place></st1:City>. Back then
we were just getting started. Of course, along the way there have been
great challenges, lots of investment and a great deal of hard work. Through
this initiative, the ranks at First Step Internet have grown to 45 employees,
the vast majority of whom are technical support, sysadmins, network installers,
tower climbers, etc. The funding for this infrastructure, except for the grant
recipient communities, has come from the leadership of First Step Internet
exclusively. The vision and drive to make these services available far
and wide have come from the leadership at First Step. Indeed, as Chris
mentions below, it takes a multi-faceted partnership to make these visions a
reality, which includes, of course, you who choose to support and use the
service. When Bill said that our commitment should not be questioned he
did not mean that in the sense that what we do is beyond question.
Instead, he was merely pointing out that we have demonstrated our commitment to
this community by our actions, service and investment. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Second, I feel I must respond to some of
the discussion about First Step Internet, Vision 20/20, service, bandwidth,
etc. Vision 20/20 is meant to provide a digital version of a soapbox in <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Friendship Square</st1:address></st1:Street>
for folks to express their opinions, discuss issues affecting our community,
etc. Many folks do just that, some folks abuse their freedom. The
list is un-moderated and First Step Internet does not control or screen the
content. We merely provide the platform. No group or viewpoint is
thereby endorsed, established, criticized, etc. Any voice that chooses to
make a statement may do so. Those who subscribe choose to listen or
delete. It was provided in response to a request from the community and
now must be responsibly managed by the community by what and how opinions are
stated.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As for bandwidth and capacity at First
Step Internet, here is an update. We recently brought a new DS3 (45mbps) circuit
online in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lewiston</st1:place></st1:City>.
>From our headquarters in <st1:City w:st="on">Moscow</st1:City> we have a new
100mbps, full duplex (100megs in both directions), FCC licensed microwave link
to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Moscow</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. From there we have a
45mbps DS3, full duplex, FCC licensed microwave link to the Valley Rim, and
then another high speed link to our POP in the Valley. Between the two
facilities we have redundant failover and load balancing in place so as to increase
available bandwidth and fault tolerance. This is a pretty exciting
development and raises First Step Internet to the ranks of what would be
considered a tier two service provider. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As for service and support, First Step
Internet remains committed to excellent technical support and continues to
invest in the people and resources to provide that service. No technology
is perfect, as has been stated previously, but we continue to make the service
work and resolve any problems that arise. Thanks to those of you who have
chosen to use our service. We appreciate your support and partnership.
And stay tuned for more developments to come…<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Mike Hall<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Area Sales Manager <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>First Step Internet<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>888-676-6377 Ext. 540</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>208-882-8869</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><a href="mailto:mikech@fsr.com">mikech@fsr.com</a></span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><a href="http://www.fsr.com">http://www.fsr.com</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Chris Storhok<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, December 14, 2004
9:30 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> 'Tbertruss@aol.com';
tsaylor@tds.net; vision2020@whale2.fsr.net; vision2020@moscow.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> RE: [Vision2020] Rural
wireless?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>All,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>First Step, in conjunction with Latah
County Rural Development Services received three grants from the USDA Rural
Utility Services Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program for
Bovill, Deary, and Potlatch. Under the terms of the grant the libraries,
schools, city halls/community centers, and Fire/Ambulance services are provided
with computers and other hardware to bring broad-band high speed internet
service to their operations. Each community will have at least ten public
access computers that are free and easy to access. First
Step spent a lot of man hours preparing the applications and was able to
secure these grants from a highly competitive grant program. The
backbone that will be installed will provide a lot of rural residents with
access to broadband services. First Step, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Latah</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,
should be congratulated for this effort as this project demonstrates that
government and business can cooperate to serve each other's need.
First Step has been an extremely positive force for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Latah</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
community and should be commended for their work and dedication.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Chris Storhok </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com]<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Tbertruss@aol.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Monday, December 13, 2004
9:49 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> tsaylor@tds.net;
vision2020@whale2.fsr.net; vision2020@moscow.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Vision2020] Rural
wireless?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial FAMILY=SANSSERIF PTSIZE=10><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><br>
Tom et. al.<br>
<br>
Yes, well, I, at least, did respond to this development on V2020.
Satellite Internet can be great, but expensive. I suspect First Steps
wireless high speed Internet is cheaper than the satellite Internet options
available.<br>
<br>
As I wrote earlier on V2020:<br>
<br>
I may become a First Step customer if they can provide high speed wireless
Internet beamed to my location in rural <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Latah</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
Apparently they are working on this.<br>
<br>
Ted Moffett</span></font><font face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</blockquote>
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