Vertical: Smart City
Application: Telehealth, expanded coverage
Ecosystem: CONXX, Blinq
Private Network: LTE
DRIVE, an economic development entity, and Geisinger, a regional healthcare provider, joined forces to address the critical need for reliable internet connectivity in rural Montour County, Pennsylvania. This initiative, which leveraged CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) technology, has not only bridged the digital divide but also paved the way for enhanced telemedicine services in the region.
Montour County, like many rural areas, faced significant connectivity challenges. The terrain’s lush tree cover and hilly landscape made traditional line-of-sight last-mile technologies ineffective. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the urgency to connect residents for remote work, online education, and telemedicine became paramount.
Jennifer Wakeman, Executive Director of DRIVE, highlighted the pressing need: “With the jump in remote workers in early March, we had an urgency and Conxx was able to bring CBRS online in three weeks.”
DRIVE partnered with Conxx, a telecommunications company, to deploy a Private LTE Network using the CBRS band. This approach allowed for rapid network expansion into more rural, forested areas of Montour County.
The DRIVE network, fed by a fiber-optic backbone and utilizing point-to-point microwave and millimeter wave technologies, now covers a substantial portion of the county. Key infrastructure pieces were strategically placed on a county 9-1-1 tower, the Montour County Emergency Management Agency building, Geisinger’s Hospital for Advanced Medicine, and an exhaust stack at US Gypsum in Washingtonville.
The Results:
The deployment of CBRS technology has been a game-changer for Montour County:
- Overcoming Line-of-Sight Issues: The solution significantly reduced the impact of trees and other obstructions, allowing previously unserved residents to access the network.
- Expanded Coverage: The network now caters to home office setups, remote education, and crucially, telehealth services.
- Rapid Deployment: The entire system was rolled out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting urgent connectivity needs.
- Increased Demand: The success has led to growing interest from the educational sector and neighboring counties.
The success of this initiative has sparked interest beyond Montour County. County commissioners are exploring ways to expand this model to other counties and even businesses in the agricultural sector. The project has also gained support from the state level, with the governor implementing the Office of Broadband Initiatives to further support expansion in Pennsylvania.
