REDI Net may not be ready for Espanola consumers, but a Rio Arriba County resident frustrated with local Internet speeds is bringing REDI Net to the Embudo Valley as early as October.
Black Mesa Wireless owner Brock Tice started his own last mile provider several months ago, and he already has approval from REDI Net to connect to the government funded high-speed fiber optic network.
Tice said, approximately 30 customers have pre-registered for services from Black Mesa with some “literally begging” him for service.
On the Black Mesa website, prices for Internet service range from $45 per month for 5 megabits per second to $90 per month for 20 megabits per second. Compared to the $45 CyberMesa charges per month for a 3 megabit per second DSL line, Black Mesa will provide faster Internet speeds than CyberMesa and other large communication companies for a lower price.
Tice plans to cover the large expanse of the Embudo Valley by using a series of transmitters and “repeaters,” solar powered devices that receive and retransmit wireless signals. For instance, one of the transmitter towers will be located at a water tank owned by the Velarde Fire Department, which is already connected to REDI Net. With the REDI Net fibers connected to the tower, the tower transmits a signal to the repeaters, which act like mirrors and expand the range of the signal. Black Mesa customers will gain access to the signal with antennas that Tice will install at their homes.
Using this technology, Tice said he believes Black Mesa can cover Velarde, Alcalde, Lyden, Dixon, Apodaca, La Junta, Rinconada, and Embudo.
Tice has had mostly positive experiences with REDI Net and Rio Arriba County officials since starting the business in July. Tice did run into a “bureaucratic nightmare” when he tried obtaining permission to install a tower at the actual Black Mesa. After being told the tower would affect a “culturally sensitive area,” Tice abandoned those plans and is now looking into other locations for a tower, like Picuris Peak.
Knowing that Espanola consumers are currently without a REDI Net provider, Tice may expand into the city soon if Black Mesa takes off. But Tice’s primary focus right now is getting the business off the ground.
One man band
Tice said he is a one man business and is handling all aspects of Black Mesa. If Black Mesa’s customer base expands to 50 customers, Tice is mulling hiring a contract worker to help install antennas and perform repairs.
While Tice is technologically savvy, he said he has no background in being an Internet service provider. Tice grew up in Louisiana and later received a Ph.D from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After moving to the Embudo Valley in January 2012 to be closer to his wife’s work at El Centro Family Health, he began working from home as Vice President of Operations of CardioSolv, a company that specializes in heart simulation software.
Tice’s work was Internet intensive, and the business DSL line he bought from Windstream wasn’t cutting it, he said. In addition to being slow, the price was proving costly. Tice saw construction crews laying down the fiber for REDI Net, but when he learned that REDI Net wouldn’t provide the service directly to consumers, he turned his attention back to his day job.
It wasn’t until his Internet service slowed down to the point that it was unusable that he thought about becoming his own Internet service provider instead of waiting for a REDI Net provider to come to the area. The sluggish Internet speeds experienced by much of rural New Mexico was the last straw in a string of bad experiences Tice had. Tice said Internet is currently slower now in Rio Arriba County than it was at his parent’s house 13 years ago in small town Louisiana.
While the early demand for Black Mesa won’t completely make up for the $10,000 investment Tice has made in the business so far, profitable returns are possible in the long run he said.
If I could get positive cash flow from the first month, it would be great,” Tice said.