Dear FCC commissioners.

Today I am writing to comment on the proposed changes to CBRS. We are a small WISP in Central, Illinois covering approximately 1800 square miles and close to 28,000 in population centers. We are in the heart of corn and bean country. Which suffice to say, is flat, boring, and scarcely populated in areas due to our vast farm land. I have to apologize for my lack of writing ability, and probable inability to articulate in word our need for CBRS to stay how it is. Again, we are small, we don't have the funds to have a building full of lawyers, or others to “draft” us a pretty letter for you to read. It's just me, myself, and “I”. A simple, but hard working entrepreneur of Internet services in our area.  This would be my first writing to you over any issue. 

Wireless Data Net, LLC has been in business since 2005. We have grown our company by reinvesting in our selves since the beginning, and gaining customers almost completely by word of mouth. There has never been any government involvement in our growth by government investments. Nor, have we really sought to get any. But, in this case. We did invest in CBRS as originally drafted to provide services to our rural customers. Those that don't have GOOD options. While I know some in our metro areas think cell service is great, and it serves it's purpose. Cellular is not a good service for those wanting home services. Or a service for your home that you intent to actually use for any duration in time. The overages and data caps alone are just too costly for most to really take advantage of in any real capacity. This is where we fill that void, and have filled that void for over a decade in our areas. Long before the FCC was giving away money to serve the unserved, or underserved, we started a company to do just that. By using unlicensed spectrum we were able to gain the trust of hundreds of customers in our areas to provide them with services that beat and are better than any cellular service has ever been in our areas.

Enter CBRS. Something I like to remind you of, is CITIZENS band. Not cellular(s) band radio service. In reading other comments and proposals, Cellular companies would have you believe that they “need” CBRS to provide 5G or better services to people in our nation. I call total B.S. On that (pardon my french) They don't need it. They need to use what they have, and properly allocate it to good use in my opinion, but that is a different topic. I would however point out that in all the money that cellular companies spend on making the lives of others better. How is it that we still don't have complete coverage throughout the US for cellular services? How is that?? It is that way on purpose, and it is because they don't want to provide services for people in small geographic areas that don't make them enough money. (unless you give them free money to do it) It's always been that way, and always will be that way. That's why I ask that you don't allow them to change the rules in the middle of the game to prevent companies like mine from doing for others that they have chosen to not do since their inception.

I have a lot to do today, and while I hope this letter falls on open ears, I just don't have the energy to try and convince you in a 20 page letter that WISPs are a better solution to many Internet access problems in our nation. Or that we have been solving them for a decade plus while the other solutions leave out vast numbers of our population in America. You are our leaders in most of these areas, and you should know that already.

I will close however with this. We have planned to use CBRS in it's current form since adopted. We will have to reduce our spending on CBRS if you change the rules midgame. We will NOT be able to provide services to those in some of our areas IF you change the rules midgame. Cellular isn't the answer here. Increased PAL sizes that will cut us out of the actionable spectrum will cause a failure in Americans getting more access to broadband. I hope you actually do understand that, and don't “buy” in to something else that hasn't happened to date with billions of money already spent trying. All I can say is look around, and understand we, as in every WISP in America, wouldn't be in business if the cellco's were doing what they said they would already.

I have to get back to work and get some customers installed.

Good Day, God Bless.

Tristan Johnson
Owner/Member
Wireless Data Net, LLC
309-893-4152
WirelessDataNet.net