Why Microsoft loves RVR.C Microsoft is working with local telecom service providers that are trying to improve rural internet access by supporting the deployment of wireless ISP services using TVWS technology on TV channels not utilized by broadcasters. Microsoft has determined this approach is the best way to improve connectivity in parts of the country that broadband providers have long ignored given the prohibitive costs of building and sustaining traditional high cost cellular networks in these regions.
Microsoft has emphasized that it is not looking to become a telecom provider — it is only providing capital to local firms through loans for CapEx to be repaid under revenue-sharing agreements. Microsoft does not seek to profit from this endeavor. Instead, Microsoft intends to reinvest any money it gains in additional projects in areas where broadband internet access is lacking. Ruralink via its strategic partnership with ARK Multicasting, Inc. is participating in a three-phase market trail in concert with Microsoft that is currently being deployed in
the Crockett and Lufkin, Texas region. This market trial will demonstrate the capabilities that the Ruralink-ARK “Hybrid Broadcast-Broadband” heterogeneous network can provide. This is collaborative approach to developing new business models and new services that will dramatically enhance access to all internet services and the digital economy for rural populations.