Another potential option for Silver Valley high-speed internet

WALLACE — A new player might try their hand at acquiring high-speed broadband internet for the Silver Valley.

Brandon Vetter, the CEO and president of Central Processing Company in Hayden, gave a brief presentation to the Wallace City Council Wednesday night concerning his newest venture — InterWave.

Vetter, whose company develops sales software, began looking at ways to help his current customer base in the Silver Valley after hearing that their specialty sales software struggled to function with low internet speeds.

“I know a lot about radios and I just so happen to have the ability to bring broadband out here,” Vetter said. “I’m just trying to feel out if there are enough people who want to make the investment, because it takes a lot of money to set up a site like this.”

Vetter believes that he can set up a system similar to the one that Shoshone Medical Center currently utilizes, based off radio waves and line-of-sight technology.

With the current companies in the area offering nothing faster than download speeds of 20 megabits per second (mbps), Vetter’s proposed ideas would bring speeds of more than 100 mbps down the Shoshone County’s I-90 corridor.

But utilizing microwave radio internet has its pros and cons.

While receivers directly in view of the microwave relay (usually atop a mountain or tall building) receive and maintain exceptionally strong signals, line-of-sight technology relies on just that, maintaining a line of sight.

For a home that is at the base of a mountain where the microwave relay is located, they might not have as good line-of-sight as a home or building that sits 300 yards from the base of the mountain.

Vetter’s plan is to utilize the existing microwave relays on existing peaks like Wardner and Goose Peak, then find businesses willing to invest in putting similar relays on top of the buildings in the towns. This would allow for those homes out of the line of sight of the mountain top relays to receive service from the rooftop relays.

“We could probably get 100 mbps out here pretty easy. I can’t see a problem doing that,” Vetter said.

Vetter is still waiting to hear back from representatives from SMC to see if they would be willing to be the backbone of this system, and as the company grows, Vetter would build up a secondary system as a failsafe.

His ultimate hope would be to see InterWave grow into a company that would have a Silver Valley-based office with employees (one employee per 100 customers is Vetter’s initial estimation) and ensure that the business and people here would have dependable internet that doesn’t break the bank.

“The goal is to provide the Silver Valley with a premium internet service to the residences and businesses at an affordable price,” Vetter said.

For more information contact Brandon Vetter at 509-443-1575.