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Searching High and Low For Better Internet

The rural City of Kemp, Texas is located 45 miles outside of Dallas, with a population of 1,199 residents. With only one provider serving the small city’s Internet connectivity needs, Kemp was well behind the times. In fact, the sole Internet connection available was equivalent to the old-school DSL lines, including little bandwidth and frequent outages. Because of this, several of Kemp’s residents communicated their unhappiness to the mayor’s office about the minimal options available outside of the slow-speeds they received with their Internet services at home.

The mayor’s office tried to plead with its incumbent provider to upgrade its equipment to prevent future outages, but after facing a five-day outage earlier this year, the city’s leaders knew it was time to switch.

Kemp was in need of a provider that could deliver better options for high-speed Internet connection to support local businesses, government offices and public institutions.

The mayor’s office in Kemp told Government Technology, “[The outage] was the last straw… it was detrimental to us. You try to call city hall about various things, including the police department, and there was no phone. [It] was horrible. We tried [to make it work], but it was just impossible to deal with CenturyLink ”

Fearing an expensive project, Kemp’s municipal leaders began researching providers who could deliver better service while also staying within the city’s budget. After hearing about One Ring Networks’ customizable solutions being used by government offices in nearby Kauffman County, TX, Kemp enlisted One Ring’s innovative engineers to develop an affordable, scalable fixed wireless and high speed Internet solution to power their government facilities.

A High-Speed…Water Tank?

When approached with the City of Kemp’s task, One Ring’s leadership and engineering teams immediately went to scout the town to see what resources could support the fixed wireless network. Since switching to a wireless connection required a high vantage point, the One Ring team faced an initial roadblock once they arrived. One Ring needed an infrastructure that would allow the wireless signal to reach it’s existing towers in Kaufman and Athens in order to deliver high bandwidth connectivity that could be used by the entire city. Experienced in innovation and out of the box solutions, the One Ring team noticed one significantly high-standing piece of architecture – the City of Kemp’s water tank.

One Ring’s leadership team approached the mayor’s office with the idea of retrofitting the old, rusted city icon to support the new fixed wireless data services. Putting the city’s needs first, architectural changes to the existing water tank would create the capacity for the services required, and within the city’s budget for the project. In fact, One Ring was able to work out a deal with the City of Kemp to minimize the cost involved with installation by becoming an official partner of the city. In return for bringing affordable, high-speed wireless to Kemp, One Ring was entitled to also serve local residents who desired additional carrier options for connectivity at home.

“When looking at our city’s water tank, I never would have guessed that this old infrastructure would be a huge asset in bringing Kemp high-speed wireless we so desperately needed,”  said Laura Peace, Mayor of Kemp, Texas.“We are so excited about our partnership with One Ring Networks in bringing better Internet access to our local businesses and giving our residents more options for faster Internet service at home.”

WATCH: Dallas WFAA Highlights Kemp’s New Connectivity.

Connectivity For All

By turning the water tank into a wireless network tower, One Ring’s team of engineers have further solidified their reputation as “the local hero” for organizations in need of connectivity. Despite unique circumstances, the City of Kemp will now have the fastest wireless Internet connection speeds the city has ever seen, and all at an affordable cost. Having delivered high-speed Internet access to many rural areas, such as Jefferson County, Georgia, and municipal buildings, like the City of Brookhaven, One Ring understands government entities’ specific needs. When sustainable connectivity is critical, and restrictive budgets propose concerns, One Ring is the go-to carrier for an innovative Internet solution.

Who We Are

One Ring Networks is an industry-leading provider of voice and data services across Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland and Texas. We offer fixed wireless, fiber, hosted PBX and unified communications solutions to businesses of all sizes. To find out more about our customizable options, please contact – 1-855-ONE-RING or email our team at sales@oneringnetworks.com.