WiMax is a solution, not the solution. There are plenty of affordable licensed wireless equipment that deliver broadband to customers in rural areas. I mentioned WiMax in the original item in the context of what Google might be doing, and did not mean to suggest it is the only way to get broadband into rural areas.

The problem that the county could help with is identifying wireless tower locations, buying land for towers, and/or adopting a uniform policy for use of public lands and right of way for towers and antennas.

In a rural area with a small number of customers, wireless access providers don't have the time or the money to run around doing all this, and in particular, they don't have the time to wait months while the county figures out what the policy is and what to charge. Being pro-active in this regard would possibly get some local and regional wireless providers interested much more quickly. And none of this is particularly expensive--adopting a uniform right of way/fee policy costs nothing.