Back on-line again!
Category Technology
Finally, I no longer rely on satellite for internet connectivity. Actually, to be more accurate chronologically, I don't have to rely on dial-up for access to the internet. Earlier this year, the satellite system that I was using died suddenly. I was hesitant to get it repaired because I just didn't think that the service was worth even a fraction of what I was paying for it. Despite spending over $10,000 to get the dish installed and a monthly bill of $300, access was always marginal at best, upload speeds were horrendous and the service was often unavailable. In fact, the first thing I noticed when switching back to dial-up was that the speed in many ways wasn't all that much slower. Certainly downloads took much longer, or were impossible, but regular web-browsing was pretty much the same and in some ways actually faster. This is mainly due to the unavoidable latency of the satellite connection. Now, I will not claim that dial-up was pleasant or that it was possible to get any real work done, but by moving servers into a new office in town, I was able to limp along while I searched for some new alternatives. In reality, there was only one real option - wireless. The phone lines here are old and of poor enough quality that no one I know has ever managed to get a connection at a higher speed that 26.4K. I toyed with the idea of getting a T1 line installed, but the cost was prohibitive and my concern was that the phone company would be willing to take the order, but unable to install the service. I started researching wireless equipment and drawing up plans to become an ISP. Then one day in mid April, a neighbor called and told me that a guy had come knocking on their door looking for the person that owned a house up the side of the mountain where he wanted to put a tower for wireless internet. A flurry of email messages ensued, and after a few months of feverish activity service started being delivered in mid-August.
Finally, I no longer rely on satellite for internet connectivity. Actually, to be more accurate chronologically, I don't have to rely on dial-up for access to the internet. Earlier this year, the satellite system that I was using died suddenly. I was hesitant to get it repaired because I just didn't think that the service was worth even a fraction of what I was paying for it. Despite spending over $10,000 to get the dish installed and a monthly bill of $300, access was always marginal at best, upload speeds were horrendous and the service was often unavailable. In fact, the first thing I noticed when switching back to dial-up was that the speed in many ways wasn't all that much slower. Certainly downloads took much longer, or were impossible, but regular web-browsing was pretty much the same and in some ways actually faster. This is mainly due to the unavoidable latency of the satellite connection. Now, I will not claim that dial-up was pleasant or that it was possible to get any real work done, but by moving servers into a new office in town, I was able to limp along while I searched for some new alternatives. In reality, there was only one real option - wireless. The phone lines here are old and of poor enough quality that no one I know has ever managed to get a connection at a higher speed that 26.4K. I toyed with the idea of getting a T1 line installed, but the cost was prohibitive and my concern was that the phone company would be willing to take the order, but unable to install the service. I started researching wireless equipment and drawing up plans to become an ISP. Then one day in mid April, a neighbor called and told me that a guy had come knocking on their door looking for the person that owned a house up the side of the mountain where he wanted to put a tower for wireless internet. A flurry of email messages ensued, and after a few months of feverish activity service started being delivered in mid-August.
Of course, as luck would have it, my location, which is in a bit of a bowl, didn't have access at first. However, by bouncing the signal off a neighbor's house, I too am finally connected. There are still a few technical problems with the connection, so I'm not ready to move the servers back to this location, but with the installation of a new tower in the next two weeks across the water from me, these last difficulties should be resolved. The speed is phenomenal - I'm getting 2.9Mbps down and almost 1Mbps up which is light years ahead of the satellite connection and better than I would expect with even a T1 line installed.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little bit about the company that became our salvation - Seaside Communications. Interestingly they are not a large telecommunication firm, but rather a local cable provider. Certainly wireless internet is nothing new - the technology, (in this case Motorola) has been available for several years but while the bigger telecommunications / internet firms like Aliant and Eastlink have talked about wireless access - mostly to say it wouldn't work, they have done nothing to try and use the technology to bring access to rural areas. Meanwhile, Seaside has been out installing wireless access for over 2 years. I think to a great extent, the telcom firms realize that their traditional wire infrastructure is very outdated and in need of significant capital investments not only to support DSL connections, but just to be able to keep up with the demands of voice communications. In a rural area like this, replacing infrastructure is an expensive proposition and the phone companies have been hoping to do what any large industry does when faced with a similar problem - look to the government to pay for it. Fixed location wireless internet is by far the most economical method to bring access to rural areas, but it does nothing to for the phone company's infrastructure. This, coupled with the fact that the first thing people ask when they get high-speed access is "Can I use VOIP with this?" means that wireless internet is a serious threat for the phone company in particular.
The next couple of weeks should be very interesting, the provincial government put out an RFP in late July to solicit proposals for "wiring" up 100% of the rural residents in Nova Scotia. The big boys all put in responses (they seem to have created divisions overnight that have wireless expertise) but so did Seaside. It will be a real David and Goliath sort of match up. The only company that has delivered rural access is tiny in comparison to the other companies. Like anything else that has to do with government, politics can't be discounted, so it will be interesting to see who wins the bid. Seaside is the only one, in my opinion, that is interested in the rural communities and has any experience, but I'm sure the large companies have a quite a few lobbyists - which when dealing with any government are often worth a lot more than experience and expertise. I'm sure I'll be writing a lot more about this in the next few weeks. For now I'm just happy to have real access for the first time in 3 years.