Town Talk > Berkleley Springs > FAST-Morgan County Forum for Arts, Sciences & Technologies > Broadband Internet Options White Paper by Bill Feidl
Town Talk > Berkleley Springs > FAST-Morgan County Forum for Arts, Sciences & Technologies > Broadband Internet Options White Paper by Bill Feidl |
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voice Administrator 
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December 4th, 2007 MEMORANDUMSUBJECT: Morgan County Broadband Internet Availability Reference: Morgan County forum for Arts, Sciences and Technologies (FAST) Meeting, December 3, 2007 FAST hosted a meeting on the subject of Living with Broadband Internet at the Lil’ Bit a New York” at 7:30 PM, December 3rd. The purpose of this memo is to document the discussions and identity options for residents of CEPOA. Under no circumstances should this memo be considered an endorsement of any specific system. The individual CEPOA internet user must make his/her own decision based on their specific needs; e.g., high speed or low speed. The issue was to discus availability of internet options—to include broadband—in Morgan County. Approximately 25 people were in attendance. In spite of the availability of nine options for internet, the menu remains anemic. Overall, it appears that the demographics, geography, and history of Morgan Country represent a serious impediment for potential customers of broadband internet. The attached provides an overview of the nine options, but for residents of CACAPON East, our options are limited to the following three systems—none of which are considered broadband: 1. Satellite. There are three providers offering internet access via satellite. Dish (Starband), Hughes, and Wild Blue. a. Costs of each are pretty much the same, ranging from $50 to $80 per month—depending on requirements for level of service. b. Reliability of satellite is impacted by weather and plants—specifically trees. i. Application of a good coating of “spam” on the satellite dish will minimize accumulation of snow or ice ii. Ensure the dish is properly grounded to avoid power surges iii. Acquire surge protectors for your telephone and computer iv. Ensure the initial placement of the satellite dish considers future growth of trees. c. While I have had outages, some experts at the meeting feel that reliability of satellites is questionable. My personal experience contradicts this assessment. d. Installation and equipment costs. Wild Blue charges for equipment and installation and has a one-year contract. I don’t know about the other two systems. 2. Dial-Up. There are any number of internet providers selling dial-up. Speed is limited, but cost is the lowest of any other option. Recent media suggests dial-up providers are having increasing financial problems, but this should not impact on current or future users. Dial up is slow and at times access is limited, but overall the capability is adequate. Just don’t expect to download large graphic files. 3. Wireless. Line-of-Sight RF communications may be the choice of the future, but not necessarily at this point. This is the newest option available to potential CEPOA (and Berkeley Springs) customers. These system operate on a series of towers (like your cell phone) strategically placed around the county. They are impacted by trees and plants, but because of the nature of the RF signals plants do not always adversely impact internet operations. In addition, you will have a small wireless antenna placed on your home. Reliability of wireless is an open issue. Towers attract lightening and tend to be destroyed if not properly grounded ((which apparently is common in Morgan Country because it is difficult to get a grounding rod 6-8 food into the ground.)). While I known of no current users of wireless, there are two wireless providers a. SkyWeb. The more robust system available in Morgan Country today is SkyWeb. They have an increasing number of towers around the county, but do not presently service customers beyond Cacapon Mountain. Cost of SkyWeb recently increased and is very similar to Wild Blue. In addition to an annual contract, you will pay for equipment and installation. b. Visual Link. This is the newest system available in Morgan County. They only have one customer as of this date. Rates are comparable to SkyWeb, but installation and equipment costs are higher. I personally spoke with COMCAST cable last week regarding future availability of cable internet. They advised there is no funding available anytime in the near future to lay underground cable into CEPOA. Moreover, the representative stated that there could be problems with access; e.g., access is rationed and speed is limited by the number of users on line at any given time. In conclusion, there is no broadband internet capability now or in the near future for residents of Cacapon East. As a result, residents will not be able to subscribe to services such as Vonage and definitely cannot obtain real broadband capability. Each of the three options outlined represent viable options to meet different requirements. If you are thinking about satellite or any other internet option, attempt to find someone you know and trust to ask about cost of equipment, installation, contracts, and reliability. Mike – The Computer Guy has published a pamphlet containing advice and guidance on home computer security. This pamphlet can be accessed at the following web site: http://voiceofberkeleysprings.com Bill Feidl T-1. This is a high priced, high speed internet capability generally used by government and business with high volume of internet communications. The T-1 runs above $1500 per month and more depending upon service requirements. You can acquire partial T-1 at lower prices. Installation of necessary wiring—dedicated to the T-1 link—can be expensive ISDN. ISDN is the small brother of T-1, but still remains an expensive option. These systems are not used extensively in Morgan County. Telephone Lines. Over the past year, Verizon has advertised that DSL is available to residents of Southern Morgan County. Reality is that DSL coverage in Morgan County is spotty at best and while Verizon is the primary communications media outlet in Morgan County other options are available.
NOTE: Cost of DSL is relatively inexpensive, but the existing telephone lines are relatively old and haphazardly installed and availability of service is situational. Satellite. There are three providers offering internet access via satellite. Dish (Starband), Hughes, and Wild Blue.
Dial-Up. There are any number of internet providers selling dial-up. Speed is limited, but cost is the lowest of any other option. Recent media suggests dial-up providers are having increasing financial problems, but this should not impact on current or future users. Dial up is slow and at times access is limited, but overall the capability is adequate. Just don’t expect to download large graphic files. Cable. Morgan County has only one cable provider, COMCAST. The experts at the Dec 3rd FAST sponsored meeting seem to feel that COMCAST internet was not reliable and certainly was limited in capability and availability. Coverge is spotty and unlikely to improve anytime soon. I personally spoke with COMCAST cable last week regarding future availability of cable internet. They advised there is no funding available anytime in the near future to lay underground cable into CEPOA. Moreover, the representative stated that there could be problems with access; e.g., access is rationed and speed is limited by the number of users on line at any given time. Wireless Wireless. This is the newest option available to potential CEPOA (and Berkeley Springs) customers. These system operate on a series of towers (like your cell phone) strategically placed around the county. They are impacted by trees and plants, but because of the nature of the RF signals plants do not always adversely impact internet operations. In addition, you will have a small wireless antenna placed on your home. Reliability of wireless is an open issue. Towers attract lightening and tend to be destroyed if not properly grounded ((which apparently is common in Morgan Country because it is difficult to get a grounding rod 6-8 food into the ground.)). While I known of no current users of wireless, there are two wireless providers c. SkyWeb. The more robust system available in Morgan Country today is SkyWeb. They have an increasing number of towers around the county, but do not presently service customers beyond Cacapon Mountain. Cost of SkyWeb recently increased and is very similar to Wild Blue. In addition to an annual contract, you will pay for equipment and installation. d. Visual Link. This is the newest system available in Morgan County. They only have one customer as of this date. Rates are comparable to SkyWeb, but installation and equipment costs are higher. |
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