October 1, 2000
As tech guy here at Trees, I get a lot of questions about modem
connection speeds in our very rural environment. Most folks are
complaining about the low speeds they get up in the hills and ask me
how they can improve them. My answer almost always has been that they
can't be improved, that the problem here is in the phone lines.
Factors like miles of cable between you and town, devices that allow
multiple homesteads to share one pair of copper wires, and older
Telco equipment all contribute to modems speeds of 28.8 Kb/s or less,
sometimes even as low as 9.6 Kb/s. This occurs when most American
towns and cities offer 56 Kb/s speeds!
One solution has been PC satellite, which has been around for years
but limited to high speeds in one direction: incoming signals come in
fast via the satellite dish, but outgoing signals still went out via
the phone line. Folks with a poor phone service were only half
helped, and folks with no phone connections were completely left out.
In addition, you had to pay for two complete services, since you
still had to maintain your phone line account.
So we here at Trees have kept our ear to the virtual ground in regard
to faster, rural-compatible Internet connections: and we're soon to
be in luck! This winter, two companies are marketing new satellite
services that should make wired life in the hills a functional
reality.
Microsoft Network (MSN) has teamed up with satellite company Gilat
and dish-maker Echostar to produce a bidirectional satellite service
sold through Radio Shack. I've tested the demo unit at the Radio
Shack here in Garberville and was impressed! Uploads (look ma! no
phone lines!) went out at about the speed of a fast modem (50-60
Kb/s), while downloads came at a screaming 200-400 Kb/s! The
downloads are comparable to a DSL or cable modem service, neither of
which is available in our region, and rumor has it the upload speeds
will be improved.
DirectPC and AOL will come out with a similar service this year and
plan to add bidirectionality early next year. Either system will work
great in any location on the North Coast; all you need is a view of
the southern sky!
I haven't been able to get firm pricing yet, but installation is
looking like about $200-$300, and monthly rates around $20-$60,
depending on usage.
Trees will be available for consultation on these systems as we get
more information.
Happy networking!
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TOC for Forest & River News, Fall 2000