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ENLARGE
Bill Toensing stands before a high-speed Internet satellite dish made by Wild Blue and mounted on the roof of his rural home.
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ENLARGE
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A high-speed Internet satellite dish is mounted on Bill Toensing's roof.
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ENLARGE
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The Union photo/David B. Torch Matt Jenkins, left, and Adam Brodel of Smarter Broadband display a subscriber module made by Motorola. The module is mounted on a tower so that rural residences can access the Internet.
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There is high-speed Internet for everyone in western Nevada County, it just depends how much you want to pay for it.
Many residents are fed up with slow dial-up, and yet for those who live outside city limits, some as little as four miles away, there are no companies who provide traditional broadband service.
The search for an alternative can be frustrating and costly, but more and more people are willing to pay top dollar and hook up elaborate systems on their rooftops to stay connected with the rest of the world.
"Our house looks like we're from outer space," said Avon Steen, who lives off McCourtney Road and recently invested in a satellite to get unlimited access to high-speed Internet so that her daughter, a graduate student, could continue to study from home. "We knew we had to do something," she said.
For years she had used dial-up, but it had become so slow that she felt she could take naps or file her nails while downloading, and there were times her computer would "time out" after she waited 20 minutes to download a file.
"It got to the point it was so frustrating we wouldn't even log on," said Steen.
Cable and DSL was not an option in her neighborhood, so she took the plunge and invested $600 for the satellite, in addition to $69 a month for the use of it.
DSL, cable or dial-up?
Steen isn't alone. While the numbers aren't absolute, it is estimated that about 20 percent of those living in western Nevada County do not have broadband services available to them.
"There are a lot of different options; it just depends on what you want and what you want to pay," said Chip Carmen of Spiral Studios, a Web site and marketing company, who sat on the county's telecommunications committee. He says since he moved here from the Bay Area nine years ago, things haven't changed much.
Many residents are fed up with slow dial-up, and yet for those who live outside city limits, some as little as four miles away, there are no companies who provide traditional broadband service.
The search for an alternative can be frustrating and costly, but more and more people are willing to pay top dollar and hook up elaborate systems on their rooftops to stay connected with the rest of the world.
"Our house looks like we're from outer space," said Avon Steen, who lives off McCourtney Road and recently invested in a satellite to get unlimited access to high-speed Internet so that her daughter, a graduate student, could continue to study from home. "We knew we had to do something," she said.
For years she had used dial-up, but it had become so slow that she felt she could take naps or file her nails while downloading, and there were times her computer would "time out" after she waited 20 minutes to download a file.
"It got to the point it was so frustrating we wouldn't even log on," said Steen.
Cable and DSL was not an option in her neighborhood, so she took the plunge and invested $600 for the satellite, in addition to $69 a month for the use of it.
DSL, cable or dial-up?
Steen isn't alone. While the numbers aren't absolute, it is estimated that about 20 percent of those living in western Nevada County do not have broadband services available to them.
"There are a lot of different options; it just depends on what you want and what you want to pay," said Chip Carmen of Spiral Studios, a Web site and marketing company, who sat on the county's telecommunications committee. He says since he moved here from the Bay Area nine years ago, things haven't changed much.
Broadband Internet connections traditionally came in two forms: DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), which is run off of a special kind of phone line, and cable Internet, provided by a local cable company much the same way it brings 250 TV channels.
While dial-up was satisfactory when it first made its debut, it has since become inadequate to users who demand more capabilities and faster speeds for downloading larger files, using video, gaming and listening to music.
"It's the last resort. Anyone who has it doesn't like it," said Carmen. For those that have had broadband there is no turning back.
A draft map showing western Nevada County and its DSL and Cable coverage on the Nevada County's Economic Resource Council Web site, www.ncerc.org, gets dozens of hits every week from people looking to invest in real estate. People are turning away from homes and property when they discover that broadband isn't available.
Rick Nolle, a realtor for Network Real Estate in Penn Valley says he has witnessed people rejecting property that isn't connected. He says the largest percentage of buyers come from outside the area, such as the Bay Area and Southern California, where high-speed Internet is a staple just as any other utility.
"That's why you run into a request for high speed. People from major metropolitan areas ask, 'Why can't I get this?'" said Nolle.
Outer reaches
The ERC map shows a pink blob covering Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Alta Sierra, Penn Valley and Lake of the Pines - roughly all the most densely populated locations.
But even within those areas there are holes where people can't get service. While one residence in Alta Sierra may have access to both cable broadband and phone company DSL at low monthly rates, a few streets away there is nothing to choose but dial-up.
"The challenge in our county is density," said Steve Monaghan, chief information officer for Nevada County.
The giants, AT&T (which merged with SBC last November), Comcast and Cebridge - which is changing its name to Suddenlink - are allured by the profits of population density and so far have no incentive to string more wire to service a small cluster of 20 residents.
While dial-up was satisfactory when it first made its debut, it has since become inadequate to users who demand more capabilities and faster speeds for downloading larger files, using video, gaming and listening to music.
"It's the last resort. Anyone who has it doesn't like it," said Carmen. For those that have had broadband there is no turning back.
A draft map showing western Nevada County and its DSL and Cable coverage on the Nevada County's Economic Resource Council Web site, www.ncerc.org, gets dozens of hits every week from people looking to invest in real estate. People are turning away from homes and property when they discover that broadband isn't available.
Rick Nolle, a realtor for Network Real Estate in Penn Valley says he has witnessed people rejecting property that isn't connected. He says the largest percentage of buyers come from outside the area, such as the Bay Area and Southern California, where high-speed Internet is a staple just as any other utility.
"That's why you run into a request for high speed. People from major metropolitan areas ask, 'Why can't I get this?'" said Nolle.
Outer reaches
The ERC map shows a pink blob covering Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Alta Sierra, Penn Valley and Lake of the Pines - roughly all the most densely populated locations.
But even within those areas there are holes where people can't get service. While one residence in Alta Sierra may have access to both cable broadband and phone company DSL at low monthly rates, a few streets away there is nothing to choose but dial-up.
"The challenge in our county is density," said Steve Monaghan, chief information officer for Nevada County.
The giants, AT&T (which merged with SBC last November), Comcast and Cebridge - which is changing its name to Suddenlink - are allured by the profits of population density and so far have no incentive to string more wire to service a small cluster of 20 residents.
"The payback isn't there," said Monaghan.
Currently, Comcast serves Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley and parts of Rough and Ready while Cebridge, or Suddenlink, cable covers Lake of the Pines and parts of Alta Sierra. While broadband use is gaining momentum - 1,000 new subscribers to Comcast's broadband have been added in the past six months - only about 55 percent of Grass Valley and Nevada City use it.
That's more than the country as a whole, according to a study by Pew Internet & American Life Project released in May that found 31 percent of black households have high-speed Internet access and about 40 percent of both white and Latino households have broadband.
Comcast is currently in the final stages of renewing a franchise agreement with the city of Grass Valley. Residents within the city limits are guaranteed service under the contract but outside the boundaries of Grass Valley, depending on what area you live in, the cable company is limited by the rights it owns.
"If you look at the U.S., it kind of looks like a patchwork ... Comcast isn't available everywhere," said Erica Smith, senior director of Communication for Comcast's Central California Region. This region serves 750,000 customers with cable television and or high-speed Internet from Chico to Fresno.
Mailers have been sent out to certain neighborhoods within Nevada County notifying them of AT&T and the satellite company Wild Blue's recent partnership forged in late May. The team-up was meant to be an alternative solution for AT&T customers in rural areas hungry for high speed that is not yet available.
For years, satellite was the means for rural residents to stay connected to the modern world via television and the Internet. Hugh Tower of Hugh Tower Satellites has been supplying satellite Internet service to miners and others in the remotest corners of the county for years.
"I've been down in canyons ... without satellite they would be totally cut off from the world. There's no other options," Tower paused and considered, maybe "smoke signals."
Last week representatives from AT&T and Nevada County met to discuss the phone company's plans for the year ahead.
Vanessa Smith, spokesperson for AT&T, wouldn't give specifics of the company's plans but offered vague promises.
"We always look for opportunities to expand," she said. "It's always on our radar, yes."
Repeated calls to Comcast's Senior Director of Communication Erica Smith were not returned. The Sacramento-based call center for Comcast, the only number listed in the phone book, would not answer questions regarding Nevada County nor would anyone at the Grass Valley office located on East Main Street.
Currently, Comcast serves Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley and parts of Rough and Ready while Cebridge, or Suddenlink, cable covers Lake of the Pines and parts of Alta Sierra. While broadband use is gaining momentum - 1,000 new subscribers to Comcast's broadband have been added in the past six months - only about 55 percent of Grass Valley and Nevada City use it.
That's more than the country as a whole, according to a study by Pew Internet & American Life Project released in May that found 31 percent of black households have high-speed Internet access and about 40 percent of both white and Latino households have broadband.
Comcast is currently in the final stages of renewing a franchise agreement with the city of Grass Valley. Residents within the city limits are guaranteed service under the contract but outside the boundaries of Grass Valley, depending on what area you live in, the cable company is limited by the rights it owns.
"If you look at the U.S., it kind of looks like a patchwork ... Comcast isn't available everywhere," said Erica Smith, senior director of Communication for Comcast's Central California Region. This region serves 750,000 customers with cable television and or high-speed Internet from Chico to Fresno.
Mailers have been sent out to certain neighborhoods within Nevada County notifying them of AT&T and the satellite company Wild Blue's recent partnership forged in late May. The team-up was meant to be an alternative solution for AT&T customers in rural areas hungry for high speed that is not yet available.
For years, satellite was the means for rural residents to stay connected to the modern world via television and the Internet. Hugh Tower of Hugh Tower Satellites has been supplying satellite Internet service to miners and others in the remotest corners of the county for years.
"I've been down in canyons ... without satellite they would be totally cut off from the world. There's no other options," Tower paused and considered, maybe "smoke signals."
Last week representatives from AT&T and Nevada County met to discuss the phone company's plans for the year ahead.
Vanessa Smith, spokesperson for AT&T, wouldn't give specifics of the company's plans but offered vague promises.
"We always look for opportunities to expand," she said. "It's always on our radar, yes."
Repeated calls to Comcast's Senior Director of Communication Erica Smith were not returned. The Sacramento-based call center for Comcast, the only number listed in the phone book, would not answer questions regarding Nevada County nor would anyone at the Grass Valley office located on East Main Street.
Other options
Tired of what he calls the company's "stonewalling" to give him a time frame for DSL service to his home off Mystic Mine, just four miles outside Grass Valley, William Toensing gave up and made the switch to Wild Blue last month.
He says while the satellite service is far better than dial-up, there have been a couple of instances where service was down for a couple hours after midnight for maintenance.
"I don't think there are any ISP (Internet Service Providers) that are totally reliable 100 percent of the time," said Toensing.
Faster service than dial-up, but slower than optimal DSL, is available to some rural residents through small local companies. Generic retailers have a "different threshold for quality," said Monaghan. So while AT&T wouldn't sell DSL below certain speeds, smaller local companies will as a step above dial-up, with speeds as much as four times faster using the same DSL lines as AT&T.
For people living on the fringes, the final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer is known as the "last mile" problem. It's an expensive challenge because "fanning out" wires and cables is deemed a considerable physical undertaking for cable and phone companies.
Wireless may be the answer. "I really think there's going to be a lot of wireless options. I think it's really going to explode," said Monaghan.
AT&T has installed fiber optic towers on Banner Lava Cap and Lake Vera Road, though they haven't yet been deployed, and what purpose they will serve is still a mystery.
Verizon is putting up three towers that should be up and running this fall.
"I think everyone's jumping on the wireless broadband bandwagon," said Monaghan. Grass Valley and Nevada City both have WiFi (the most popular kind of wireless network) services in businesses throughout town, allowing for notebook use at trendy coffee shops, motels, even the post office.
Desperate remote home businesses have installed T-1 (Transmission - Level 1) lines through the phone company that start at $400 a month. Other neighborhoods are investing in the T-1 cooperatively and splitting the cost and sharing wirelessly.
In one pocket of Western Nevada County, radiating from McCourtney and Wolf roads, wireless radio technology is being used to provide high-speed Internet.
Tired of latency (the several second delay common with satellite) and interrupted service from galactic clouds, resident Adam Brodel invested $120,000 to start Smarter Broadband.
"People who are out here in rural areas are just desperate to get high-speed service," said Brodel.
Smarter Broadband is a WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) and works through wireless radio technology run through a fixed receiver attached to the roof. The technology is new and promising, yet because of the county's hilly terrain, numerous repeaters and transmitters are required, keeping the service area small for now.
In order to work, the customer must be in line of sight of a transmitter, usually within 20 miles. Equipment can work through trees but not through rocks, buildings or hills. Smarter Broadband is currently negotiating for new locations and hopes to quadruple its coverage in four to eight weeks.
"For me it's worth it and professionally allows me to work from home," said Teri Hulvey whose San Francisco-based company now pays $200 a month for the WISP connection (Smarter Broadband's top business plan) compared to the $500 rent for office space in town. Most customers choose plans between $49 and $99.
There is hope that WiMAX technology (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) may affordably bridge the gap of the "last mile" problem. Cable and telephone companies are examining this new technology as a solution. WiMAX antennas can "share" a cell tower without compromising the function of cellular arrays already in place. Less infrastructure is required, and there is less potential storm damage maintenance. "It's really being touted as the holy grail," said Brodel who, along with others in the industry, remains skeptical of WiMAX and claims his company's equipment (a Motorola canopy) is a level above what WiMAX has to offer.
While the county has no direct role or control over Internet providers, it is promoting wider distribution of broadband and DSL services. Recently, county Supervisor John Spencer amended a planning code to waive permits for the installation of new towers.
In Truckee, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District has been stuck in litigation for several years with cable and phone companies as the town tries to pursue fiber optic technology to bring high-speed Internet without interruption to all residents. Monaghan says this type of county involvement wouldn't work here because the county doesn't have the level of expertise private companies do and would take time away from the county's role of governing.
Russ Steele, who presided over the ERC telecommunication task force, says it's something Nevada County should look into.
"I think they are looking at the future, bringing fiber to the home," Steele said.
In one pocket of Western Nevada County, radiating from McCourtney and Wolf roads, wireless radio technology is being used to provide high-speed Internet.
Tired of latency (the several second delay common with satellite) and interrupted service from galactic clouds, resident Adam Brodel invested $120,000 to start Smarter Broadband.
"People who are out here in rural areas are just desperate to get high-speed service," said Brodel.
Smarter Broadband is a WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) and works through wireless radio technology run through a fixed receiver attached to the roof. The technology is new and promising, yet because of the county's hilly terrain, numerous repeaters and transmitters are required, keeping the service area small for now.
In order to work, the customer must be in line of sight of a transmitter, usually within 20 miles. Equipment can work through trees but not through rocks, buildings or hills. Smarter Broadband is currently negotiating for new locations and hopes to quadruple its coverage in four to eight weeks.
"For me it's worth it and professionally allows me to work from home," said Teri Hulvey whose San Francisco-based company now pays $200 a month for the WISP connection (Smarter Broadband's top business plan) compared to the $500 rent for office space in town. Most customers choose plans between $49 and $99.
There is hope that WiMAX technology (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) may affordably bridge the gap of the "last mile" problem. Cable and telephone companies are examining this new technology as a solution. WiMAX antennas can "share" a cell tower without compromising the function of cellular arrays already in place. Less infrastructure is required, and there is less potential storm damage maintenance. "It's really being touted as the holy grail," said Brodel who, along with others in the industry, remains skeptical of WiMAX and claims his company's equipment (a Motorola canopy) is a level above what WiMAX has to offer.
While the county has no direct role or control over Internet providers, it is promoting wider distribution of broadband and DSL services. Recently, county Supervisor John Spencer amended a planning code to waive permits for the installation of new towers.
In Truckee, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District has been stuck in litigation for several years with cable and phone companies as the town tries to pursue fiber optic technology to bring high-speed Internet without interruption to all residents. Monaghan says this type of county involvement wouldn't work here because the county doesn't have the level of expertise private companies do and would take time away from the county's role of governing.
Russ Steele, who presided over the ERC telecommunication task force, says it's something Nevada County should look into.
"I think they are looking at the future, bringing fiber to the home," Steele said.
While technology is making faster Internet service available to everyone, it still comes at a heavy price tag for families on a budget.
"That's the other thing about broadband," Monaghan said, "is it at a price point that rural people can afford?"
ooo
Laura Brown lives in Nevada County and covers the outdoors for The Union. Her e-mail is laurab@theunion.com
Tips for high-speed Internet shopping
Research which companies offer service to your area. You can check to see if broadband is available by typing in your phone number or address on major cable and phone company Web sites.
Evaluate needs: How fast should the service that you need be?
Cost - How much can you afford to pay (DSL starting at 12.95 if you're lucky and cable costs from $39.95 to $59.95 a month, satellite and WISP services start at $49.95 plus installation fees)
Protect yourself - what kind of Spam controls and virus protection do you need?
Remember, just because major phone companies don't offer DSL in your area doesn't mean a smaller company can't get you faster than dial-up but slower than optimum DSL service
Learn the problems with each service (satellite is known for latency, WISP needs line of site, etc.).
"That's the other thing about broadband," Monaghan said, "is it at a price point that rural people can afford?"
ooo
Laura Brown lives in Nevada County and covers the outdoors for The Union. Her e-mail is laurab@theunion.com
Tips for high-speed Internet shopping
Research which companies offer service to your area. You can check to see if broadband is available by typing in your phone number or address on major cable and phone company Web sites.
Evaluate needs: How fast should the service that you need be?
Cost - How much can you afford to pay (DSL starting at 12.95 if you're lucky and cable costs from $39.95 to $59.95 a month, satellite and WISP services start at $49.95 plus installation fees)
Protect yourself - what kind of Spam controls and virus protection do you need?
Remember, just because major phone companies don't offer DSL in your area doesn't mean a smaller company can't get you faster than dial-up but slower than optimum DSL service
Learn the problems with each service (satellite is known for latency, WISP needs line of site, etc.).
