Internet options growing in county

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[May 12, 2009]

Internet options growing in county

May 12, 2009 (The Graham Leader - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Young County is entering the 21st Century slowly but surely. Internet access is available through different means throughout the county, but the options and results vary greatly depending on location.

Dial-up is not a thing of the past for many Young County residents. Jana Keeter of Brazos Communications and Chuck Breitkreutz, president of Digital Passage, said they serve between 500 and 1,000 dial-up customers each.

Breitkreutz said most of those users decide to stick with dial-up because they want to.

"They're still using dial-up by choice, not because they don't have other options," he said.

Brazos offers an extensive coverage area for broadband Internet access in Young County. Areas they serve according to their Web site include Elbert, Eliasville, Farmer, Jean, Jermyn, Loving, Newcastle, Markley, Murray, Orth, Olney, Proffitt, Southbend and Woodson. For residents of those areas, DSL is available, but it costs a considerable amount more than DSL offered in Graham.

The basic price for DSL is $39.95 per month in addition to the phone line required to use it. The speed is up to 200 kbps. Prices and speeds go up incrementally after that, reaching up to 1 Mbps costing a hefty $169.95 per month.

Brazos does not charge installation or activation fees with a one-year contract. Without a contract, activation runs $80.

DSL is also available for AT&T customers, but most of those customers have other options.

When calling AT&T to get information on their services, be prepared for a maze of teleprompts potentially leading to more frustration than information. At www.att.com, customers are told the fastest available DSL service is only $35 a month with no activation fee for speeds up to 786 kbps.

On the AT&T Web site, there is also an area to enter an address to see if service is available to that address.

Cable Internet is greatly limited in Young County. TGN Cable offers Internet on the west side of Lake Graham exclusively along FM 3003 starting at $29.95 per month.

The relatively new kid on the block in Internet service that has the widest range of service area is satellite.

Wild Blue, a satellite Internet company that serves Young County, offers packages ranging from $54.95 a month for up to 512 kbps to $89.95 per month for up to 1.5 Mbps not including equipment leasing or purchasing and installation/activation fees.

There are a couple of glitches with satellite Internet though, according to James Clement of New Source Broadband.

"The main thing being the latency. Although you can get it almost anywhere, the signal has to travel from the satellite and back down so you get a lot of latency or lag," Clement said. "Another thing that goes against the satellite people is that almost all of the companies have a fair access policy. What that means is that each subscriber is given an allotted amount of bandwidth per day or per month depending upon the company.

"As an example, I believe Wild Blue, one of their plans is 5 gigs per month, but at 70 percent they send you messages that say you're nearing the quota. At 80 percent, they shut you down to 128k down and 28k up. Hughes has a daily quota, 200 meg per day. Satellite bandwidth is very expensive." Another choice for Young County Internet subscribers is wireless. With Digital Passage, Breitkreutz said a typical residential package starts at $39.99 per month for a 3 Mbps connection with installation and activation fees varying and starting at $100.

He said the way it works is a small antenna is mounted outside of the building, house or business with a cable that runs from the antenna to the equipment inside that plugs to the router. The tower is a typical cell tower build out.

"Most of our towers look just like cell towers. Our equipment is quite similar. They just run on different frequencies," said Breitkreutz.

He said as of now, wireless service from Digital Passage is offered primarily in Graham, the west side of Lake Graham, Bunger and areas of Possum Kingdom but that should soon change. He plans to begin serving Olney in the next month and depending on the response, Newcastle sometime after.

"We've got to be able to fill the orders before we start in a new area. Usually, when we open a new area, we stay swamped for six months," he said.

An alternative to Digital Passage for wireless Internet service is New Source Broadband which seems to have a larger coverage area.

Clement said NSB can reach almost all of the Possum Kingdom area, both the east and west sides of Lake Graham and as far north as White Rose Road.

He said for the most part weather does not affect wireless service.

"Wind will have some effect if the antenna is not secure. It's a fixed wireless service, so it's very important that it's stable. When we do the installation, we make sure it doesn't move. In normal wind, it shouldn't move enough to cause it to disconnect," said Clement.

Prices for NSB start with a $99 residential installation with service plans up to 1 Mbps for $29.95, up to 1.5 Mbps for $38.95 and up to 2 Mbps for $49.95.

Clement said any expansion will depend on if the community can sustain it.

"It comes down to population density. Is it worth it to bump up a network with the number of potential customers in the area? It all comes down to money, especially in this economy," he said.

To see more of The Graham Leader or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.grahamleader.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Graham Leader, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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