Phase II of
Bland County’s plan to bring faster Internet service across the locality is
nearly ready for its full unveiling.
The county’s
BCNet wireless Internet service provided by Trificient Broadband Technologies
will start at a cost of $27.95 per month (minimum 12-month contract) for a 512k
speed connection, said Trificient owner Jim Ingram.
Faster
speeds also will be available at higher monthly costs.
Ingram said
the standard benchmark for Internet service to qualify as high-speed is
anything above 256k.
The Federal Communications Commission, though, recently raised its definition
of basic broadband from 200k to 768k.
Nevertheless,
Ingram said even the starting 512k connection will be significantly faster than
dial-up Internet.
Signals for
the wireless Internet will radiate from the Bland County Courthouse and the
Bland fire tower, as well as towers on Big Walker Mountain and at South Gap.
Ingram said
anyone who can see any of the towers should have a strong connection. Across
open space, he said the signal can travel about 10 miles in all directions from
the source.
For people
who can’t see one of the towers or the courthouse from their residences, Ingram
said the signal still is capable of traveling around small obstructions.
“We do a
site survey at everyone’s home,” Ingram said.
Anyone
interested in having the company do its free availability test can call (800)
874-0803 or fill out a registration form by clicking on the BCNet link on Bland County’s
Web site, http://www.bland.org.
Although
Ingram said in an interview in mid-September that he expected the service to be
live by Oct. 1, a person who answered the above phone number Tuesday morning
said at this point the company is still just collecting information from
interested Bland County residents.
County Administrator Jonathan Sweet said
certain businesses and organizations such as the new Virginia Steel &
Fabrication Inc. plant and the Bland County Historical Society already have
begun using the new service.
If the
survey finds no signal, Ingram said there’s no charge for the assessment. If a
viable signal is found, Ingram said technicians can then immediately install a
small receiver (less than a foot tall) on the structure and service will begin.
The setup
fee is $99, Ingram said.
The owner
added that the installation process generally takes about two hours.
Appointments will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, but Ingram
said other arrangements can be made if no one is able to be home during those
times.
Beyond the
wireless Internet connection, Ingram said other services such as Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) also will be available for additional monthly fees.
VoIP allows
people to use their computers to make unlimited long distance phone calls for a
flat fee.
As individuals begin to take advantage of the new connection points, Sweet said
the county also is working on developing additional free “hot spots” for
Internet access.
The three
new free access areas, expected to be available in the next few months, will be
at the Rocky Gap
Community Park
(and much of downtown Rocky Gap), the Bastian ballparks and the Ceres Community
Center.
“The free
spots are for quality of life, pure and simple,” Sweet said. “Those that don’t
have the need for monthly service will still be able to gain access too.”
Computers
will be available at the Ceres
Community Center, while
people hoping to tap into the network at the Rocky Gap and Bastian free spots
will need a laptop or other wireless device.
Bland County also is moving ahead on
phase III of its Internet project to expand access east to the Mechanicsburg
area. Phase I of the BCNet plan began the county’s broadband initiative in 2006
by establishing free wireless Internet access in downtown Bland.
Although
Ingram cautioned that high-speed wireless Internet coverage may “never be 100
percent” because of Bland
County’s mountainous
terrain, he said he hopes that 70 to 75 percent of residences and businesses
can access BCNet at the completion of phase III.
