High-speed Internet is coming

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

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.
For more information about Trificient’s services, visit http://www.trificient.net.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 1-800-655-1406 or .