Caroline, the land that the world (and the internet) forgot…
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by Matthew Rathbun on December 8, 2007
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Great Post Mathew! This really exposes how out of touch our leaders are! thxs
There is a way to get high speed internet access. I use Hughes
satellite system. It’s about $60.00 a month. I live in the
Dawn area and long after I’m dead the various companies might
think about Dawn for DSL. The road in front of my house actually
has Verizon DSL but I’m on the wrong side.
Thanks John. I have looked into the satelite, but it’s a year long commitment and some of my friends haven’t really liked it. The Comcast engineer I talked to said it would be here around February to get the high-speed. That’s $20 a month for six months with no connection fee. I did find out yesterday that the other side of Lake Land’or has had high-speed for years, and Ladysmith Village behind me has had it for at least three years – it’s just crazy. I appreciate you reading and offering suggestions!
Which side of Land’or has high-speed access? Because I am having a hard time finding something on the Heritage side and I am moving there in a week. Any ideas? Thanks!
So, come to find out the scoop on high-speed internet on the Heritage side of Lake Land’Or. Part of Welsh Dr. and only the side streets really close to Ladysmith Rd. have DSL. So those of us who live in the middle of the community are out of luck at this point. I will cross my fingers for Comcast to hurry and get us some cable internet!!!
Plagued by slow internet… This makes me very cranky. Any word at all on anyone bringing high-speed affordable internet to Lake Land Or? I have been in quite a few battles with Verizon, and they will not at this time do DSL for the rest of the community. I think it’s crazy! It makes me irritated to think about it even.
Becky,
Sorry that it took a bit to answer you… the squirrels are running in circles right now trying to power my dial up connection
It’s not really funny and it’s very frustrating. I posted yesterday about the Board of Supervisors decision to table the move to a public-private venture to get broadband all over the place. I was a little too hasty and opined based on the newspaper article. It doesn’t really look like it’s tabled as much as they are gathering more info…
That being said, the only really change after many frustrating phone calls has been that Comcast is hoping to have it available by March. (which is a lifetime in cyber world).
Like John said above, Hughes satellite has internet, but it’s pricey and many I’ve spoke don’t like the service, the speed or the down time associated with it. They would only let me sign a one year contract and that’s too long if comcast is really going to get this up and running in a few months.
So for now, I make a list of things that I need to do on-line and go to work early so that I can do the personal online stuff…
Sorry, I don’t have better news.
Hello, just to let you all know, I live on Canterbury Dr. which is on the Heritage side of Lake Land’or. My neighbor and I have high speed internet access (DSL) through Verizon. I got it August of 2006. There should be no reason why you cannot get DSL through verizon if you live on the Heritage side…
I would call them up and use that information as ammunition.
I agree that there is no good reason. And please understand that I have called and called. It’s coming…. is all they will tell me. That DSL coverage is only along certain roadway access. I called Comcast yesterday and they told me that they expected it’s availablity before the first of the year and now it’s March 1st.
I appreciate the ammo Jami! They are listening, it’s just not as high a priority as the new subdivisions…
To me comcast and Verizon are just throwing away easy money, but not adding the infrastructure to get us the internet.
I’m not sure which side is Heritage, but I know that as you are going down lady smith road towards the west that the left hand side of land or has dsl, but only in certain areas. I know a family on Devon that has it and a family at the very front of the neighborhood.
Sorry, should probably introduce myself. I’m David Porter and live in Belmont off of rte 207 at exit 104. I have lived down here since August 2006 and trust me the year and a half without high speed has killed me. Here is what I have found so far.
Friends of ours in Lady Smith village just told us that Comcast is now available in that neighborhood. And they are estatic to get off of VA broad band. Let me explain VA broad band real quick. This was an alternative that the supervisors pushed for to get some internet down here. It isn’t a dish based internet like Hughes net but it is received off of an antenna on your home. Down side is that it is $300 to install and about $70 a month for decent speeds (which have been getting worse and the signal comes and goes at times). Anyways, they were told directly from comcast that they can now set up appointment to have it installed.
As far as the rest of us, I have been in contact with Jeff Sili on the board of supervisors who is now trying to head up a technology committee to see what providors are planning for this area in the next year. I’ll probably talk with him again after his meeting with Comcast and Verizon at the beginning of February. Trust me he is trying to work for us. I’ve also spoken with Mr. Thomas on the board and he hears our concerns.
I probably never should have moved to an area without highspeed, but from what I was told from Comcast when we first moved it wasn’t going to take long for the service to hit our area. That was a year and a half ago. I’m just shocked that here it is 2008 and I can’t find a single high speed provider in my area and housing values are dropping like crazy and many homes in my area are getting foreclosed on. It is not a fun place to be in.
Let’s all keep up with our efforts and hopefully some change will happen. It might take someone actually organizing some information and petitions to put in front of comcast to get some action so I’m here to help if needed.
Sorry for the long post above, but I just wanted to correct you on one thing Matthew, and that is that lady smith village DOES NOT have DSL and has never had it. I’ll let you know an exact date of comcast being provided to ladysmith village when I talk to our friends again.
David, no problem with the length. Sometimes it takes awhile to get information out. I lived on Durrette Road that goes through Ladysmith Village, and had DSL since 2005. The technician that connected us, said that the circuit was installed for Ladysmith Village. My old home was near the new school. It’s odd that they didn’t actually connect LV, but did the homes behind it. It’s not surprising however…. None of it has really made sense to me.
Thanks for posting!
Ok so here is what I found out tonight from folks in Lady Smith Village. Our friends neighbors have had comcast high speed internet since last week. Our friends had it installed today and it is up and running. I’m really hoping that it’s only a matter of time before this spreads to the rest of us.
I think there is a huge communication gap somewhere in Comcast. No one on the phones even knows they offer it in Ladysmitth Village, yet several people in that neighborhood are getting it installed. Best I can do now is keep pestering them about it.
COMCAST Update… Only solely based on my experience with Comcast over the past few months, they are the worst ran communications company I’ve ever dealt with. I just called as a follow-up to David’s comments and the folks there said that Comcast (even though they have installed the wires) is not going to connect cable internet at this time. The cannot give a delivery date at all.
David, I too have made appointments with Comcast to do connections, only to have the supervisor call me 30 minutes before the appointment and tell me that they aren’t providing service to Caroline.
The individual I spoke to said that it isn’t anywhere in the county yet…. I don’t know from past experience the operators don’t know as much as the technicians, so maybe she is wrong again.
I do know this. Many potential home buyers have ruled out Caroline simply based on internet service in the past. In December there were 399 homes for sale in Caroline and only 12 of them went under contract.
Something needs to be done and I am glad that steps are being taken to work on this issue.
TV Viewers Have 376 Days To Prepare For Digital Switch
Millions Of TVs Could Go Dark After Feb. 17, 2009, Unless Viewers Prepare…
http://www.nbc4.com/news/15246594/detail.html
How do you all think this will affect Comcast cable in our neighborhood? I am in a house surrounded by trees with no hope of getting satellite tv.
Jami,
I think this is much like the Y2K scare in 1999. I think this may cause folks with televisions from 1950 have issues, but my understanding is that more modern tv should be ok. That’s just my opinion from reading other blogs and web articles….
A million people with TV’s that don’t work isn’t really that many when the average homes have at least 2 TVs.
I am sure someone will come up with a devise that will convert the digital service to (I suppose it’s called) analog service.
OK, so here’s my question then. If Comcast does come to Lake Land’or, in a hypothetical sense, what happens to those of us who have satellite TV through DirecTV and have an 18 month contract? Will Comcast be able to set up internet? Because paying penalties for stuff is just about on my last nerve, and it’s not really something I want to do. I have contacted Comcast and Verizon numerous times about high speed internet, and no one has any good news for me. I contacted Wayne Acors on the Board of Supervisors, and he responded that Comcast is giving an April/May delivery date to Lake Land’or. I am just trying to figure out what the hold up is down here…. it is really very frustrating.
Becky,
I’ve heard too many stories from all parties. Initially I was told by comcast the same thing that Mr. Acors has heard. Then when calling them back, they said it was back-burnered and the didn’t have a completion date. When my wife spoke to a local Comcast engineer, he said that they ran out of money in the budget and had no immediate plans to finish it. So, I don’t think it’s a priority for them. Having said that, I understand that the county BOS have began getting personally involved and are trying to get this straight. From what little I’ve seen of county politics, if Mr. Acors wants to get something for the subdivisions, it’s probably going to happen. It’s a matter of time.
Tomorrow morning Hughes.net is coming out to install my satelite internet system. I’m frankly tired of waiting and not being given a straight answer by Comcast or Verizon. So, even if I have to hold out for the 2 year contract, that’s OK. I am not immediately in the mood to give Comcast any business. With the pace in which technology progresses, satelite maybe a better option in two years and cable internet maybe old school… who knows!?!?
I live on Fredericksburg Turnpike/Route 2 and 17 about 10 miles south of Route 17. I also have the Hughes Net satellite service and am extremely disappointed with it. My service speed varies greatly from a low of 173 Kbps up to 700 but I pay for 1 MB which is 69.99 a month, not to mention the initial down payment of 600 dollars to buy the equipment. I recently saw a company putting in what I believed to be fiber optic cable and after a quick Internet search found the company, S&N Communication is a contractor for Verizon and they install cable for FIOS. I can only assume that they are putting in cable for this purpose but I see that the construction stopped just past Corbin Store at what I believe to be a central office location approximately five miles short of their intended target, my house. So close, yet so far; does anyone know who I can talk to in Caroline county government to get an idea of when this service will come to the farther out parts of the county? At this point I would gladly settle for Comcast but they are not in my area. I have asked numerous times at my cable company, Charter Communications, but at last check they do not provide Internet service.
I have to concur with all of the experiences listed above. My turn occured on Saturday, May 10. Bear in mind that Comcast called to confirm the appointment on Friday, the 9th. About one half hour before my installation timeframe, I get a call from the local installer giving me the bad news. It really just shows a lack of foresight on the company and a lack of research by the developers. It is killing our market. No business will incorporate without moderately priced broadband communications.
For those that are aware, Virginia Broadband is an option, but, as a customer, I have been VERY disappointed in their level of service. The prices are outrageous, customer support is mediocre at best, and the speeds are terrible. But, it is all that is available if you do not live in a DSL area.
DNG,
I did hear of one family that bought the wireless card and then a $30 booster for their house. They say it works great for them. Now if I could get that to work on 4 computers at once, then that would be someting! We’ll all have to hang in there till something better comes along.
Jennifer,
Agreed….The wireless card works best with a laptop. Unless you configure your laptop to serve as a router, getting multiple computers to work is a challenge depending on location. What I need to research is if the telco’s provide a desktop solution similar to the wireless cards they provide for laptops. My initial thought is no, because it was never designed for the purpose we are discussing.
We just have to hang in there like you said. Where are you? I am in Belmont @ Carmel Church.
Matthew and I are in Lake Landor in one of the areas without Verizon. Thanks for your comments!
Last week I sent a letter to the Comcast corporate office. The letter was received and someone actually called me from the “Executive” Technical Support Office, or something like that.
Basically, I was told the same thing that we have all been told. The service is not available and they have no idea when it will be available. When asked if the company was actively doing something about the situation, the answer I received was, “Yes”. I asked what was being done and I was told that the exact plans are above my level. I can refer you to the department that knows, i.e. the Marketing department.
It is all a bunch of BS to me.
If you want to call and vent like I have the number is (703) 789-8100.
That raises another issue…why is our service handled out of Manassass, some 50 miles away, when Richmond is less than 30? Hmmm maybe gas and diesel prices don’t affect big companies!!!!
-D
DNG,
Thanks for keeping us all informed here. I’ve gotten that same run around.
I got pretty ticked off this week when I was e-mailed that Comcast has purchased Plaxo, an on-line business development tool that has NOTHING to do with cable internet or tv and then say that they haven’t budgeted enough money to finish this project.
The county is working on the delivery of high-speed, so I am hopeful that some option will come about soon!
Matthew,
Are you aware of what efforts the county is working toward better high speed? Do you have any time frames on anything?
DNG, I think it was back in December that I last heard that the BOD was putting together a committee on this. I haven’t heard anything new.
I think Supervisor Sili was working on this. The county webpage has his number as (804) 633-5380.
Sorry that I don’t have more information right now. I’ve been looking for more, but can’t find it.
It’s June, I have just moved to Caroline County, I just had a son, would love to send pictures, but have to do so at work, at lunch of course… Anyway:
What does this have to do with the county, except for the “right of way” for any service provider to install their system? Is this a difficult thing? Hasn’t anyone on the “board” thought about putting a bid out there to get some interest going? You pay us you get to put in your equipment so you can start collecting revenue from our constituents. I wouldn’t want the county to actually spend any money due to the fact that anything they do themselves would raise all of our taxes, which wouldn’t be fair to everyone and it has to be paid for somehow…
Where are all those enterprising individuals out there? There are numerous technologies out there such as RF, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g, Satellite and Repeater systems to get things moving and maybe become a playa on the scene or get bought out by a bigger fish. It’s all about revenue! To be fair, most major city funded Wi-Fi implantation have bombed badly, so it’s a temporary fix to an age old need: speed. Success in an open environment RF/Wi-Fi implementation basically rests upon the startup to provide enough cash flow for the system, system expansion, sustainment and upkeep until a fertile revenue stream can be secured. However, once a bigger fish comes into town, all those one or two year commitments finally do end and even your most loyal customers will jump ship. The reason will be speed and unfettered bandwidths that a startup couldn’t compete with, it will also be price for the equipment and no installation charges, and no “thingy” hanging on the roof or shooting up into the stars.
Now, I wouldn’t want any government type involved with that at all. It essentially is a money drain on government to pursue, peruse and think of it and a government money drain is a drain on us all, even those that believed Bob Dole, err, Al Gore created the internet for everyone. Who then would be so noteworthy with a new idea that is so sure to work? This one individual with the knowhow engineering and tongue fodder to convince the powers to be that they are the one to make it happen and this is how it will work, most likely part of a steering committee or a planning committee, brought in for such important matters as the quintessential expert. It’s the “Emperor’s new Wi-Fi”? Excuse the pun on my part it couldn’t be helped.
So, just say no government then? Who then will be our, Caroline County citizens, quintessential expert for getting us hooked up, logged on and connected? Check these guys out:
1. http://www.va-broadband.com/index.php – A wireless, RF network solution. Prices start from 49.50 to 89.50, speeds from 400kbps to 1.2mbps, with an installation charge of 299.
2. http://www.wildblue.com/ – A terrestrial satellite communications solution. Prices start from 49.95 to 79.95, speeds from 512/128kbps to 1.5mbps/256kbps (download/upload). Installation is free at the moment and equipment charges are 249.
3. http://go.gethughesnet.com/index.cfm – Another terrestrial satellite communications solution. Prices start from 59.99 to 209.99, speeds from 700kbps to 3mbps, equipment purchase charges apply as does installation I am sure. Hughes is pretty upfront on expectations and speeds so no pulling punches here, it’s not all flowery and funky smelling.
There are problems with all three so basically it comes down to which pill is at least not that hard to swallow. With satellite you will experience latency, VoIP is virtually useless so say goodbye to Vonage. If it rains and you have DirecTV or Dish Network and it goes out so does your internet, of course, don’t worry, it’ll come back. Not that each are tied together just that they have to transmit and receive through the same muck. None have options to upgrade your equipment, not that we’d want 20 watts pointed into our bedroom windows anyway. The RF option is nice and all but nowhere does it mention what its backbone is. It’s all fine and dandy to be connected to a fast network but if there isn’t any muster behind the cloaks then it’s no good. I haven’t experienced it, and maybe I should before I slack jaw my mouth about it. I therefore shall do that asking about thing.
All of them also practice the Fair Access Police, err, Policy or FAP, that will limit your surfing if you do it too much, or Bittorrent too much, or download too much, or listen to streaming radio too much, or view streaming video too much. If you do everything too much it’s not good for you and they will let you know about how bad you are and how you are now part of the 3% that actually use the internet for what it’s intended and all, then they will to most dreadful and awful thing by cutting your speed and eventually keeping you there. So, pay as you might, you are limited. After all, it’s only fair to everyone else…
Hey Matt,
Do you guys subscribe to Virginia Broadband? Do you find their customer service to be lacking? Have you experienced extremely slow speeds in the evenings during the “peak” times? My connection is so bad in the evenings, I should have dialup. For what they charge, they stink!!!!
Unfortunately we can’t get that service either. I have Hughesnet. I’ve heard positive tings about their client interaction (VA Broadband), but also heard some speed issues in the evening. Hughesnet isn’t bad, but weather is of course an issue and for over $100 a month you’d really expect way more speed.
Ok guys, I’m back. I haven’t looked at the comments for awhile so it was interesting to hear from DNG and Chris.
I do have very good information for DNG since he lives in Belmont where I live. Where in Caroline do you live Chris? Anyways, as you can see from my comments above I too have been struggling with the no high speed internet dilemma. The good news is that I have been working my tail off to entice anyone that would listen to help us out and someone has listened. I got in contact Danny Jobe who is with MetroCast. I believe he is the regional manager. They provide the same services that comcast does in the king george and bowling green areas such as internet, digital cable, and phone services. I emailed him our situation in Belmont and he quickly responded and said that they would love to extend service from Bowling Green to our neighborhood and that he would give me a time frame in the next three months (this was the middle of May).
Dan is the regional manager and has really been working on expanding their services throughout VA. So far his group have been the only ones to even express interest in us. He said that currently they are updating the Bowling Green area and that they would include our neighborhood in their next plans. I’ll probably email him again in the next couple weeks for an update.
What irritates me is the fact that I have to do all this work. I would think the County Board would be a bit more active, but in my dealings with Mr. Thomas on the board I get the sense that they really don’t care.
Feel free to call me if anyone in Belmont wants more information or if you want me to add you on the emails to get updates from MetroCast.
David. Cell – 540-455-2187
You wont believe this. I had Verizon DSL service for the past few years. Recently, I decided to cancell my Land line and live with just Verizon DSL and Verizon Wireless. Verizon by error, cancelled my DSL also. By the time I realized what happened. they had released my line to someone else.
I placed a new order. Has been a month. Today they tell me that the service is not available and my order has been cancelled.
Dont know what to do anymore. I live in Lake Land ‘Or Heritage side.
Ichu,
Unfortunately, I do believe it. It’s a completely unacceptable story, but one I’ve heard from someone else recently. If these companies had any competition they wouldn’t treat us like this.
It’s nice to know that other people feel the same way I do. We built our house in Belmont in 2004. At that time, I was told that Verizon DSL was available. Of course, it isn’t. We tried Directway first, which is okay for surfing, but not for gaming. Then we bit the bullet and got VABB for 90 bucks a month-which works great during the day when nobody else is using it. Last night Speedtest reported that I was connected at below dialup speeds.
A Verizon tech was in our neighborhood yesterday. I stopped to talk to him, turns out he lives over on Jericho, and they aren’t planning to bring anything over to us anytime soon.
I called Customer Service for Metrocast, and after 20 minutes on hold, the rep told me that she “heard” they were moving into our area mid-September.
If I could possibly sell my house at a profit and move to Richmond, I probably would. I’m holding out hope that if the commercial development on 207 takes off, that Verizon will move in to support it. The Verizon tech said that it costs a couple hundred grand for the equipment, and they would rather serve 3000 customers than 300.
Good luck to you all, and let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Just wanted to let everyone know that a better alternative would be sprint mobile broadband. I have be using it for over a year and experience speed between 300-800kb down and 150 up. I pay a flat rate of $63.00 a month and can take the usb modem card with me on the road if need be. I live in lake lake or’ subdivision in Caroline and after doing some research found that most of the subdivision close to I-95 corridor can get the service. The only draw back is that unless you get a mobile broadband router which will run you $150-$250 then you can only connect one computer at a time. I also have been able to play online games through my xbox-360 which is decent most of the time. The technology is soooo much better than satellite internet and vabb because it connects to the cell tower nearest your home. I believe Verizon has mobile broadband also, but I don’t think it’s as good as sprint as of right now. One more thing there is no download cap as of now so you don’t have to worry about be drop to dialup speeds if you go over your download cap. I live on the heritage side of lake land or’ and I am still hoping that Comcast will finally finish installing the lines so I can have some fast internet and HD TV.
Aren’t we all just hoping and waiting? Even with so many more people moving to Caroline county, I do not see any imporvement. Wish we had more competition between companies.
I finally got Hughesnet installed. I regret the day I cancelled the verizon land line. The connection is slow. Cost me over $700 to get is all set up. Takes ages to download files. I was hoping to signup for Vonage. Vonage does not work with satellite.
Like Biran, I am hoping Comcast will finally give us the service.
David,
Thanks for the update. I called you and left you a voice mail message.
While this is not high speed internet related, this is another service issue that is near and dear to my heart, high definition television.
For those of you that have DirecTV, and subscribe to the HD Access package, the Richmond-Petersburg local channels will be carried on DirecTV sometime in mid-August according to a reliable source.
Check out http://www.dbstalk.com for more details. This is good news. It has been 2 years since D* launched HD channels and they are finally going to hit Richmond. Those of you who have Dish, should have your local channels in HD already.
-DNG
Was wondering if anyone had vabb in lake caroline. I have been looking at all the options and have found nothing, and cant get an answer from verizon or comcast. But my question is I just want a decent connection to play world of warcraft. I currently use a sprint broadband card but its up and down with latency and speeds so much not very reliable. So I was wondering if anyone with vabb could run a tracert on the wow server IP 12.129.233.2 and let me know what the latency is over vabb to the wow servers before I waste time and money getting this setup. You can go to your windows start menu – run – type in cmd and hit enter. Then type in ( tracert 12.129.233.6 ) to get the ping report any help would be great thanks. Can email me at greaverxx@yahoo.com
Justin,
Don’t bother with VABB to play WOW. I live on Devils Three Jump very near the tower they put up, and I was one of their first customers on that tower. I played WOW for the first 6 months with very little problems. Then one day, it became completely unplayable, due to high latency and I have canceled my WOW account. I think one of the most misleading things about VABB is that they say the most expensive package is a gaming package. So, after $300 for installation and ~$90/month, I have a worse than dial-up connection during peak hours, which is really the only time I use the internet. VABB is pretty good during the day as I occasionally telework at home, but it is still a pathetic service for all of the money that I spent. However, if and when something better comes along, I am going to get rid of this service, but in the meantime it’s the only thing out there.
I’m right there with you, Jason. I have Line Of Sight to my VABB wireless tower, the most expensive monthly plan, and playing WoW is an exercise in frustration. It is absolutely fantastic at 6am, or on holidays when apparently nobody else in my neighborhood is at home using it.
I received bad news from the Bowling Green office of Metrocast today. I was told that there are land use issues with Fort A. P. Hill that are preventing them from coming any further west. I checked with Verizon and Comcast again out of sheer desperation, and of course, they have no immediate plans to service the Belmont area.
I’ve already planted the seed in my wife’s head that when the housing market turns, we’re going to move closer to Richmond. Our daughter will be going to school in a couple more years, and we want her to have access to reliable broadband internet.
It’s a shame; I love my house, and my neighborhood. However, in 2008, I think I have the right to affordable basic technology service when I live in a nice subdivision less than a mile from a major interstate.
At least we’re getting an Arby’s. I was hoping for Panera Bread-heh, free WiFi anyone?
Comcast will be at the county board of supervisors meeting on August 26th. Me and several other neighbors from Belmont will be attending to voice our concerns. Hopefully others of you in the county will come and show them that this is something we really want.
Hang in there Michael. I am hoping that we hear some good news from this meeting next week. From what we found out from the county administrator, it seems that Comcast and Caroline County now have a new agreement to provide service to the county so I’m sure that is what they’ll be discussing.
As far as Metrocast goes I’ll have to contact the regional manager to ask him if that is the case. Last I heard from him, everything was still going forward with their plans.
Thats some good news to hear , I moved here last year in LLO and was crushed when i found out comcast doesnt do High Speed Internet and digital cable.
thanks for the info
So, what happened at the board meeting?
Was there really any plan to provide high speed internet and HDTV on Comcast’s part?
Thanks for keeping this information available, I have not found any good information anywhere else!
Nancy,
My wife broke her foot the night of the meeting so I wasn’t able to go but DNG and a neighbor went and unfortunately it does not look good for us. The only thing Comcast said is that they were looking into new technologies but currently had nothing planned for the County.
DNG talked to the rep after the meeting and she really did not give us any hope of getting anything soon which is very discouraging. Some of the boards members asked why certain parts of the county had Comcast and others didn’t but they basically weaseled their way out of that question.
Comcast has signed contracts with Caroline county and they are not upholding those contracts and I guess there is nothing that the board can do about that.
I honestly just want to move now. We put enough money down on our house when we bought it that I can most likely sell it for at least what my mortgage is and find a cheaper house near Richmond where I work. It’s silly to think that something like internet would cause me to do this, but it’s almost a necessity these days.
wow ,so comcast says no plans to upgrade LLO in the near future?
You would at least think it would be in LLO where they have cable there should be a law that all cable companys should upgrade their systems to at least 870 mhz.
Just venting..dying to play some COD online : (
Does anyone know if metrocast offers service in lake land or’ ? Maybe they can bring some high speed access to everyone.
Metrocast cannot run lines into Lake land or beacuse the “franchise” is owned by comcast,
I honestly believe that Comcast has been putting off the contract made with the county for expansion beacuse Verizon has been running FIOS like crazy.
I have seen 15 or so plastic green boxes where Verizon has run fiber optic lines throughout all of the main roads within lake land or.
So anyway, Comcast is not going to waste there time knowing that verizon is running fiber… My take is that Fiber can go much farther than cable can, and its actually cheaper to run now , its just expensive to hook up fiber to an end point, but that wont cost them any money until they actually hook it up.
I am hoping that Verizon gets through any legal or permitting issues quickly so that they can offer us service.. Verizon has been very agressive with its expansion, so mabe we can call them and get a date.;
Ok, scratch the Fios thing, a buddy of mine got a hold of verizon, they didnt pull fiber through lake land or, they pulled more copper, i guess to replace bad lines?
so at any rate, this might mean that dsl will be more availible, but they would have to build another CO
Guys, i hate to say it, but with comcast doing nothing, and verizon doing nothing, it lokks like we are out of luck.
when the market gets better i am selling my house and moving, I am tired of this. I know for a fact that the county can make this happen
Jennifer called Verizon today to confirm that her new listing on Bull Church Road (a long dirt driveway off of Bull Church and with only two houses on it) does have Highspeed Verizon Internet. While she had them on the phone, she asked about our address here in Lake Land’or. According the person at Verizon the lines have indeed all been ran. However, the subdivsion is too far from the “box.” Except for the row of homes in the Heritage side, along Ladysmith Road.
Really….. how much could a box cost, that they don’t think they’ll make money by hooking it up!?!?!
It appears that the piece of equipment, or “box” they’re referring to is a DSL Access Multiplexer, or DSLAM. It basically serves as a splitter for the phone line, separating the voice frequencies from the data frequencies. This allows you to talk on the phone while surfing the web.
As the Verizon tech told me, they cost $200,000. Plus you need switches with enough ports to support all the users.
So at $40 a month, it would take over 5000 monthly fees to recapture the cost of the equipment, plus there’s the labor involved in hooking it up at each house.
And, all those fees have to come from within an 18,000 foot radius of the location of the box. Apparently, that’s the technological limit of the signal.
So I guess I can see where they’re coming from. Still stinks for us, but I’m just not willing or able to pay $500 a month for DSL.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/dsl3.htm
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