Is Lake Land’or Getting High Speed Wifi?
For years I’ve been trying to keep up to date on internet access in Caroline County. I knew that this past Monday the Lake Land’or Internet Committee was meeting to discuss two options. Today while perusing the Lake Land’or webpage, I found deep on a page, an update that the Technology Committee has chosen Casual Computing as the vendor of choice for Lake Land’or Internet Access. Casual Computing has even setup a webpage already.
The Lake Land’or information is found on the “Useful Information” page:
• Internet Access
Dialup internet service is available from the following ISP with local telephone access points in Bowling Green:
Bowling Green Electronics 633-2069
For those with extended local calling plans that include Fredericksburg, options are expanded to include access to most national ISP’s.
In the near future a local company Casual Computing (804-448-8546) will be providing High Speed Wireless internet service to the Lake Land’ Or Community. They have started a web page to provide Land’ Or residents the info they need about Casual Computing and in the future to be able to sign up for this service:
I’m happy that Lake Land’or has found a provider and is moving toward a solution to the lack of internet access. Happier still that the community page was updated so quickly with the information.
The Casual Computing site for Lake Land’or Wifi says in their FAQ, that they are in the final planning stages with the Community and will have updates in the next 30-45 days and that the timeline for installation is by the end of the year.
What Does This Mean?
Because of the emails that I receive from our blog, I know that some of you are skeptical of Wifi Internet. No, it won’t be as reliable as FIOS or fiber to the door and yes speed and dependability will be dependant on environmental conditions. But compared to what we have now and the lack of other options, this is great news.
I think from my experience researching this issue that Casual Computing is taking a risk here with their investment. I’m anxious to see how all this pans out, and eager to sign up when the service is finally available.
Table of contents for Internet Access
- High Speed Internet In Caroline | Comcast Is Taking Orders – 2011 Pricing Information
- Surprise! It’s High Speed Internet for Lake Land’or in Caroline, VA!
- Could NWT Be the Answer to Lake Land’or and Lake Caroline High Speed Internet?
- High-Speed Internet in Caroline County – An Update From the County
- Lake Land’or High Speed Internet Petition
- Comcast Delivers Great News About High-Speed Internet in Caroline, VA
- Comcast Internet Update: Users Can Signup Soon!
- Sign-up For Comcast High-Speed Internet After September 6, 2011
- Current Caroline Comcast Subscribers Need Digital Convertors
- Boom! Lake Land’or Has Internet!
- Comcast Setsup Telephone Number Just for Caroline
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I still think the better option is NWT but I haven’t heard anything more about them since they came to the technology committee meeting a month and a half ago. From doing some research it would seem NWT has a pretty feasible chance in this area since they go out for a lot of the broadband stimulus funds from what I’ve seen and that should help cut down on their infrastructure costs.
Currently we’re a casual computing customer and the service is definitely better then VABB but there is still a lot to be desired. If it rains or it’s windy you’re going to have some pretty poor service. We’re off in the back of our neighborhood and we experience some line of sight issues quite frequently where there is just a ton of packet loss and it can become pretty frustrating. I imagine the LOS issues are only going to be worse there in land ‘or and lake caroline given the dense trees.
Hopefully we’ll hear something soon from NWT. I’m really hoping that this “decision” by the Land’or technology committee hasn’t influenced NWT to look elsewhere because that would be extremely disappointing.
Hi, David.
I attended the county technology meeting you mentioned with other LLO High-Speed Internet Committee and LLOPOA Board members. NWT seems to be a mid-tier Internet reseller who wants to bring in the backhaul, but let local companies run the last mile and handle customer service and billing. As a byproduct of the eventual prosperity, NWT will offer low-cost (and even free) Internet service to county administration and schools. It sounds like a good plan, but in order for it to take off, I believe the county needs to have many local companies primed and ready to take NWT’s service to the home…and I don’t think those companies are that numerous…yet. As I understand from the meeting, NWT’s initial model is to run fiber to the homes in Lake Caroline, offer TV/Phone/Internet service, and showcase it to other communities (to energize the Internet business in the area). As far as I know, they were not looking at LLO, initially. So, based on the information presented, the HSI Committee decided to continue with Casual Computing (a company that was selected for endorsement only after a criteria-based review of available options), and wait and see if NWT’s plan became reality. At the meeting, NWT proposed the start of installation in Lake Caroline in September. I don’t think they’ve started, but I’d love to hear how it’s going.
I know of at least 2 different companies that had a plan for a wireless mesh system.The wireless mesh system would have had a fiber backbone which would have provided optimum speed for the short term.The fiber would have been rolled out shortly after.The so called hi speed committe who doesn’t know a walkie talkie from an iphone decided to go with casual computing.I saw them out there with their fire truck trying to gauge los and it was a joke.The tower which they claim would take away form the “beauty” of the community has apparently been approved.I guess it’s ok to put a 200 foot tower up if it’s someone white makes the suggestion.If they were going to go this route the service could have been up 2 yrs ago.The excessive treeline and extreme hill terrain will make it impossible to provide the proper service.You must also factor in the fact that casual computing is a small punk and pop company that has a few hundred subscribers in Belmont.The network they have will be unable to adequately accomodate andother 1500 customer with the amount of bandwidth they have.If they do acquire more bandwidth they will have to raise the prices to compensate for the higher lease cost.This whole thing has been a cluster @!#$ form the start.Rural Broadband put together a flawless presentation and guaranteed service installation within 90 days with no out of pocket cost to the community.As a matter of fact they were going to donate a portion of the proceeds to the hoa for other community projects.
Hi, Harry.
The LLO High-Speed Internet Committee considered several companies that proposed plans. We developed a set of criteria, and evaluated each company’s proposal against those criteria. Casual Computing was the only company that met all of the criteria at the time. Since that time, Casual Computing’s plan for delivering High-Speed Internet has changed as more detailed information about technology and terrain became available. A stipulation was made at the beginning of the process that if the proposal changed significantly in technology, community impact, or delivery forecast that the new proposal would be reviewed by the Board before proceeding. This has occurred, and the Board has continued to support Casual Computing’s efforts. I attest that Committee members do indeed know walkie-talkies from iPhones, and they have been working very hard and very well on a volunteer basis to bring reliable, low-cost High-Speed Internet service to their community. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been. I, for one, applaud Casual Computing for their willingness to accept the financial risk, their consideration of our specialized needs, and their flexibility in the face of our development’s challenging environment.
Harry,
It sounds like you have a great deal of knowledge in this area. I wasn’t able to attend the meetings because I was out of town for the few that I knew about. Someone on the committee has been providing updates and they were also surprised that the HOA picked the company that they chose.
I’ve renewed my satellite internet subscription because I think it’s going to be awhile before it all gets sorted out and the feedback from the Belmont folks has been less than stellar.
I wonder how long Verizon or Comcast will dither about before realizing there is money to be made by providing solid service in our community.
If you haven’t already you can read some of the 60+ comments about internet in Caroline County here: http://www.vahomeplace.com/caroline-the-land-that-the-world-forgot/
When are these meeting going? I looked at the Belmont solution and Im not very impressed. Casual computing as a company seems to be focused on web hosting and custom web app development not ISP or SI services. I live in Land’or and work in IT, specifically large IT infrastructure solutions. I would be glad to offer assistance to the IT committee for reviewing these proposals.
The NWT pitch seems much more practical and even brings in the infrastructures potential lease to other possible providers such as comcast or verizon as revenue for the company instead of the community footing the entire bill. That is a smart approach and has numerous advantages over the casual design.
The only reason we cant get comcast or verizon services now, is the initial infrastructure upgrade cost. If it was done under a contract like the NWT pitch, it could be leased to them and would bring not only internet services, but also digital phone and HD TV that we are lacking. NWT’s design is built around lease or sales to ISP’s who doesn’t want to upgrade or provide a new infrastructure. They are offering to provide services to us until they can build that interest. In the long run it seems like his intention is to prove how profitable our communities can be and since he is ahead of the game his profit will come from the ISP’s (verizon or other) interest in the infrastructure he can now offer them. It is an investment on NWT’s part that we are not being asked to repay. It also promotes the objective of bringing legitimate ISP interest to our communities vice bringing in competition to dissuade them. I agree completely that something should be done, but this casual offer is like needing a 4×4 truck and buying a moped because a moped dealer approached you.
The casual solution would bring in service but it is riddled with intermittent SLA’s, and only offers a very rudimentary connection, not to mention poor security. The NWT solution has bandwith, low-latency, concurrent bandwith, and QOS advantages plus the fact that it is an actual network connection and not just a big shared WAP… I dont care what they say on their website, the shared wireless network is much less secure than a physical network, and 10 times less reliable. I will not be using this service if it is produced in the same manor as the belmont solution.
Casual Computing is committed to providing high speed, highly reliable Internet service to the Lake Land’Or community. While a wireless networking solution was proposed, Casual Computing is actively working towards a significantly more reliable terrestrial option that will deliver services that are hundreds of times better than any wireless option can provide. If there are any questions, comments, or concerns about Casual Computing or its endeavors, please feel free to contact us at http://www.casualcomputing.net.
Terrestrial? Hundreds of times better than wireless solutions? Are you counting LTE when making that statement? I know casuals initial solution was 802.11b/g, but with LTE options wireless is great. Its just that I dont think anyone short of a large SI like verizon , ATT, motorola (possibly IBM) could support the LTE option for the community. The backbone circuit is still the show stopper and the cost factor.. No matter who supplies the service or how, the major limiting factor remains the over subscription of bandwidth without adding circuits. I have seen nothing in casual computing design that indicates an adequate pipe, and until this news of a terrestrial design the wireless was less than desirable.
So from a contracting perspective your saying you won the proposal, or rfp if it went out in that format, based on the submission of a wireless solution that you wont be deploying now? No offense, but shouldn’t a major deviation from the proposed design warrant a re-compete with other solutions, or are we just going to go with whatever casual proposes, to include incidental cost for the alternate solution? If your saying that casual is developing an alternate “terrestrial” design, that means there isn’t a complete design and therefore no way to quantify cost or actual SLA’s much less a time frame for delivery. This isnt personal or a ding against casual computing, its just good business for the HOA to consider certain points; the amount of time elapsed since inception and any new options that may have become available since the original query, the fact that the proposal is being drastically altered because it was either insufficient or impractical, the cost delta’s between the original proposal and this new(still developing alternative) and any other competitive options, impact of design as to flexibility and ability to accommodate future enhancements.
It would be a disservice to the residents if the HOA didnt re-evaluate what it is approving as the solution based on what is currently available (especially when considering that nothing is here yet and re-competing wont cause any delays, and the original solution was insufficient) . Casual computing’s new or revised design should be given fair consideration, but so should any other.
Harry, I searched for Rural Broadband, but couldn’t find anything. Do you have a link or possibly a copy of their brief?
Kevin,
Why has so much information been removed from the http://www.LandorWifi.com webpage? The FAQ seems to be down. Are we not still looking at an end of the year option?
[quote] Brian Toy September 13, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Terrestrial? Hundreds of times better than wireless solutions? Are you counting LTE when making that statement? I know casuals initial solution was 802.11b/g, but with LTE options wireless is great. Its just that I dont think anyone short of a large SI like verizon , ATT, motorola (possibly IBM) could support the LTE option for the community. The backbone circuit is still the show stopper and the cost factor.. No matter who supplies the service or how, the major limiting factor remains the over subscription of bandwidth without adding circuits. I have seen nothing in casual computing design that indicates an adequate pipe, and until this news of a terrestrial design the wireless was less than desirable. [/quote]
So you are arguing FOR wireless, then saying that wireless is less than desireable? I dont know if you actually live in Land ‘Or or have been to any of the meetings (which are open for you to visit if you really cared) but there were several factors that made wireless a good option, and several that made it a bad option. At the time, it was the ONLY option. If you had been to the meetings, which you obviously found less important than sitting on here commenting on something you have taken no part in, then you would have remembered that NOBODY other than Casual Computing had a practical plan for providing us with high speed internet. We had to sit through a 20 minute presentation by Verizon telling us why they will not offer us high speed internet. Sprint had a 4g plan that looked good at first, but once you got past the sales pitch it seemed that they really had no solution to our problem. And that sums everything up, Casual Computing is the company that is willing to solve our problem and do more than just offer us dial-up or a slow broadband.
[quote]So from a contracting perspective your saying you won the proposal, or rfp if it went out in that format, based on the submission of a wireless solution that you wont be deploying now? No offense, but shouldn’t a major deviation from the proposed design warrant a re-compete with other solutions, or are we just going to go with whatever casual proposes, to include incidental cost for the alternate solution? If your saying that casual is developing an alternate “terrestrial” design, that means there isn’t a complete design and therefore no way to quantify cost or actual SLA’s much less a time frame for delivery. This isnt personal or a ding against casual computing, its just good business for the HOA to consider certain points; the amount of time elapsed since inception and any new options that may have become available since the original query, the fact that the proposal is being drastically altered because it was either insufficient or impractical, the cost delta’s between the original proposal and this new(still developing alternative) and any other competitive options, impact of design as to flexibility and ability to accommodate future enhancements.
It would be a disservice to the residents if the HOA didnt re-evaluate what it is approving as the solution based on what is currently available (especially when considering that nothing is here yet and re-competing wont cause any delays, and the original solution was insufficient) . Casual computing’s new or revised design should be given fair consideration, but so should any other.[/quote]
Wow, you really have never been to any of our OPEN internet committee meetings have you? This has ALL been discussed at naseum at the past handful of meetings we have held. You do a bigger disservice to the residents of our community by running your mouth when you dont participate all the while talking about how you do not know enough about Casual Computing’s plan when you have not felt the compulsion to show up to any of the meetings or inquire to any of the committee members as to what has been discussed. None of what you discuss is news, this was all settled MONTHS ago. I would advise you to pay closer attention to things in the community that matter to you, it will help you become a productive member of the HOA…that is of course unless you like just sitting behind a keyboard complaining about everything.
Stuart,
It does seem that there is a bit of misinformation out and about and not everyone can make the meetings or even know when they occur. Because I travel for work, I’ve only been able to make one meeting. Would you or maybe Jeff like to write a summary of where we were and where we’re going so that I can post it here on VAHomePlace? We get a few thousand hits a month and many of them are Google redirects for people looking for information on internet.
I know that it’s being worked on, but the HOA’s attempt to let us know about meetings and their outcomes hasn’t been very effective. I try to post the best that I can from the vairious community members that call me, but it would be great for a committee member to give us a good summary and relieve some of the confusion.
Casual Computing’s site did have some very valuable information, but it’s been removed.
Matt, I appreciate your straight forwardness on this. You may remember me, I was the one who thanked you at the meeting for this blog that told me about the transfer charges and lack of internet right before we purchased our home in Land ‘Or. Misinformation goes hand in hand with any other rumor, you cannot fight it. Someone hears something and repeats it filling in gaps of info with stuff they think up on their own. My biting reply was directly to Mr Toy for acting like a total toolshed on here. The information to contact the internet committee has been published in more than a couple of the newsletters that we all recieve in our mailboxes. I would personally talk to ANYONE seeking information about the internet committee and the recommendations that we have made to the board. I will send you an email with my number that you can give to anyone inquiring as to the status.
As far as attempts to spread information…unfortunately that is something that could be remedied by a website and internet. We are working on the website issue at the moment. For now, signs are put up at the entrances to the neighborhood and any responsible and rational person living in the community should be giving a glance at the sandwitch boards as they pass by. That really is the only practical way of doing things until a better website is designed. I find it quite comical that people gripe about not knowing anything about the community when they do not seem to want to look too far to get information. It is much easier to complain about a situation to them than it is to come up with a solution.
I wasn’t trying to be crass… I hope I didn’t come across that way, but I really would like to see a statement from the HOA that updates on the history leading us here. I REALLY do think the committee has done due diligence and worked hard to vet all the options. Even if that update was on LLPOA.org, than I could reference it.
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date in the comments here. If I ever stop to change my glasses and read the 8 x 11 meeting notices on the sandwhich boards that are turned north-to-south, while I’m traveling east-to-west I’m afraid I’ll get run over!
Thankfully there are volunteers in the community who are putting in the effort to make changes.
Matt, my appologies if I gave you the impression that I was directing that towards you. Everything that you have posted on this site has been intended to gather more information. It is always good to ask and always good to inform others. I know from first hand experience the value of this site and its worth as a reference. Hopefully we will see you at another meeting if you get the chance.
[quote]Wow, you really have never been to any of our OPEN internet committee meetings have you? This has ALL been discussed at naseum at the past handful of meetings we have held. You do a bigger disservice to the residents of our community by running your mouth when you dont participate all the while talking about how you do not know enough about Casual Computing’s plan when you have not felt the compulsion to show up to any of the meetings or inquire to any of the committee members as to what has been discussed. None of what you discuss is news, this was all settled MONTHS ago. I would advise you to pay closer attention to things in the community that matter to you, it will help you become a productive member of the HOA…that is of course unless you like just sitting behind a keyboard complaining about everything.[quote]
Stuart,
First, I began my first post by asking when the meetings were happening. I felt as if that question would clearly relay that I have not been to a meeting. I also asked for the info and offered to help participate. This I also felt, should convey I am willing to provide time and resources to promote this effort.
Second, LTE is wireless but its not 802.11. It is probably similar to a 4g design sprint would have shown you (or maybe they did show LTE. I dont know because as you pointed out i wasn’t there). Wireless broadband is not wireless lan. They are very different. I assume your impression is that i was being hypocritical by discouraging 802.11 while also promoting LTE. If we were talking about copper infrastructure I would also argue that 15mb broadband is better than dial up. I dont think it would be hypocritical to favor highly the broadband copper just as it is not to favor the LTE “wireless”.
Lastly, nothing I stated was in anger. I wasn’t arguing at all, and only posted concerns and thoughts for consideration. It was unbiased, maybe a bit critical, but not personal. If your saying that the new solution has been re-reviewed and re-competed then that in a way promotes that what I am saying is correct as it is the action that has been taken. If answers or information relevant to my post exist, it would be much more mature(and helpful to all) to provide that information as opposed to calling someone names for asking relevant questions that just happen to have already been asked or answered in a meeting that not everyone knew about. Your basically attacking me for not knowing that there were meetings. What I do know is that I work all the time. I have very little free time and I offered that free time to help because this IS important to me. I dont get on facebook or myspace or any other internet posting sites. I dont visit chat rooms. I dont even have cable or tv in my home. I HAVE hughes net. If I’m not working, I’m doing something family oriented or productive. Im not the guy who sits behind keyboards unless the work to be done is behind a keyboard. With the limited amount of time I have this is the topic I chose to research online and found this site. I spent the little time I have researching the proposal companies mentioned on this site, previous solutions built by them as past performance information, and writing my post. I would urge you to be professional with your responses. If you must be personal, please do it in person.
I am sure that Casual Comp and numerous other IT companies would agree that the best solutions are built by gathering the right people.The best solution being balanced between cost and technical capabilities to meet the requirement, not necessarily the best thing available. If you feel that all the right people have attended the meetings then maybe I dont have anything to add. I can just as easily wait for a solution to be finalized and implemented and then decide to use it or not based on its merit at that time. I dont, however, think its practical to imagine that all the right people have attended since i can think of several other interested parties who were also unaware. One of them being the IAM for a very large DOD org with extensive IT history, who lives in this community and IS interested in this topic.
All,
Where can I find information about the committee and meetings? Preferably, other than the community entrance posting boards. If that is all that exist I will use it, but I will do so reluctantly.
Other than that, I have been informed here that all of my predication has been addressed in previous meetings and my questions answered, but I was not given any of the actual answers. Is it possible to get that information? I will take whatever anyone has. I only wish to have more information to study as to get a view of our current situational state as well as the history which developed it. Any information or direction towards the information would be appreciated. If you want to contact me directly my email is briantoy1@yahoo.com
If it is a large file I can also provide a portal to upload to if its too large for email (ppt or vsd).
After reading all the above comments I am confused as to why Mr. Davis took such a stabbing personal approach at Mr. Toy. Stuart Davis if you are concerned about what is happening then why not openly read what was said by Mr. Toy and give actual responses. Mr. Toy’s words were very technical and it is obvious he has alot of experience in this subject matter. It seems to me that maybe you did not understand what he was saying or chose to ignore it and simply find a reason to attack him. No matter what Mr.Toy has or hasn’t done in the past he IS concerned and deserves to be treated the way you would wish to be on here. If you go to the meetings and represent our HOA in the same manner as your attitude here then I would like to say that you should NOT represent OUR community.
With that being said I would like to thank Mr. Rathbun for his polite responses. Yes we all should be able to see the notes on the prior meetings. This should be available to all Land or residence. I spoke to the head of the Internet committee he had the same attitude “if you haven’t came to the meetings by now then why care now” I did not know there were meetings, and I take my young kids to sports from 5-9 every evening. I am not sure where I could fit a meeting in but would try had i known there were such issues, I did attend meeting on our community issues but having a very small child that is not able to understand that quiet is essential makes me not well liked in the meetings and disturbs others. So I tend to try to speak to other who have attended to try to get an idea of what is going on.
I was given information from the budgeting committee that the only reason Casual Computing won this is because they were the only company that offered ANY solution and the contract has NO actual solution or dollar amount in it.. In my OPINION that is not a good reason to offer anyone a contract, and professionally I have never heard of such an open contract. NWT has not shown to meetings. Why would they if a contract has already been awarded to Casual Computing? Have they been notified that even though CC has a contract they currently have NO solution and NO funding. Have they been told that they should attend because an actual solution to the issue with a dollar figure is still pending. How can we as a community have a meeting next week to settle the budget to this issue and not have a COMPLETE drawn out plan?
Answers to any of my questions and concerns are greatly appreciated.
concerned Land Or Resident
I agree that it can be difficult to get information in Land ‘Or. However, every meeting we have is listed on the letter boards at both entrances. Soon we will have new signs that will be easier to read. Mike Vida is working on the Land ‘Or website so there will be more information available on-line. One can always call the Admin office and asked to be notified for particular meetings.
I am surprised that anyone spoke of a signed contract at this time. At the President of the Board, I would have to sign the contract. Mr. Pugh (our POA attorney) and I ,would both be very surprised if there was a signed contract that we didn’t know about. If only actual information traveled as fast as gossip in Land’Or then high speed would not be needed.
I have attended most of the internet committee meetings but have deferred to the technical people there. I did listen to and read all of the proposals put on the table. Of the viable options presented to us Mr. Crist’s seemed to be the best. We didn’t make the decision to go with Casual Computing lightly nor foolishly. We want high speed internet as much as anyone else. I am sorry that all of you were not have been part of that decision.
It is hard to be second guessed and be told you are wrong, especially after weeks of work. Mr. Black has put in more hours that I want to count trying to get this going. He has stood out side on all kinds of weather getting petitions signed ( and risking his life at the front gate) and when we get high speed he is the one that Land ‘Or can thank. I have known Jeff Black for a while now and we are lucky to have him working for the community. We are also lucky to have the other members of the internet committee giving their time and experience to help the whole community get high speed.
But I want to thank all of you for your interest in this project. Dial up is the equivalent of medieval torture. So we will all be happy to see it go.
Bonnie Kilgore
Thank you to everyone who has spoken up here and even more to those who volunteer valuable time to try and find the best answer for the community. I’ve served on various committees and even been an officer in an HOA before and it’s sometimes thankless. That said, my previous experiences have done nothing but convinced me that I do not have time or the right personality for such things.
Partially because I travel a lot, but also because I participate in various community events, I can’t attend all these meetings or dedicate myself to helping. I’m thankful to you who have brought transparency to this decision on this blog. I know it’s difficult enough to do the work, but then be asked to justify it in writing is a lot of effort – but we’re living in an age that people wish to know what their governing body is doing with their money (dues in our case) and how decision will effect the value of our property.
If you’re interested in more information, please subscribe by RSS or go to the right hand side and find the “Subscribe By Email” and enter your address. I do not use those email addresses for anything other than automated notifications of posts here on the website. Many of these posts are for homeowners and Caroline citizens.
The two posts I’m working on now are about the value of Security in an HOA and secondly, the effective types of HOA communications and what Virginia law requires. I’m sure many of you will have opinions on those topics.
I still haven’t heard any responses to my questions from the previous post. Can someone pass my email along to Mr. Jeff Black and ask if he would contact me. Also, I have been to the gate posting board several times on the lake side and did not see anything posted about an internet committee. Would it be someplace else maybe?
Brian,
I’ve forwarded your request to Jeff… You can also find the Director’s email addresses on the Lake Land’or website: http://www.llpoa.org/directors.htm I don’t want to post it here since I’m not authorized to do so.
I’m not sure I’ve seen any notices about the meetings either. They may not have much to meet about until the ISP has an update…
Brian,
Jeff said that he did try to come onto the blog to join in our chat, but he can’t get the webpage to work for him on dialup or even on his highspeed connection at work. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but I’m trying to figure it out. I just wanted to let you know that he was having technical issues and that’s why he hasn’t responded.
Brian,
As I hope you are aware, the LLPOA High-speed Internet Committee is having a meeting tomorrow night (10/21) at 7pm. I hope you will be able to attend! The LLPOA HSI Committee has not been meeting regularly in the last few months, since we’ve been monitoring Casual Computing’s progress.
I don’t know if you’ve been able to reach Jeff Black yet, but I’ll try to answer some of your concerns from your previous post.
I am working with members of the community and the Committee to update the LLPOA web site and keep it current. It’s a work in progress, but it should be updated with current events more frequently going forward. This includes meeting notices and notices of other community events.
LTE was not discussed or proposed at any of the meetings I attended. 3G was discussed, as was 4G – but neither option met the criteria the Committee established for appropriate service to our community. As you are probably aware, 3G IS available to the community from various sources, but its effectiveness depends on individual customer needs – and I’m given to understand that most of our community members find it wanting (although my family uses Sprint’s 3G service with success). Sprint offered the possibility of using our community as a 4G “testbed” (we held several meetings with them), but their plan ultimately required contract enagagement with the POA which would have committed funding that the POA could not legally support.
I will contact you at your email address with regard to your other requests. Please feel free to contact me at darth_vida@yahoo.com. Thanks!
Jeff Black (LLPOA VP) called to let me know that there is a Lake Land’or High Speed Internet meeting at the LLPOA Club house next Thursday October 21st at 7pm. Anyone interested is encouraged to show up and hear what’s going on and offer feedback.
Matthew thanks for putting that information out there.
Oddly enough, despite being emailed and notified via this website and the type 500 font on the new boards at the gates, Mr Toy was notably ABSENT from the internet meeting. I guess “life” got in the way again. I will once again note, how easy it is to troll on the internet about your HOA and sit on the sidelines and gripe about something you claim to be interested in, and then take absolutely no initiative in helping with. If Mr Toy has no intentions of participating in the internet committee aside from whining on this message board, that I would rather him shut up and color…however if he has an issue and is a person of action, then he would show up at the meeting. This is a community of several hundred people, neither the board nor the internet committee can be expected to hold someones hand simply because they cannot get their priorities squared away. As I have said before, being a member of an HOA only requires that you pay your dues and keep you property copasetic with the reg…however, to be someone who wants to ensure that they get their input in, the responsibility is on you to get yourself involved.
Just as a small update to my August post at the top, we’ve actually had absolutely no issues with our CC service for a change since the beginning of September. There were some tweaks done to the QOS and it has really helped with the reliability of our home network it seems.
I’m not sure if they are still moving forward in the LLO area since I haven’t really heard anything about what is going on. The terrain there is definitely different then Belmont but at least CC is persistent about getting any problems worked out. We’ve even been able to do video skype in the evenings during heavy traffic times which used to be impossible.
David,
Thanks for the update. The LLPOA committee met last night, but I wasn’t able to go. My understanding is that CC is having issues with financial backing, but that’s just rumors as of right now. The website doesn’t give any real information….
Are there any updates about the “fiber optics options”? I emailed CC 2 weeks ago and havnt received a response. Its been a very frustrating 3 years living in LLO with no highspeed.
J.P.,
No new news. I’ve heard that Casual Computing has had problems getting financial backing. I’ve also emailed them a few times and haven’t had responses. I know the LLPOA committee is still working on the issue, but at times I think the county has given up.
A Caroline Progress reporter recently called me to ask about the issue. I think he was surprised to find out that lack of high-speed did affect real estate sales and that buyers would rather look elsewhere if they couldn’t have high-speed internet.
This doesn’t pertain to Land’or’s proposed wireless provider. I’m just another frustrated resident in Lake Caroline who identifies with the neverending quest of getting dependable high speed service in our area. NWT provided a glimmer of hope last summer, but it appears it has backed away, according to Kevin Manovich, president of NWT, and our own Gary Wilson. NWT claims it had no access to petitions (huh?), and Wilson cites lack of finances. ISP’s have long blamed Caroline’s rural areas for not coming into our communities ( LC and LLO), but it seems they are tripping over themselves to provide service to the thriving metropolis that is Port Royal. The saga continues. Oddly enough, I keep getting letters from comcast offer xfinity service. Any news or updates would be appreciated. Thanks for this blog. I get a lot more info from here than anywhere else.
Thanks for the compliment, Lake Caroline Resident!
There is no new news, unfortunately. There are a number of citizens who are working hard at finding solutions. Sometimes I wish your elected officials were working as hard as our neighbors.
As far as finances goes, I firmly believe that if the high speed internet was installed it would encourage growth. It’s almost the chicken or the egg, but only almost… The internet service needs to be obtained far more than the YMCA. Just my thoughts…
GOOD NEWS! Comcast promising high-speed by end of the year! read more: http://www.vahomeplace.com/comcast-delivers-great-news-about-high-speed-internet-in-caroline-va/