High-speed Internet
Use of high-speed Internet continues to improve in rural areas around Powell River, but there are still areas where connection is limited.
Telus announced recently it is investing $350,000 in Powell River. According to Mike Black, general manager of customer solutions delivery for the community, the investment is “to be centred on the company’s wireless service. It will improve the HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network,” with works with both cellular and data networks, and the new smart phones.
A new transponder in Blubber Bay on Texada Island has dual purpose, Black said. As well as servicing that area of the island, it will increase coverage and improve capacity for areas south of Powell River too.
Powell River residents without high-speed Internet access, or only access to dial-up, can use this service by purchasing an Internet stick.
Black said the sticks have been working well in Powell River for areas without wired service.
Telus has a number of plans for people who are typical users of the Internet, people who look for information and use email. For “super users,” people who download large files on a regular basis, for example an architectural office, it would be more expensive to have wireless service, Black said.
Joseph McLean, owner of Second Flux Information Services, has updated a report about Internet access he prepared for Powell River Regional District in November 2009. McLean notes that many rural residents have switched to cellular Internet, which has speeds rivalling the fastest wire connections.
“Suitable for light to medium Internet use, 3G cellular Internet remains prohibitively expensive for heavy users due to a staggering $50 per gigabyte fee,” McLean wrote. “Don’t try to download a high definition movie--your overage cost could be $150 for just one show.”
Conditions for overage fees differ based on account types. Aside from the “draconian overage rate,” McLean continued, regular monthly costs are low and tend to have dropped.
“Cellular Internet has made a positive difference for many basic Internet users and uptake in the region is increasing,” McLean wrote. “The service is not a perfect solution due to somewhat limited coverage and disproportionately high cost for heavy use; rural residents who avoid those two categories are benefitting well.”
Gillies Bay Internet Society (GBIS) is waiting for its next round of funding to complete construction of a new Mount Pocahontas transmission tower. While the society’s mandate is focused on Texada, GBIS invites any like-minded mainland society to come forward and assume this role, McLean noted. A society could rent space on the tower and bounce signal back to the mainland.
