RE Barry's own words in his blog
"Yippee! Our phone company, Telstra, has fixed my line, and I'm now back to the blisteringly fast dialup speed of 21,600 bps! As reported earlier, my connection speed had dropped to 14,400 bps -- compared to that, 21K is fast."
Anyone want to help Barry get off dial-up?
I would be happy to make a PAYpal donation for such a purpose.
Does anyone else think this is a worthy idea?
Barry: How much money do you need for one years worth of ISDN or Satellite?
Anyone want to help Barry get off dial-up
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LazyLabrador
- Posts: 15
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- Location: Melbourne
- Contact:
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BarryK
- Puppy Master
- Posts: 9392
- Joined: Mon 09 May 2005, 09:23
- Location: Perth, Western Australia
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Money is not the problem, it is my rural location in Western Australia, and some problems with broadband providers.
My phone line is not good enough for adsl.
The company that was going to install wireless broadband at my local town, Comdek, went broke, and now another company is doing it (Broadband Net), but I am waiting forever for them to tell me whether I'm too far out of town or not. If that falls through, then I'll probably go for direct satellite.
Comdek was offering direct 2-way home to/from satellite, don't know who is offering it now. It is much more expensive than wireless broadband.
My phone line is not good enough for adsl.
The company that was going to install wireless broadband at my local town, Comdek, went broke, and now another company is doing it (Broadband Net), but I am waiting forever for them to tell me whether I'm too far out of town or not. If that falls through, then I'll probably go for direct satellite.
Comdek was offering direct 2-way home to/from satellite, don't know who is offering it now. It is much more expensive than wireless broadband.
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LazyLabrador
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Tue 29 Nov 2005, 05:53
- Location: Melbourne
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Sorry Barry , didn't mean any suggestion that you couldn't afford it .
-Just that set up costs and monthly fees for something like satellite might be hard to jusify for yourself (I know it would be for me)
But if a few people said "Gee , we like puppy ...and
hang the expense..here is a little present for all your efforts....just go and get the satellite man in!
-Just that set up costs and monthly fees for something like satellite might be hard to jusify for yourself (I know it would be for me)
But if a few people said "Gee , we like puppy ...and
hang the expense..here is a little present for all your efforts....just go and get the satellite man in!
I had the same problems as Barry until a company decided to install wireless in my area using gov subsidization.
The problem is that Telstra (our half-privatized Public Utility) is only required to provide fax speed on phone lines.
Fax speed is about half 33.3k which is what a lot of our old phone lines can just manage, I used to get 28.8k.
If there is no profit to be made Telstra and any other providers are not interested so that leaves us with communities that are isolated from cheap broadband connections.
Telstra provides ISDN but it is expensive (you have to rent a second phone line) and slow compared to ADSL.
This state of affairs will probably continue for a long time and get worse when Telstra is completely sold off leaving us with no public communiciations utility.
Barry would probably be better off reverting to smoke signals or flashing mirrors..... wait a minute....... isn't that what the Gov is doing now!!
Satellite may be Barrys only recourse if some company does not set up wireless in his area.
The problem is that Telstra (our half-privatized Public Utility) is only required to provide fax speed on phone lines.
Fax speed is about half 33.3k which is what a lot of our old phone lines can just manage, I used to get 28.8k.
If there is no profit to be made Telstra and any other providers are not interested so that leaves us with communities that are isolated from cheap broadband connections.
Telstra provides ISDN but it is expensive (you have to rent a second phone line) and slow compared to ADSL.
This state of affairs will probably continue for a long time and get worse when Telstra is completely sold off leaving us with no public communiciations utility.
Barry would probably be better off reverting to smoke signals or flashing mirrors..... wait a minute....... isn't that what the Gov is doing now!!
Satellite may be Barrys only recourse if some company does not set up wireless in his area.
Hmmm.... Puppy Wireless Communications, Inc. 
A Wireless Internet Provider for those in Rural areas - sounds like a great business venture for those business venture minded type puppies - I wonder if a world wide consortium business venture type thing would work (don't worry, it's only the medication speaking ) - still, I've always believed in finding a need and filling it!
--huey
A Wireless Internet Provider for those in Rural areas - sounds like a great business venture for those business venture minded type puppies - I wonder if a world wide consortium business venture type thing would work (don't worry, it's only the medication speaking
) - still, I've always believed in finding a need and filling it!--huey
Anyone want to help Barry get off dial-up
I phoned the Minister for Communications, Helen Coonan
at her office yesterday, in Sydney to see if anything could be done to get broadband delivered to your area.
Considering the money that will be saved now and in the future from lesser imports of computers and software etc, the security benefits -internet banking and the like, as well as recycling hardware saves on landfill, I stated
that it was not money that was needed - just some prodding by her office.
I also sent an email with some recent good press links etc to her office.
I will ring them again tomorrow - as they have replied to me as yet.
SHE Probably Owns a MAC anyway.
But hey! hop on the bandwagon and give her your thoughts at:
.............................................
The Hon. Helen Coonan, Senator for New South Wales
Positions:
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Party: Liberal Party of Australia
Parliament Contact:
Tel: (02) 6277 7480
Fax: (02) 6273 4154
Email: senator.coonan@aph.gov.au
Electorate Office:
Level 7, Angel Place
123 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 3513
Sydney NSW 2001
Tel: (02) 9223 4388
Fax: (02) 9223 4399
Email today to make Dialup fade away ...........Chris
at her office yesterday, in Sydney to see if anything could be done to get broadband delivered to your area.
Considering the money that will be saved now and in the future from lesser imports of computers and software etc, the security benefits -internet banking and the like, as well as recycling hardware saves on landfill, I stated
that it was not money that was needed - just some prodding by her office.
I also sent an email with some recent good press links etc to her office.
I will ring them again tomorrow - as they have replied to me as yet.
SHE Probably Owns a MAC anyway.
But hey! hop on the bandwagon and give her your thoughts at:
.............................................
The Hon. Helen Coonan, Senator for New South Wales
Positions:
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Party: Liberal Party of Australia
Parliament Contact:
Tel: (02) 6277 7480
Fax: (02) 6273 4154
Email: senator.coonan@aph.gov.au
Electorate Office:
Level 7, Angel Place
123 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 3513
Sydney NSW 2001
Tel: (02) 9223 4388
Fax: (02) 9223 4399
Email today to make Dialup fade away ...........Chris
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Guest
How about this:BarryK wrote:Money is not the problem, it is my rural location in Western Australia, and some problems with broadband providers..
http://www.intnet.net/Satellite.htmlHow It Works
An IntNet satellite dish is installed at your home or business facing the southeastern sky. A cable is run from the satellite dish to an internal satellite receiver that is easily installed in your computer. The system works by giving you a high-speed connection of up to 400kb when downloading files from the Internet, which is basically every time you look at a Web page, check your email, or download a file. Your computer is also connected by normal dial-up internet service to the Internet. This line is used for sending "out" to the Internet, such as when sending e-mails, photos or other data. Because the information going "out" is usually small and your satellite downloads are so quick, you can surf the Internet at super fast speeds.
oops, one drawback to it which is you have to make a deal with the devil (M$).
What are the minimum system requirements?
* Pentium II 333 MHz (or better)
* 64 MB RAM
* An available PCI slot or USB port
* CD-ROM drive
* 28.8 Kbps modem
* 120 MB disk space
* Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows ME, Windows 2000
* Windows NT 4.0 (service pack 6) or above, or Windows XP
No disrespect intended okay.
DL only satel, Upload via dailup
I had this system (US only CONUS, 74deg ) It is locked in MS due to wierd hybrid software 'modem' , however hardware is strongly supported in linux as a DVB viewer ( can view unencrypted DISH-Network = not much, and DirectTvs music, and some NASA TV ) . Bad news is it splits upload and download. No speed improvements in uploads, downloads are 'metered' making a DL of say KnoppixDVD use bandwith for the month. Support was spotty
WildBlue is better.
WildBlue is better.
Dingo -
Barry would not need to use a hybrid sattellite service as his phone lines do not support ISDN traffic, he would certainly be eligible for a subsidised 2-way DSL-like sattelite service (like me) which is not dependant on a MS only modem (and for the record the ISDN modems that telstra supply are crappy and unreliable, but linux capable - I have one)
I think the issue is that wireless broadband is superior to and cheaper than subsidised sattellite, and he is holding out for a provider that can manage to stay in business long enough to get to the installation stage
the problem is (and I experienced it in my town) that these wireless providers drum up support in rural towns for their services and then before they can build their towers telstra come in and pull the rug out from under them by supplying ADSL service to the township. But for consumers like me (and Barry) we are way too far from town to recieve a service through the old degraded phone cables, and Telstra has no intention of replacing them, ever.
I'm not sure if the town of Perenjori has had this happen or not, but it happens in other towns that the providers have invested their efforts in and they collapse before they can compete.
Barry would not need to use a hybrid sattellite service as his phone lines do not support ISDN traffic, he would certainly be eligible for a subsidised 2-way DSL-like sattelite service (like me) which is not dependant on a MS only modem (and for the record the ISDN modems that telstra supply are crappy and unreliable, but linux capable - I have one)
I think the issue is that wireless broadband is superior to and cheaper than subsidised sattellite, and he is holding out for a provider that can manage to stay in business long enough to get to the installation stage
the problem is (and I experienced it in my town) that these wireless providers drum up support in rural towns for their services and then before they can build their towers telstra come in and pull the rug out from under them by supplying ADSL service to the township. But for consumers like me (and Barry) we are way too far from town to recieve a service through the old degraded phone cables, and Telstra has no intention of replacing them, ever.
I'm not sure if the town of Perenjori has had this happen or not, but it happens in other towns that the providers have invested their efforts in and they collapse before they can compete.
Im not sure if many people realise that rural Western Australia, especially the north half of rural WA (which is the half that Perenjori is in) is very remote and poorly supplied in terms of services in general, many of the small towns are lucky to have a bank and a supermarket, and few of them have other important services available like doctors, dentists, shops etc.
Interestingly enough, many of them have more than one pub...
I lived in Meekatharra (also the northern half of WA) for a short time, and it is a town without most basic facilities, but it had three pubs!
Interestingly enough, many of them have more than one pub...
I lived in Meekatharra (also the northern half of WA) for a short time, and it is a town without most basic facilities, but it had three pubs!
Texas and West Australia sound a lot a like, but many country bars are also mini stores and cook basic fair. Some of the best fried chicken comes from such a place. At this 'station' the sodas are just above freezing and if you open it too quickly the escaping CO2 will cause it to ice up (perfection in my book)
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Guest
no that familiar with Australia and never been good in geography but any of these areas close to Mr.BarryK and is there any new news on either of these :
ttp://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Telstra_s_Fibre_to_the_Node_to_kickstart_Aussie_BPL_/0,2000061791,39224386,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communicat ... 616,00.htm
ttp://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Telstra_s_Fibre_to_the_Node_to_kickstart_Aussie_BPL_/0,2000061791,39224386,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communicat ... 616,00.htm
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BarryK
- Puppy Master
- Posts: 9392
- Joined: Mon 09 May 2005, 09:23
- Location: Perth, Western Australia
- Contact:
A bank!
I remember them ...see them when I go to the big city.
I may still get wireless. The installer, Broadband Net, has installed a booster
station 10Km ...just got out Puppy's units converter, that's 6.214 miles
from my place, but I'm in a hollow, so still don't know if the signal will be
strong enough.
Today I met the Economic Development Officer for Perenjori ...I didn't even
know we had one... and he phone Broadband Net and kicked some butt.
Texas, yes, what I know about Texas I learned from "The Texas Rangers".
Oh yeah, Texas got mentioned in "Farenheit 9/11"
I remember them ...see them when I go to the big city.
I may still get wireless. The installer, Broadband Net, has installed a booster
station 10Km ...just got out Puppy's units converter, that's 6.214 miles
from my place, but I'm in a hollow, so still don't know if the signal will be
strong enough.
Today I met the Economic Development Officer for Perenjori ...I didn't even
know we had one... and he phone Broadband Net and kicked some butt.
Texas, yes, what I know about Texas I learned from "The Texas Rangers".
Oh yeah, Texas got mentioned in "Farenheit 9/11"
the first link is a story that is from last november - and as far as I know it has not been implemented, and if it ever is, I can assure you rural WA will not get it at all, and most likely neither will WA in general. the second link is about tasmania which is not just the opposite end of australia, but also a separate island state too.
and just for the record, texas vs western australia:
area:
WA - 975,096 sqare miles
Texas - 268,581 sqare miles
population:
WA - 1.9 million
Texas - 22.8 million
and more than half of WA's population is massed around the south-western border - where all the civilised services are
So you can see that WA is a massive land area with a small population - and this is reflected in the services often available in the remote areas, while WA is probably quite similar to Texas in many ways, it is a vast and mostly empty place. To my knowledge only one of the three pubs in Meekatharra ever served food, and you would barely call it edible, and you certainly couldn't buy anything else there. There is of course a roadhouse in Meeka, as in most small towns, that does sell a variety of over-priced convenience items and fast food and video rental (I know that because I worked there)
As for Perenjori, I've never been there so I cant say much on that topic at all.
and just for the record, texas vs western australia:
area:
WA - 975,096 sqare miles
Texas - 268,581 sqare miles
population:
WA - 1.9 million
Texas - 22.8 million
and more than half of WA's population is massed around the south-western border - where all the civilised services are
So you can see that WA is a massive land area with a small population - and this is reflected in the services often available in the remote areas, while WA is probably quite similar to Texas in many ways, it is a vast and mostly empty place. To my knowledge only one of the three pubs in Meekatharra ever served food, and you would barely call it edible, and you certainly couldn't buy anything else there. There is of course a roadhouse in Meeka, as in most small towns, that does sell a variety of over-priced convenience items and fast food and video rental (I know that because I worked there)
As for Perenjori, I've never been there so I cant say much on that topic at all.
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LazyLabrador
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Tue 29 Nov 2005, 05:53
- Location: Melbourne
- Contact:
Old solution for new the age
Now, my father was brought up on a "sheep station" (or Ranch) in W.A. It is called Yelerrie, 1100 square miles of semi-desert lease land.(Now owned by BHP for Uranium deposits_ thats a different story) Situated between Mekatharra , Wiluna and Sandstone.
Back then their phone calls were made on a party line of 5 other sheep stations and could connect to an exchange at Abercromby.
Big deal you say , BUT not only were local calls free -they travelled along 40 miles of plain fencing wire,that run through the existing paddock fence posts. How did those phones do it? -They just had those super big 1.5 volt batteries.(Call clarity apparently suffering somewhat during wet conditions)
Mobile calls were available back to the homestead by connecting an old army phone by alagator clips to the fence wire.
Anyhow in order to weave this thread back from geography and old solutions to remote areas, to dial-up alternatives:
Interesting Solution Z for Barry:
Buy 2 SHDSL modems that will run Back to back , then attach them to available fence wiring. One end at your homestead and then at the top of your (friendly) neighbours hill , set up a solar powered car battery charger and battery to run one of the SHDSL modems and Wireless Access-point now in range of town.
(As well, a better antenna could help -see http://nuke.freenet-antennas.com/
-The SHDSL standard says 2 wires :192kbps @ 6km or optional 4 wires: 2.3mbps @ 5 km.
Back then their phone calls were made on a party line of 5 other sheep stations and could connect to an exchange at Abercromby.
Big deal you say , BUT not only were local calls free -they travelled along 40 miles of plain fencing wire,that run through the existing paddock fence posts. How did those phones do it? -They just had those super big 1.5 volt batteries.(Call clarity apparently suffering somewhat during wet conditions)
Mobile calls were available back to the homestead by connecting an old army phone by alagator clips to the fence wire.
Anyhow in order to weave this thread back from geography and old solutions to remote areas, to dial-up alternatives:
Interesting Solution Z for Barry:
Buy 2 SHDSL modems that will run Back to back , then attach them to available fence wiring. One end at your homestead and then at the top of your (friendly) neighbours hill , set up a solar powered car battery charger and battery to run one of the SHDSL modems and Wireless Access-point now in range of town.
(As well, a better antenna could help -see http://nuke.freenet-antennas.com/
-The SHDSL standard says 2 wires :192kbps @ 6km or optional 4 wires: 2.3mbps @ 5 km.
oh - and for the record, as much as I hate telstra, all my local calls are in fact ...free
(when the phones are actually working that is)
however, more than half the calls we make are not local - and are charged per 30sec
On the subject of better internet, I would love to hear if that above solution is feasable though
(when the phones are actually working that is)
however, more than half the calls we make are not local - and are charged per 30sec
On the subject of better internet, I would love to hear if that above solution is feasable though