Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Recent Developments .. Sep 2005 by Roger Davies Soft Serve Direct Magrath, Alberta T0K 1JO Phone (403) 388-4332 Email  news@ssdirect.com

'R.D.D.'

 igh Speed Internet Options

I am one of the many waiting for an affordable high speed internet option to become available in our humble town - the Garden City aka Magrath, Alberta. One such option has just arrived. It is called shockware.com. This is a wireless radio signal service that is in operation in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, and yes even right here in Magrath!

What kind of costs are required? Well, in Magrath you pay $50 up front for them to come out and tell you if it will work or not. Then you pay $75 to have them install the hardware and accessories at your location. Then you pay $50 per month to use it (a one year contract on one station). And don't forget an extra $5 per month for each extra station hooked up. Or the optional TCP/IP router for another $100 bucks. Oh yeah. If you break anything, they will charge you up to $200 when you are done with it .. and if you try to quit before the year is up they charge you a $100 termination fee. Hmmm. OooKaay?

What do you get for your money? Well, a high speed internet connection provided via a wireless radio signal direct to an antenna on your roof. They claim faster access rates than Telus ADSL and up to 3G of data transfer per month (over the phone .. on the website they are a bit more vague about it - and they reserve the right to boot you off if they think you are getting too much value for your service). And you get an email account and some webspace .. but mostly just high speed internet. Did I mention that you are expected to install this onto a Windows based computer? Linux drivers may be available but are not guaranteed to work on your machine. Fine.

And finally. Is it worth it? Hard to say. We expect that Telus ADSL will finally arrive here about the same time that fall arrives this year. If you live close enough to the exchange (i.e. in town), you could get service with them for about $35 per month for 2 stations. Their stated bandwidth limits are 5G for downloads and 1G for uploads. You do have to buy the Telus QuickConnect kit (ADSL Modem and such) for $70 and install it yourself or hire someone like me to set it up for you. You may also need a NIC card installed. They are currently offering special rates of only $17 per month for the first 6 months of new customers service (offer ends Oct 31). But do you really like or trust the big monopoly Telus? Aren't these the guys that are soaking us for basic telephone lines right now? I pause here a moment to meditate ..

My initial leaning was to support the 'little guys' at shockware.com in spite of the higher cost. But can they actually keep the service working? Hopefully. When I talked to them they seemed much more concerned about outlining all the potential costs they hoped to collect off us rather than providing reasons to sell us on their great new service. And what is up with their website? Not very slick. It is not much more than an online brochure. No cool online account facilities or tech support pages or anything. It is so very easy to make yourself look good on the net. Especially since they also claim to be a web page design company in addition to acting as an internet service provider. Why then is the website so very sparse regarding this new service? Even if the Lethbridge office consists of only two guys working out of a garage somewhere .. who am I to talk? [ Hey! I got email feedback on this click here for text! ]

My brain hurts. The table below outlines my analysis of my current situation here. I currently use a dedicated phone line and have an 'unlimited (time)' dialup account which will become redundant (except for with the Satellite option). Costs for a year plus any new installation charges are listed below. Of course, these prices and features are subject to change and were quoted for my local area only. So ..

Conclusion? Wireless option only makes sense if Cable and ADSL options are not available. My chart shows that I would save $403 in the first year and $120 each year thereafter by opting to use ADSL vs Wireless. So, assuming I can wait the extra time [surprise! Telus ADSL became available mid-September 2003], and assuming that the service features are similar, for me the best choice is just to wait till then. However, you may not have access to an ADSL or Cable option at your location. If not, the Wireless option may be the best choice for you. How do you see it? Email me, I would love to hear your input.

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