DSL is now Available

Open Discussion - for our Readers, Islanders, and Web Site Visitors alike. Discussion regarding any and all aspects of Beaver Island are welcome here. Also a place for general Beaver Island conversation and discussion.

Moderator: Gillespie

CMIX
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:00 pm
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

DSL is now Available

Post by CMIX »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2008


For more information contact:
Cindy Tomlinson
Associate Manager-Public Relations
cindy.tomlinson@tdstelecom.com
608-664-4471


TDS Announces: DSL is now available

â??DSL is now available on Beaver Island,â?￾ announces Chad Mix, market manager for TDS. â??Weâ??re so excited to bring this much-anticipated service to the residents and businesses on Beaver Island. We appreciate everyoneâ??s patience and hope youâ??ll enjoy TDSâ?? new high-speed Internet service.â?￾

As was previously reported, TDS will offer two levels of residential DSL service on Beaver Island: 1.5Mb and 3Mb for $39.95 and $49.95, respectively, per month. Businesses can select speeds of 768Kb, 1.5Mb or 3Mb ranging from $49 â?? $99/month.

Island Airways will be one of the first customerâ??s on Beaver Island to get service, according to Mix.

"Island Airways is very excited to be TDS' first customer. With TDS, we know we are getting a fast and very cost effective solution," says Paul Welke, owner of Island Airways.

For more information, or to sign up for TDSâ?? high-speed Internet service, call TDS at 888-CALL-TDS (888-225-5837).

# # #

TDS Telecom, a growing national company headquartered in Madison, Wis., brings high-quality, locally based telecommunications services to hundreds of rural and suburban communities across the United States. The company, along with its subsidiary TDS Metrocom, provides service for more than 1.2 million access line equivalents. Visit www.tdstelecom.com for more information.

TDS Telecom is part of the Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (AMEX: TDS) family of companies. TDS is a diversified telecommunications corporation founded in 1969. Through its strategic business units, U.S. Cellular (AMEX: USM) and TDS Telecom, TDS operates primarily by providing wireless and local telecommunications service. The company currently employs approximately 11,600 people and serves approximately 6.4 million customers in 36 states.
CMIX
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

An odd time to post this on the eve of The Great Day :-) but I just got my DSL modem late this afternoon and didn't have a chance until now to say:
Thank You!

:::.. testmy.net test results ..:::
Download Connection is:: 1727 Kbps about 1.73 Mbps (tested with 1496 kB)
Download Speed is:: 211 kB/s
Upload Connection is:: 361 Kbps about 0.4 Mbps (tested with 579 kB)
Upload Speed is:: 44 kB/s
Tested From:: http://testmy.net (Main)
Test Time:: 2008/03/15 - 9:32am
D-Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-5QG34I7HP
U-Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-V20KLM75I
User Agent:: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.8.1.12) Gecko/20080201 Firefox/2.0.0.12 [!]

Pinging beaverislandforum.com [70.86.111.242] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 70.86.111.242: bytes=32 time=105ms TTL=51
Reply from 70.86.111.242: bytes=32 time=96ms TTL=51
Reply from 70.86.111.242: bytes=32 time=103ms TTL=51
Reply from 70.86.111.242: bytes=32 time=105ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 70.86.111.242:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 96ms, Maximum = 105ms, Average = 102ms

Image

Image

The speed for a single very large single file download the speed seems to settle right around 1.0 Mbps (need to do more testing as I didn't have too much time today; maybe QOS related, maybe line related, not sure yet); while downloading a large file at 1 Mbps though other things are still blazingly fast with little or no slowdown, so I'm pretty darn happy with this. The numbers look fairly good, and the experience is stunning.

After St. Patrick's Day I'll have to ask Rick to have a look at my phonelines as I might be able to tweak the connection where it enters and pull an unused extension out of the loop to decrease the noise and increase the speed a bit, but for now, I'm very happy with this! Best Internet connection I've ever seen on the Island (other than the T1 of course) and sure makes everything a world easier to accomplish. Thank You TDS!
Last edited by Jeff on Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:20 am, edited 6 times in total.
Chamber of Commerce
Posts: 1274
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:35 am
Location: chamber@beaverisland.org
Contact:

Post by Chamber of Commerce »

Image

Results with Central Solutions wireless at a lower price.
Dn 512 kb/s
Up 487 kb/s

I hope folks remmember that Central Solutions invested in Beaver Island to provide high speed service about a year ago. :D They will go island wide this spring.

TDS could have offered high speed to Beaver Island several years ago. Wonder why they did not :?: Wonder why they did it now :?:

Steve West
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

I definitely won't forget Central Solutions -- I think you are right that their getting the ball rolling in town is why we have DSL here now, and for that I am very thankful.

I told Central Solutions last sping the minute they get their network expanded, sign me up! Heck, I spend 8-12 hours a day online so I'd sign up for two (I like their 1 Mbps upload speed plan though I haven't actually used anyone's computer that has it)

Right now though with DSL, I couldn't be happier. And I wouldn't trade my TDS DSL line for anything!

I've only had it for a day, but I can't go back!

Honestly, I feel like it's the best deal I've gotten this year it's so good in comparison to anything else ever available on Barney's Lake Road!

Competition is great for the customer!

(and since I'm posting this over my new blazingly-fast dsl connection, thanks again TDS for coming through in a big way!)
Last edited by Jeff on Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

Jeff wrote:The speed for a single very large single file download the speed seems to settle right around 1.0 Mbps (need to do more testing as I didn't have too much time today; maybe QOS related, maybe line related, not sure yet); while downloading a large file at 1 Mbps though other things are still blazingly fast with little or no slowdown, so I'm pretty darn happy with this. The numbers look fairly good, and the experience is stunning.
Not that that wasn't already fast, but I just downloaded an extremely large (4 GB) compressed tar.gz file with 10 concurrent streams and I'm seeing a real world download speed of 354.97 KBytes/second x 8 bits/byte = 2840 kbps (with overhead, right on the money!) Now that's fast for Beaver Island! Plus the connection remains responsive while doing it. I'll stop now before I get a reputation for going on, but I'm definitely impressed -- maybe I should say overjoyed -- with how well the TDS system works so far!
Chamber of Commerce
Posts: 1274
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:35 am
Location: chamber@beaverisland.org
Contact:

Post by Chamber of Commerce »

"I definitely won't forget Central Solutions -- I think you are right that their getting the ball rolling in town is why we have DSL here now, and for that I am very thankful."

How correct you are Jeff!

"Competition is great for the customer!" .............. Sometimes a little slow to work on Beaver Island but it does.
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

In support of both companies, while I myself have been very impatient waiting in the slow lane over the past 8 years, the technology and pricepoint/capability/commodity for the equipment they need to get the job done is improving every day and we're not exactly an easy location or market for either -- whoever provides your service should be appreciated. There are still people out of reach for both, but we definitely have a very strong player in the race now with TDS. If you're within distance to get it, I highly recommend it -- not a single glitch in the connection yet since installing on Friday and it's fast! (Last summer, I did recommend to everyone within range who I talked with that they sign up for CS too.)

I've been longing for a fast broadband connection since leaving one behind in the year 2000, and this is the first time on Beaver Island I've had a better connection (or seen one offered other than commercial T1) than I had then on campus.

Image

********** 10 out of 10 stars for TDS!
DwightEarly
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:24 pm
Location: Beaver Island, MI
Contact:

Post by DwightEarly »

DSL stopped less than 1/2 mile from my house on East Side Drive. Sigh...

Guess I'll call Brandon McDonald and whine.

--Dwight
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

Sorry to hear that... that's how I felt with wireless on the highway so close and yet so far all summer. But DSL has been awesome so far, so I definitely would! Or at least send an email, or two. Since install, I haven't encountered one glitch, slowdown, or issue -- the TDS system is really amazing. I haven't gotten any information on what it would take to expand further south, but it can't hurt to have a pile of emails from Beaver Island expressing interest from those currently out of range.
Chamber of Commerce
Posts: 1274
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:35 am
Location: chamber@beaverisland.org
Contact:

Post by Chamber of Commerce »

Dwight,

Central Solutions (866) 331-2637 for high speed wireless.

Three towers are up or will be in 24 hours. The whole island will be covered in about 30 days.

FREE instlation if you sign up in April / May

Current published prices LOWER than DSL.
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

Was awesome seeing the tower at the East Side fire station go up this morning and the one on Donegal Bay road that went up yesterday looks pretty slick too! When we left at 11:30 they were almost ready to go down to Greene's Lake and start lifting the third.
Chamber of Commerce wrote:The whole island will be covered in about 30 days.
Excellent!
Chamber of Commerce wrote:Current published prices LOWER than DSL
The way I add it up, like speeds are noticeably more expensive from Central Solutions, but I'm not saying that the prices aren't fair (I just believe the TDS price is even better) And I'll be happy to be proven wrong - the last time I saw Central Solutions prices published was before the snow was on the ground.

If I didn't have the TDS DSL connection with 3x the download speed and up and running since the snow was on the ground without a glitch to date, I'd be chomping at the bit to get on the wireless, that's for sure. The towers are impressive.
Chamber of Commerce
Posts: 1274
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:35 am
Location: chamber@beaverisland.org
Contact:

Post by Chamber of Commerce »

Jeff,

Why the anti-Central Solutions bias?

For most folks who don't spent a 10 hour work days using the internet "high speed" has a different meaning than it does for you.

Dial up is 20mph.
Basic Central Solutions high speed (low price) is 70mph

Most folks don't want or need to go 140mph.

Central Solutions invested in Beaver Island over a year ago. Where was TDS then?????? TDS is offering LIMITED DSL on Beaver Island only because Central Solutions has invested!!!!!!

For most people low priced "highway speed" is fine. I can download 20-30 emails in a minute or less. Shucks how fast do ya need?

If your an internet wiz/expert/professional (Jeff) go out and buy a 140mph car.

Central Solutions came to Beaver Island when others just talked. Within 30-60 days they will serve ALL of Beaver. It works great for my business use at the Chamber of Commerce.
Jeff
Posts: 1827
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2002 9:31 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Jeff »

Jeff,

Why the anti-Central Solutions bias?
Definitely do not mean to have an anti-Central Solutions bias, though typing this on a great TDS connection in a forum topic started by TDS might cause this to be difficult for me. It's not an anti-Central solutions bias though, but rather a Pro-TDS bias. Brian and EW Marine have taken the Island to action to finally reach the goal soon whereas everything prior was only talk and planning that didn't come to fruition; but at this moment what TDS is providing is the best I've seen to date here, so I'm very pro TDS because it's an awesome product they're providing right now.

Moreover, I was honestly critical of TDS in years past when they didn't offer any affordable data service to the Island.

Now that they have come through in a big way with DSL for much of the Island, which is actually beyond what I had hoped from any provider on the Island in terms of ease, pricing, and reliability, I want to be sure I express my appreciation for a job well done.
For most folks who don't spent a 10 hour work days using the internet "high speed" has a different meaning than it does for you.

Dial up is 20mph.
Basic Central Solutions high speed (low price) is 70mph

Most folks don't want or need to go 140mph.
Don't need, probably correct. I think once you experience faster though, you get spoiled quickly!

I do definitely like the Central Solutions symmetrical faster upload speed on the 1 Mbps plan, though I don't know anyone who actually has that plan now to see it in action vs. just on paper.

On the download side though, the TDS 3.0 Mbps plan offers speed greater than what I had in the year 1999, whereas the Central Solutions plans are slower. I also like the fact that TDS DSL is in every regard faster than the satellite system I'm upgrading from, whereas the Central Solutions plans on the download speed are only 2/3 the speed even at twice the price as TDS home DSL plans.

If I couldn't get 1.5 or 3.0 mbps dsl right now on the Island, I honestly would be very happy with the Central Solutions wireless though -- 1 Mbps and even 512 kbps is plenty fast for most online tasks. The rest is just icing on the cake.
Central Solutions invested in Beaver Island over a year ago. Where was TDS then?????? TDS is offering LIMITED DSL on Beaver Island only because Central Solutions has invested!!!!!!
This may be true, but TDS has invested a lot in the Island as well over the years, and I think they've invested a lot in DSL too. Typing this on DSL, where is Central Solutions now?????? If they deliver as good or better, I'll be thrilled and will be sure to sing their praises just as loudly. I did recommend to everyone I talked with in town to subscribe to Central Solutions last summer.
For most people low priced "highway speed" is fine. I can download 20-30 emails in a minute or less. Shucks how fast do ya need?

If your an internet wiz/expert/professional (Jeff) go out and buy a 140mph car.

Central Solutions came to Beaver Island when others just talked. Within 30-60 days they will serve ALL of Beaver. It works great for my business use at the Chamber of Commerce.

Steve
"low priced" 512/512 is good. But within a dollar 1500/512 is still better.

I think we're very lucky to have both. I actually hope that TDS offering 3.0 mbps service will prompt Central Solutions to up their offerings to match :) I believe their equipment and system design is plenty able to handle it. It should be a good year for all.
Last edited by Jeff on Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Chamber of Commerce
Posts: 1274
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:35 am
Location: chamber@beaverisland.org
Contact:

Post by Chamber of Commerce »

"It's not an anti-Central solutions bias though, but rather a Pro-TDS bias," said Jeff

And honest too! :D
DwightEarly
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:24 pm
Location: Beaver Island, MI
Contact:

Post by DwightEarly »

It appears that this post has degraded to a polite Urinary Olympiad.

I am firm believer in capitalist markets, and competition is good. It's my hard earned money that I'm going to be spending. I'll make my decision based on product/service, not on who's first or who gave out lollipops to all the kiddies. Let the best product win.

Now, that being said, would someone please point me to a thread where both prices for speed is documented. If no thread has them in one post, please start a post that describes both products. Then I recommend you make the post a "stickie" which only the administrator can update with new or fact of life changes.

Thank you for considering this request.

--Dwight
Post Reply