At a heavily attended meeting on Sunday, October 12, at the Community Hall, Irene, Matt, and Mandy Varhaug, owners of Index Cable, revealed their desire to stay in business, if they can provide satisfactory service and earn a living. Islanders expressed their appreciation to the Varhaugs for the valuable service they have provided us.

The following problems led to their decision to discontinue service to the island. The internet service is currently over-subscribed, resulting in increasingly slow speeds for users during peak usage. There is currently a waiting list of more than 20 people to receive internet service. Matt would like to grow the internet business, but his requests for the additional hardware to allow more subscribers and better speed have been stalled by Qwest. The federal requirement to move to digital television, which requires an expensive receiver for each channel, and the increase in program fees make it prohibitive to maintain our level of television service within the current pricing. A show of hands made it clear that most subscribers would be willing to pay more to retain their service (up to $80 for internet services).

Index Cable has approached Comcast to explore a partnership that would allow them to rent Comcast’s signal and provide a full package of services (internet, TV, phone) to islanders, while still under the management of Index Cable. This would be the easiest solution and would increase options and levels of service. Matt expects to know whether this is feasible by the end of this month. He believes he can continue our existing service through January 31, 2009.

Further discussion about limiting the television lineup to the 34 or so channels that have already provided free digital receivers proved the idea generally acceptable to most of the subscribers attending the meeting.

While the consensus was that subscribers want Index Cable to succeed as a business, concern still exists about future services, especially since there are many islanders who cannot receive services from the existing alternatives. A volunteer committee was appointed by general acclamation to continue working with Index Cable to search for immediate solutions and also to explore the possibility of forming a cooperative or other non-profit entity to provide services ourselves. Wayne Thompson, Mike Stamper, Forrest Nelson, Richard Nicolls, Tom Butler, Chip Bogosian, Peggy Starr, Juby Fouts, Dave Wolf, and Edith Walden will serve on the committee.

Alternatives for Internet Service (See previous article on internet access options.)

Dial-up is always available (through your land-line phone service) but is unacceptable for heavy users running businesses or loading large files.

Satellite service is another disappointing alternative. Technicians generally advise to choose this option only as a last resort due to speed and latency problems.

DSL (high-speed internet through your land-line phone service) is available to a lucky few on South and West Shore Drives. Verizon has no plans to expand this service because it would require huge capital expenditures for a very small subscriber base. Warning: at least one island family signed up for a Verizon DSL internet package and was assured that they had coverage when they did not.

Other providers have been approached for cable services but have not been interested because of the expense to add satisfactory service for such a small customer base. These include Comcast, Wave, and Rock Island.

There are numerous broadband services available, but this requires receiving a cellular signal. Suzanne Olive from Clearwire talked about their services. Their service plans start at $29.99 per month plus an activation fee ($50) and purchase ($100) or monthly rental ($4.99) of a modem. They have a month-to-month plan for those who might want to temporarily move and then return to Index Cable when their problems are solved. Clearwire does not have a cap on usage on their plans. Their signal is generally available along South Shore Road and in parts of Holiday Hideaway, but not on the north, west, or parts of the middle of the island. They are considering adding more hardware on other towers to reach the north and west parts of the island. She proposed sending a technician out for one day to test for a signal for all those who might be interested in Clearwire’s service. Those who were not at the meeting who want to have a signal test should contact Edith Walden by Thursday, October 16th. Local Clearwire vendors include RadioShack and Olympic Communications in Anacortes. Clearwire plans to merge with Sprint-Nextel next year.

It was suggested that those who can find acceptable broadband service might consider switching to relieve the current problems on Cablerocket. A reduction of 20-30 users could significantly improve performance for those who have no alternatives.

Dave Wolf talked about broadband services provided by ATT, Sprint-Nextel, and Verizon. Cellular signals are spotty across the island but one may work for you. Receiving a cellular phone signal is not an indicator of your ability to receive a cellular data signal. Dave suggested trying out a neighbor or friend’s portable modem, or signing up for a plan, which involves purchasing a modem and trying it out to determine signal strength. Most plans allow you to return the modem for a full refund within 3 days. Plans generally start at $60 per month plus the cost of the modem ($50-100) and an activation fee. All of these plans have a 5 gigabyte per month cap on usage. Dave demonstrated his modem and the router he uses to allow more than one computer to run from a single modem.

StarTouch is another broadband provider who has indicated a willingness to work with clusters of people on the island to provide a signal to those who might want to receive service. They have a $324 installation fee and charge $99.99 per month. This  home office package has a 10 gigabyte per month cap. Contact Stacy at 360 542-1268 ext. 105, to arrange a signal test.

Alternatives for Television Service

The two satellite TV services are DIRECTV and Dish Network. This requires the installation of a small satellite dish and wire at your location. Generally, you will need an unobstructed view to the southeastern sky. The folks at Horizon Audio and Video in Anacortes are willing to come out on one day to test for signal reception for all those interested in DIRECTV. Participants would receive a reduced service fee for this day (normally $67.50). Those who could not attend the meeting should contact Gary at (360) 293-7335 to get on the list. These providers always have attractive promotional offers—be sure to read the fine print.

Buyer Beware

It is important with all providers to clearly understand your purchase and commitment. Many providers require a one or two-year contract that is very difficult to break without an expensive penalty if you are unhappy with the service. This is usually the case with the special promotional offers. Many plans require the monthly rental of modems or receivers which can add $5-10 per item onto your monthly bill. Other promotional specials require an email address and an auto-bill-pay agreement. Additional monthly taxes often are not disclosed. High-definition television works only for those channels that broadcast in HD and only if you have a television that receives HD. “Free” installations often are free only if it takes one hour to install and uses a limited amount of wire, a rare occasion. DSL is available only on a portion of South and West Shore Drives, no matter what Verizon may tell you.

Further Developments and Communication

The committee will be meeting soon and will be the main link to Index Cable so that Irene and Matt don’t have to keep answering the same questions over and over. Please be patient. They need to focus on what it will take to retain service. Progress and updates will be posted to LineTime as they occur.

Summary

It is too soon to tell whether Index Cable will be eliminating service to the island. Service will probably be maintained through January 31, 2009. A few users switching to other internet services would improve performance for those who have no alternatives, but it would be unfortunate to lose too many subscribers before any final decisions are made. We want Index Cable to become viable if possible. Stay tuned to LineTime for updates.

- Edith Walden