The Guemes Island Internet/TV Advisory Committee, which was appointed last week at a public meeting to discuss Index Cable’s future, met Sunday, October 19.

Attending were Peggy Starr, Juby Fouts, Richard Nicolls, Tom Butler, Forrest Nelson, Wayne Thompson, Mike Stamper, Chip Bogosian, and Edith Walden. Dave Wolf was not able to attend. Edith Walden will serve as moderator for the committee. Members agreed to post minutes of meetings on LineTime.

The expertise on the committee is vast and includes several computer software programmers, information-technology and networking advisors, technical writers, community organizers, a cable systems designer, and a business trouble shooter. All members agree that internet access is a critical necessity for island residents.

The committee adopted as its mission “to assure internet service for the island, preferably using the existing infrastructure.” A discussion about long-term planning for public ownership was tabled until the immediate situation is solved and/or known. Coming technology will also drive future planning.

The committee’s goals are to help Index Cable survive in business and to provide accurate and complete information for alternatives. One suggestion was to provide an accurate map of coverage for the various existing alternatives.

Forrest Nelson, who designs cable systems for institutions, presented a solution to expand the speed and capacity of the internet service. This solution involves installing an antenna on a building in Anacortes that is connected to an internet service provider (ISP). Service would be beamed across the channel to equipment on Guemes Island. This solution frees Index Cable of their dependence on Qwest, who continues to delay the needed expansion to improve performance and allow new subscribers to the internet. Forrest estimated capacity could be increased 50 fold. Capital requirements were estimated to be approximately $25,000. It was suggested that capitalization could be achieved by a one-time activation fee for users. Forrest will consult with Index Cable to determine feasibility. Other members will contact potential building owners and research ISP fees.

In the interim, one suggestion to relieve the current performance issues would be for business users to try to complete their business use by 5 pm, leaving the 5-9 pm slot for home users, reducing the heavy demand on the system in that time slot.

Wayne Thompson, who has experience in turning around failing businesses, worked last week with Index Cable to begin determining what it would take for them to succeed. The biggest financial problems exist with television service. The upcoming federal requirement to switch to digital signal for television programming requires expensive equipment per channel. Networks charge programming fees per subscriber. A few networks are very expensive, and he proposed that these be dropped from the channel lineup. The committee proposed that a survey of current channel preference among subscribers be included in Index Cable’s next billing. Survey results will be used to determine future channel lineups.

The committee will meet again as soon as the survey is completed (approximately 2-3 weeks).

Submitted by Edith Walden