Thursday, September 14, 2006

Workin On The Wire

Internet access in the sparsely populated west can be tricky. Cable and DSL only go so far, so the name of the game is wireless. Wire or fiber is routed to high points, which support dishes that are aimed at other high points, also with dishes. Those dishes connect to Omni antennas that direct the signal to all the houses in the area. Each of those houses must have a directional antenna that points back at the Omni antenna. Sometimes these high points will also feed other high points, and the pattern continues. A healthy number of routers, switches, surge protectors, and UPS systems are also involved. What can possibly go wrong?

Well for one thing, the high wind can move a dish, the intense sunlight can cook wires, even if they are rated for such a thing, and lightning takes it toll. Keeping all this running takes some rather unique individuals, and Kaycee Internet has its share of them. Under a house, or 200 feet in the air, it does not matter. When mother nature has taken her best shot, they do what needs to be done.

2 comments:

Shorty said...

I only wish I could get this kind of access. All I have available to me is Dial Up. Local techs have told us that our area is problematic because we are in a bit of a valley and because of all the trees. :( —San Antonio DP

Bill said...

Yea, trees can be an issue. A number of people in the area go with Wile Blue satellite internet when trees are an issue. Sometimes the angle to the satellite is high enough that the trees are not a factor.