November 24, 2014 at 4:10 p.m.
Improved wireless Internet: What to expect
Improved wireless Internet: What to expect
So The Lakeland Times dialed up Paul Osterman of Northwoods synKro, the company that will be offering the new Internet service. Osterman, who served in the military for nearly 10 years, co-founded the business with his brother, Matt. It is based in Rhinelander.
"We saw the lack of adequate broadband in the Northwoods," Osterman said.
The brothers partnered with a special town of Minocqua committee and the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation to seek the state grant, which is worth $46,450. Donations from local towns, schools and organizations will double that amount.
The money will buy WiMax, a new broadband service, for the western parts of the town where cable lines do not extend. Though there is some Wi-Fi service on towers near Minocqua's ice arena, on Mercer Lake Road and along Bo-Di-Lac Road, Wi-Fi does not reach as far as WiMax can, according to Osterman.
Indeed, WiMax technology, which a town study recommended, uses infrastructure already in place for 4G cellphones.
"WiMax has some great capabilities," Osterman said.
Three towers have been identified -- at least preliminarily -- to broadcast WiMax service in the Lakeland area: a tower near Timber Ridge, the Squirrel Hill DOT tower, and an Oneida County-owned tower near the Willow Flowage. (There is always a possibility those towers could change, according to Osterman.)
Residents who live within 5 miles of those towers will have the best signals, he said.
To get those signals, customers who reside within 1.5 miles of a tower can use an indoor receiver. Customers who reside beyond 1.5 miles from a tower will likely need an outdoor antenna, which could be placed on a roof; a cable would then transfer the signal indoors.
As for speeds, Osterman said WiMax cannot contend with cable companies, such as Charter, because they use fiber-optic lines.
"It's hard to compete with Charter, which has fiber in the ground," Osterman said.
Still, the whole point of WiMax is to offer service for people who can't get cable. And Osterman said users within 5 miles of a tower should not have a problem streaming video, which requires significant bandwidth.
Packages for WiMax start at $49 per month. Users either have to rent a modem for $7 per month or buy the modem outright, which will cost between $150 and $170.
A paid service called "packet optimization" will also be offered, Osterman said, which effectively provides premium speeds for users.
And there are no contracts.
WiMax service in the Lakeland area is expected to be fully operational within eight to 12 months, though possibly sooner.
In Rhinelander, the first WiMax service offered by Northwoods synKro is set to launch in just a few weeks, according to Osterman. The entire city will be covered, he said.
More information about WiMax can be found at northwoodssynkro.com.
Jonathan Anderson may be reached at [email protected]
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