Many of my acquaintances in Duluth ask me if I still write for the Reader Weekly. Other than an occasional letter to editor, I haven't written any column since 2008.
After an article about some of the proposed mining in the region and the promises of no damage to the environment, I submitted my blog entry "The Invisible Adam Smith". After all, the Reader often reprints material from the Christian Science Monitor and from Jim Hightower's web site.
With my using a wrong email address and the delay of having an open spot, the Reader Weekly published "The Invisible Adam Smith" in the 2013-04-25 issue.
Considering that hundreds of people in the region read most articles in the Reader Weekly, I assume more people have read my article in the Reader than have read my article on the web. The latter count is 57!! Since October when I posted it!
So, if you're an obscure blogger like me, you might have more readers if you write for some local print media than if you write a regular blog entry. That is, paper can still be a more powerful medium than the internet.
Showing posts with label coverage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coverage. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Free market and the Internet
Like lots of people, I'm looking for faster internet or even internet. One thing I can say for certain that it is not a free market - few sellers and very little useful information.
At our cabin, we use dialup on our phone that costs us about $37/month. Periodically I dig around Frontier's web site to find information. The latest pricing is $50/month additional for "up to 6Mbps". If I had a internet-dependent business this might make sense. But not for 4 to 8 evenings a month.
In Duluth, our phone bill is $58/month, but I can't break it down at the moment. My wife doesn't save the detail pages of our bill. Given that we used to pay $23/month for land line, then we are paying about $35/month for "up to 7Mbps". I just did a CenturyLink speed test that showed 6Mpbs at 12:50 on a Sunday. Other speed tests in evenings have shown 4Mpbs. Trying to determine what higher speeds would cost is a big hassle. See http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=787754 for some users experiences with CenturyLink.
When I bought my iPhone, I switched from Verizon to Virgin Mobile because the pricing was more advantageous to me, only $30/month including data. When we visited our daughter at her lake house near Grand Rapids MN, I thought I would be able to use my iPhone to access the web. I was, sort of. I would get a one-bar 3G signal, then without moving I would get a roaming signal, then no service, then searching, then back to one-bar 3G, even standing by an upstairs window. Our daughter's house is 10 miles from Grand Rapids and less than 2 miles from a major highway. Granted that there are many trees, but can waving leafless trees cause that much variation? The second surprise was that we thought with the iPhone and a low-power FM-to-car-radio cable that we would be able to listen to Minnesota Public Radio all the way back to Duluth without changing the dial. No such luck! On the major highway we were on, the cell signal kept coming in and out. Oh, well, at least the Virgin Mobile/Sprint coverage map doesn't claim that that area is covered.
I knew that AT&T had put up a couple of towers in the Brimson area where we have our cabin, but I've heard many complaints that many AT&T's customer are not satisfied. I checked AT&T's coverage map and did discover coverage areas in Brimson; they are a whole bunch of small islands that make no sense. Besides telling me that our cabin address is could not be matched (other web sites can find it), it shows a coverage area that starts just west of where our cabin is and ends less than a mile farther west. That's too iffy to make a decision with.
The lesson is that you have to make a long checklist of all the features you want in a product and then spend hours and hours to find out what portion of those features are available to you at a price you want to pay. Nobody else is going to help you. And of course, after you buy the product, you'll find a new feature you want but your choice doesn't provide – like listening to public radio without switching stations.
At our cabin, we use dialup on our phone that costs us about $37/month. Periodically I dig around Frontier's web site to find information. The latest pricing is $50/month additional for "up to 6Mbps". If I had a internet-dependent business this might make sense. But not for 4 to 8 evenings a month.
In Duluth, our phone bill is $58/month, but I can't break it down at the moment. My wife doesn't save the detail pages of our bill. Given that we used to pay $23/month for land line, then we are paying about $35/month for "up to 7Mbps". I just did a CenturyLink speed test that showed 6Mpbs at 12:50 on a Sunday. Other speed tests in evenings have shown 4Mpbs. Trying to determine what higher speeds would cost is a big hassle. See http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=787754 for some users experiences with CenturyLink.
When I bought my iPhone, I switched from Verizon to Virgin Mobile because the pricing was more advantageous to me, only $30/month including data. When we visited our daughter at her lake house near Grand Rapids MN, I thought I would be able to use my iPhone to access the web. I was, sort of. I would get a one-bar 3G signal, then without moving I would get a roaming signal, then no service, then searching, then back to one-bar 3G, even standing by an upstairs window. Our daughter's house is 10 miles from Grand Rapids and less than 2 miles from a major highway. Granted that there are many trees, but can waving leafless trees cause that much variation? The second surprise was that we thought with the iPhone and a low-power FM-to-car-radio cable that we would be able to listen to Minnesota Public Radio all the way back to Duluth without changing the dial. No such luck! On the major highway we were on, the cell signal kept coming in and out. Oh, well, at least the Virgin Mobile/Sprint coverage map doesn't claim that that area is covered.
I knew that AT&T had put up a couple of towers in the Brimson area where we have our cabin, but I've heard many complaints that many AT&T's customer are not satisfied. I checked AT&T's coverage map and did discover coverage areas in Brimson; they are a whole bunch of small islands that make no sense. Besides telling me that our cabin address is could not be matched (other web sites can find it), it shows a coverage area that starts just west of where our cabin is and ends less than a mile farther west. That's too iffy to make a decision with.
The lesson is that you have to make a long checklist of all the features you want in a product and then spend hours and hours to find out what portion of those features are available to you at a price you want to pay. Nobody else is going to help you. And of course, after you buy the product, you'll find a new feature you want but your choice doesn't provide – like listening to public radio without switching stations.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Broadband gets broader
I went to an informational meeting put on by the Forest Service in the Brimson-Toimi area this afternoon. While chatting with other attendees I learned that broadband has become more widely available in Brimson. It is now within walking distance of our cabin.
But is it pricey!! Starting at $49.99 or something like that for up to 6Mbps for existing customers. Notice the "starting at" and "for up to". It is not exactly clear that you can get 6Mbps service for $49.99. Frontier's web site does not provide more details unless you click on "Buy now". Otherwise you have to talk to a representative to get more details. Why does one have to talk to a representative? Probably because one would be more likely to buy while talking to a representative.
I should state that there are other offers, say for $24.99 for up to 3Mbps for the first year and $34.99 the second year. There is also a $4.50/month equipment rental. And of course, "taxes, surcharges, and USF charges".
And the offers conflict. Existing customers can get this through Dec. 31 according to one page. Nation-wide the offer is available through Jun. 30.
Frontier is not alone in this. Look at the cell phone plans. Look at other phone companies offers. It's mind boggling. I just want simple tables:
x benefit y dollars
z benefit w dollars
Dream on!
But is it pricey!! Starting at $49.99 or something like that for up to 6Mbps for existing customers. Notice the "starting at" and "for up to". It is not exactly clear that you can get 6Mbps service for $49.99. Frontier's web site does not provide more details unless you click on "Buy now". Otherwise you have to talk to a representative to get more details. Why does one have to talk to a representative? Probably because one would be more likely to buy while talking to a representative.
I should state that there are other offers, say for $24.99 for up to 3Mbps for the first year and $34.99 the second year. There is also a $4.50/month equipment rental. And of course, "taxes, surcharges, and USF charges".
And the offers conflict. Existing customers can get this through Dec. 31 according to one page. Nation-wide the offer is available through Jun. 30.
Frontier is not alone in this. Look at the cell phone plans. Look at other phone companies offers. It's mind boggling. I just want simple tables:
x benefit y dollars
z benefit w dollars
Dream on!
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