Dial-up to High Speed: It's like "night and day"

High speed internet is still a burgeoning concept to some residents in upstate New York. As is the case in numerous rural counties across the country, access to fast internet services is not guaranteed, forcing residents to get creative with their connections.

One lucky resident of Caroline, NY, after recently learning about the benefits of high-speed internet, said "the difference in negotiating the Internet is like 'night and day.'"

At present, residents have three options to get a fast, reliable internet connection: DSL, satellite internet, and internet through the radio.  The latter two options are slightly less conventional than DSL or cable internet, yet residents have no other alternatives in some places.

"Tim Ganschow, vice president of Agristar, a satellite Internet company aimed at farmers, said satellite Internet service will work anywhere in the continental United States where there's 'a clear view of the southern sky.'"

When users have to rely on a "clear view of the southern sky" in order to connect at high speeds, there's something wrong. New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, recognizes the problem and even addressed the issue in this year’s State of the State address. A main concern, he pointed out, was how a slow internet connection can impede economic development.

As residents wait for the government to take initiative and pull people out of the "dark zones"--as areas without high-speed internet service are called--they’re forced to make the best of what they’ve got.

Rural residents are hopeful that a change is going to come, either through government action or from the service providers themselves. Currently, however, townspeople feel they are "captives of very limited services in a very high tech world," and any hope quickly turns into frustration.

Rural Internet Options Slowly Increase (The Ithica Journal)