High Speed Internet – Batesville Broadband

For those who aren’t in or not satisfied with Comcast or Sprint/Embarq/Centurylink whatever (DSL) – courtesy of the Batesville Store email list: (bolding mine)

Dear Friends of The Batesville Store,

I am writing to you today about the launch of Batesville Broadband, a privately owned and operated company that will bring affordable high-speed Internet service to western Albemarle and northern Nelson counties.

If you are satisfied with your current Internet service provider, do not live in the areas listed below, or simply do not want high-speed Internet access, please accept my apologies for annoying you with this email.

If you are seeking affordable high-speed Internet access, however, please read on for information about the service, including a list of the areas that Batesville Broadband will cover in the coming months.

But first:

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT BATESVILLE BROADBAND IN GREATER DETAIL, PLEASE COME TO AN OPEN HOUSE AT THE STORE THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 20, FROM 4:00 P.M. TO 6:00 P.M.

I will be joined at the Open House by Miguel Laboy, the project’s lead technician, and Whitt Whitaker, our chief installer and head of technical support. After a brief presentation, we will answer questions.

IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT TO THE OPEN HOUSE BUT WOULD STILL LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BATESVILLE BROADBAND, PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, PHYSICAL STREET ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER. (Editor’s Note: email address is cid **AT** thebatesvillestore –DOT — com)

Here are some key features of Batesville Broadband:

— In the coming months, we intend to cover these areas: Batesville, North Garden, Greenwood, Plank Road West, Craig’s Store Road, The Batesville Road, Miller School Road, Ivy, Route 151, Afton, Avon, Nellysford, Crozet, White Hall, Free Union, Covesville, and Lovingston.

— We will take subscriptions as early as this Sunday and begin installing the service next week.

— For a monthly fee of $59.95, two computers in a house will have access to the Internet through Batesville Broadband’s password-protected web portal. Access for each additional computer costs $7.50 a month. The monthly fee also covers the subscriber’s lease of the equipment. There is a one-time installation fee of $99.00

— Payment is month-to-month. There are no long-term contract obligations. If a subscriber decides to drop the service, there are no hidden or additional costs. If a subscriber does not wish to use the service in any given month, no payment is required. A subscriber can re-activate the service at any time without penalty.

— The service uses a combination of ultra-high-speed T – 1 lines and state-of-the-art wireless technology to create a web of access points. Clear line of sight to the southern sky is not required, nor do houses need to be wired with fiber optic or other expensive direct cables.

— Batesville Broadband does not require dish receivers of any kind. The equipment used in most installations has virtually no visual footprint. A small outside antenna and an even smaller interior receiver will be sufficient in most cases. More difficult installations might require the use of a narrow green pole that is bracketed to a tree and has a small antenna at the top.

— Tests of the system show consistent, symmetrical upload and download speeds of 1.2 to 1.45 megabytes with latencies ranging from 12 ms to 50 ms. “YouTube” videos download without buffering. The low latency makes for great online gaming.

— Subscribers will not have to deal in any way with a phone company, cable company or satellite Internet service provider. Liza and I own the company. We have no silent partners or private investors. I will be managing the project. All of our technicians, installers, and tech support specialists have local ties.

— Subscribers with service problems will not be routed through an auto-menu or have their calls answered by someone overseas. Tech support will be handled locally.

— The service will allow for Virtual Private Networks, and within a matter of months, Batesville Broadband intends to offer VOIP, an Internet-based phone service.

Liza and I have lived in Batesville for twenty-four years and know from experience that as high-speed Internet access has become a virtual necessity of life, finding an affordable, reliable method for gaining that access in a rural community has remained virtually impossible.

We have tried dial-up, two different satellite services, and a cell phone company’s portable broadband system, and we’ve found all of them to be severely wanting. It seems that every few months the phone company promises that DSL is coming our way “very soon.” The area’s electric coop has been touting its “Internet Over the Electrical Lines” project for close to ten years. People tell us that cell phone cards work okay—when they are not glitching out or slowing to dial-up speed.

We have heard the sales spiels, subscribed to the services, dealt with remote tech support call centers, and torn our hair out as the “latest solution” has turned out to be little more than the most recent problem. In other words, we’ve experienced what many of you have experienced—and it’s not fun.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands and develop an Internet service that actually worked—and that my friends, neighbors, and I could have some say in, some control over. I believe that I have found this in Batesville Broadband.

I am looking forward to discussing the project further with you Sunday.

Fondly,

Cid