wireless_broadband

Subject followup: site survey for wireless broadband to August Pine Ridge
From Pat Coyle

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Dear Mr. Johnson,

This is a followup to my earlier contact.

How is roll out of the wireless broadband coming along?

Can we get the site survey you spoke of?

Natalio Soliz and I are still very interested. His number in August Pine Ridge is 323-3048.

Thanks,
Pat Coyle

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prior message
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After our conversation about broadband wirelesss access in August Pine Ridge, I spoke with Natalio Soliz. He is the teacher there who wants to set up a computer lab with internet access for students. At the present time, he only has dial up from BTL.

I advised him you indicated you are are deploying new CDMA-cellular phone-based broadband service at the end of the month and that you offered to do a site survey of his place and mine to see whether the service could be provided there.

Natalio and I are interested. His number in August Pine Ridge is 323-3048.

Natalio, Mr. Johnson can be reached in Orange Walk Town on 322-2216.

Please let me know the results of the site survey.

Mr. Johnson, I am also interested in phone service for my property which is just before the August Pine Ridge water tower. I would like to understand options for fixed cellular, or VoIP? over the broadband connection, since I am too far out of August Pine Ridge for a BTL land line phone.

Thanks,

Thanks,
Pat Coyle
Livermore CA
USA

------- Original Message -------
On 10/12/2005 8:52 PM Pat Coyle wrote:
Dear Mr. Johnson,

I called today, but you were out of the office. I spoke with you briefly by phone when I was in Belize in August.

I am still very interested in getting a broadband connection from Orange Walk Town out to the community of August Pine Ridge, more specifically to my property which is just past August Pine Ridge.

When we talked, you indicated there wasn't that much demand, so it was not a current priority for your firm.

However, I would like to revisit this with you.

Also a teacher in August Pine Ridge wants to set up a computer lab with internet access for students. At the present time, he only has dial up from BTL.

I said I'd see what options might be available and that we might be able to extend access to the village and people like me to make it more affordable.

We might also be able to find participants in the other villages, along the way in Yo Creek, San Lazaro, and Trinidad. Perhaps other teachers, schools, community groups, or village councils could provide secure locations for a repeater/access point.

Alternatively, perhaps a direct point-to-point link to my place and then to the August Pine Ridge teacher would make more sense.

Since we talked, there has been a lot of news coverage about wireless connectivity for Katrina relief recovery operations.

As an example, I spoke with Mr. Paul Smith, at the Center for Neighborhood Technology(http://wcn.cnt.org/; See email below. The attachment shows the kind of hardware they use in their "mesh" networks).

He indicated it is certainly doable and suggested I explore the connection to internet backhaul options with someone like you, as well as the uses the service might be put to.

I am interested in DSL-like bandwith at my place and for others like the school teacher. I am also interested in VoIP? at my place since the phone lines don't quite reach there.

I would like to explore this with you. I look forward to hearing from you.

If you prefer to talk, please let me know and I can try to arrange a time to call you.

Thanks,
Pat Coyle
Livermore CA
USA

Pat Coyle wrote:

>To: Paul Smithand Nicole Friedman;
>
>I called and left messages for you after I read the New York Times Magazine Idea Lab section ?Talking in the Dark? article and your recent activities in the Gulf.
>
>The line"...In Rayville, his team of techies clambered up a local tower to blast WiFi? signals 50 miles through the countryside; their signals reached refugees clustered in church basements with computers but no Internet connections." caught my eye. I seems like a way to get broadband out to the Belize village of August Pine Ridge which is ~20 miles from Orange Walk Town, where you can get DSL or even a city-wide wireless broadband connection.
>
>Can you refer me to people or sites to learn more about it.
>
>A teacher in August Pine Ridge wants to set up a computer lab and provide students access to internet, but all he can currently get is POTS dial-up. I said I'd see what else might work and that we might be able to extend access to the village and people like me (I have a 40 acre property near there)and make it more affordable. There are 3 communities on the way out, ~3-5 miles apart.
>
>I appreciate the help.
>Thanks,
>
>Pat Coyle
>Livermore CA