Monday, November 10, 2008

Internet Connectivity in Tok

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area mapImage via WikipediaI've been preparing for my move to Tok, looking into Internet connectivity which is an essential part of my work as well as my life. So far, I've found out that the main way to connect to the Internet in Tok is through Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T). And they only offer DSL.

I spoke with a rep from AP&T and this is what I found out:

I can get the 10 Gig DSL account - 512k transfer speed - for $199.95/month ($2400 a year). Each additional Gig over is $30.

Or I can get a 24 Gig DSL account - same transfer speed - for $469.95/month.

For comparison, I currently have GCI in Anchorage - their Extreme package - For $69.99/month. This comes with a 3 MB transfer speed and a 20 Gig allowance.

I asked the guy at GCI about my average usage. It broke down as follows:

July 08 - 17 Gigs
Aug 08 - 11 Gigs
Sep 08 - 11 Gigs
Oct 08 - 21 Gigs - and the overage of 2.5 Gigs cost me about $12.78
Nov 08 - 9 Gigs before mid-November

I have to rethink what I do on the Internet each day to try to keep my bandwidth activity to 10 Gigs. Based on my monthly average, this means immediately cutting out my Second Life usage - which comes to about 2-3 hours per week but clearly requires high bandwidth. This means giving up my Second Life TV shows and events - cutting out one of my favorite parts of my work.

"I'm very impressed with your bandwidth usage. What do you do?" asked the rep at AP&T.

When I told him about my Second Life projects, he laughed.

"There's a guy in Tok who's on Second Life," he said and promised to give the guy my avatar name next time he called in for tech support.

Someone else in Tok is on Second Life? I hope to meet him and find out some anecdotal information about how Second Life works in Tok, how much he uses it and how much he is paying.

I'm also looking into AT&T coverage in Tok. Will report back on that soon.
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1 comment:

sabiancrash said...

I wonder how much a DS3 in Tok would cost. Setting up a small wireless ISP might allow for more competitive rates for everyone.