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Rural Telecommunications We first came to the Town of Keene in the Adirondacks in 1990. The only TV station available was NBC channel 5 out of Plattsburgh. You needed a roof top antenna to receive a very marginal picture. If you had a computer, you could make a dial-up internet connection. However, it was a regional call, and the connection speed was about 14400 bps. My, how things have changed! We now have local cable TV, Satellite TV, a FAX machine, a telephone answering machine, a local Internet Service Provider and, wonder of wonders, high speed internet access through cable modem. We recently added a wired/wireless home network so Ellena and I can share expensive peripherals and both be on the internet at the same time. I am better connected now then I was when I worked for a major international corporation in a major metropolitan area. Soon, our guest computer will also have high speed internet access. The recent availability of these state-of-the-art telecommunication services are beginning to have a significant impact in our region. Our local school, with approximately 100 students in grades K-12, is able to access a wide variety of courses and information through their satellite system. For example, Russian and Chinese language courses and advanced physics and mathematics courses are now available to the students. High speed internet connections allow students to access a virtually limitless supply of information for research . I have talked to a number of people in the last several years who have said they would love to live in the Adirondacks, but they need high speed internet access for their work. Well, in most locations in the Town of Keene, you can have just that. A big thank you to our local cable TV and internet service provider, Keene Valley Video Internet for providing this state-of-the-art service. |
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Anthony and Ellena Lucas |