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Every edition we will be answering your e-mail questions that are sent to ASKaNERD@psrec.coop. These e-mails are answered by one of our in-house nerds and your personal information will remain anonymous. Remember: the only stupid question is the question that is not asked!
Q. I’ve seen a lot of discussion on tv about keeping kids safe when they are online. What can I do to keep my kids safe? Kathy from Loyalton
A. The best form of Online Safety begins at home with you, the parent. A good place to start is sitting down with your kids and going over these 6 basic rules together.
- I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parent's work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents' permission.
- I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
- I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
- I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
- I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way makes me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
- I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of the day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
Have a question or topic you would like discussed on Tech Talk? Please feel free to e-mail them to ASKaNERD@psrec.coop and we will do our best to include them in the next edition of this publication .
Welcome to Tech Talk!
Greetings, and thanks for reading the inaugural posting of Plumas-Sierra Wireless' Tech Talk. In this column, I will be explaining some of the technology that PSW uses to provide Internet service, as well as explaining general Internet technologies.
PSW recently upgraded our network's Internet bandwidth (speed) with a microwave connection to Reno. Previously we used the local telephone company's services for our Internet connection. While the local phone company also uses microwave radios to bring telephone and Internet service to Plumas County, they ran out of capacity to offer us more bandwidth. This coupled with the high cost for their service made switching an easy decision.
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To build this connection to Reno, we utilized point to point microwave radios that transmit a signal from Reno, to Beckwourth Peak, then to various sites on our network. It has much more capacity than our previous connections to the Internet, and is highly expandable for future growth. While it is located on the top of a mountain, we are the only provider in our area with a true Snow Cat, which makes getting to the mountain top no problem. We also have redundancy built into our system, which prevents these Snow Cat rides and makes for a happy Network Engineer.
I hope this information provides some insight into our operations, and I hope to continue providing you with the most reliable local Internet service around. If you have any questions, please fill out our Online Customer Feedback Form. |
How we get Plumas-Sierra Wireless to you...
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Business Update
I was asked recently by one of my city dwelling friends, “What do you do all winter; if I lived up there I would be on the Internet all day to keep from getting cabin fever!” Her observation is a popular one. There was a time when the winter months was our slow season for bandwidth usage; this is no longer true, we see bandwidth usage equal year round.
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Plumas-Sierra recognizes the consumers desire to take advantage of all Internet services and works strategically towards ensuring that our subscribers have access to these virtual services. As such we have had some challenges on the south end of our system with the lack of wholesale bandwidth to “keep up” with the ever progressing Internet services. This is one of the primary reasons Plumas-Sierra applied for an ARRA Broadband Grant. It was our position that if not for an ARRA Grant this region we call home would have been left behind the digital divide. The fiber project is a backbone infrastructure that will provide a method for endless amounts of bandwidth to our region. It will give ISPs access to bandwidth and cost effective prices. This benefits the end user by providing competitive retail prices and more bandwidth. The fiber project has a completion date of Summer 2013, however in the meantime PST will continually work towards improving its existing infrastructure. Last year a Microwave system that delivers broadband from a Sprint peering point in Reno Nevada was installed to bring additional bandwidth to the region. This summer we will continue working on making improvements to the Mohawk Valley region as well as the Graeagle area. As always we love to hear from our customers and appreciate your feedback.
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