Dial-up is less of a hang-up than it used to be in Elkhart County.
There may be a few people who can't get broadband, or high-speed Internet, service in their homes, but the connections for residential and business use continue to get faster. And that's good news whether you're trying to watch "Inglorious Basterds" as a streaming download or keep your employees connected to each other in various locations.
"The demand for broadband has never been higher because of all the creative ways people come up with to do things with it," said Gene Crusie, president of MapleNet Wireless, which installs high-speed connection systems for businesses, utilities and government entities.
MapleNet will connect businesses to a stretch of fiber optic cable that will carry data up to 10 gigabits per second, according to Ryan Coates, senior account executive for Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions.
Elkhart County's fiber connection
Cincinnati Bell purchased GramTel after it committed to putting the fiber between downtown Elkhart and Goshen. The project was to be completed last summer but is likely to be done next month. Frank Lucchese, Elkhart County commissioner, said the delay was because of the time it took to get permission to hang the fiber on utility poles owned by four companies.
Businesses will be able to connect to the fiber for faster network speeds. It'll cost a business about $1,000 a month, less than they're paying now for slower speeds, Coates said.
The normal operating speed would be a gigabit per second, still far faster than most people would need for Internet use, but the same speed Google announced it would install for residents in 10 cities. Crusie considers anything over 1 megabit per second high speed.
The metronet, as Cincinnati Bell is calling its new fast fiber connection, could help Elkhart County businesses the way some are saying a similar network is helping St. Joseph County. A number of businesses have expressed interest in linking to the metronet. The only signed contract is with Elkhart County government. Goshen Community Schools and the city of Goshen are on an existing fiber network in Goshen. Ivy Tech Community College, including the Elkhart campus, will get one thanks to $25.1 million from the American Recovery and Investment Act, according to a press release.
Lucchese, who is running for re-election this year and touted the fiber network in his announcement, said the network will make the county more efficient and save money. But it will also help existing businesses and ones considering Elkhart County. He said some companies haven't located here because of the lack of a network. "In the long run for economic development, we think it's very important," he said.
Why speed matters
Comcast doubled its download speed for most customers around the end of 2009, according to Richard A. Ruggiero, vice president for communications and public affairs for the greater Chicago region, which includes Elkhart County. Regular users can get up to 12 megabits per second downloads and top speeds are 50 MB, he said. In 2002, the cost for 1.5 megabit service was $42.95 a month, the same as 12 now, he said.
"We needed to deliver faster speeds to keep up with how people were using the Internet," he said. Picture files, music downloading and streaming video require more bandwidth. That puts more pressure on service providers. Comcast has demonstrated download speeds of up to 160 megabits per second. What's that mean? An HD movie could download in four minutes.
Xfinity is a new branding effort of Comcast for residential users, packaging high-definition television and faster Internet speeds, Ruggiero said. Comcast is trying to respond to users wanting content when and where they want it. Though not technically over broadband Internet, Comcast viewers in the Chicago region watch nearly 1.5 million on-demand shows per day, indicating that how people want content is changing.
In business, the age-old saying is that time is money, so less waiting is better.
Technical drawings and specifications, or even medical records, can move over high-speed connections. For the automotive suppliers working in Elkhart County, "It's becoming more and more incumbent to have high-speed connections to the auto manufacturers," Coates said.
Thor Industries' five recreational vehicle and bus facilities in Elkhart County are connected to copper, but the local headquarters are on a fiber-optic network on the north side of Elkhart, according to John Stukenborg, director of information technology. The addition of fiber between Elkhart and Goshen would allow it to connect with Thor facilities there, he said.
"The fiber all of a sudden gives some competition to copper suppliers," he said of conventional providers like Verizon that use wire.
The lower the cost and faster the connection, the easier it is to do business, he said.
Connections change geography, efficiency
Crusie's business, which is separate from MapleTronics in Goshen and MapleNet Broadband, which provides residential service, is focused on networks for public safety or utility companies. One county in Pennsylvania with little cell-phone service has a MapleNet network that connects communication for county employees.
LigTel Communications in Ligonier and New Paris Telephone are offering residential service in parts of Elkhart County that Verizon can't with digital satellite lines, better known as DSL, and Comcast can't with cable.
Fast connections in homes allow people to telecommute. And it's one less barrier to doing business in Elkhart County. "Suddenly geography is not an issue when it comes to computing," Coates said.
Even on small networks, connectedness can help business. Fred Graber, owner of Mechanical Man, uses software to send work orders to technicians heading to do plumbing, heating or electrical work. The techs can then process, write and invoice and charge a credit card using the software on a smartphone. That goes into the computer system at the office, eliminating paperwork.
"It makes it a lot more efficient way to operate," Graber said. He said the initial software was a sizable investment, but the $80 a month it costs him for phone and broadband service gets saved in a week or less because of the efficiency.
Elkhart County is getting more and more connected. The cost of being connected is likely to drop and speeds are likely to get even faster.
"Broadband has made the jump from being a luxury to being a necessity like water or electric," Crusie said.