CEDX

Party Lines still exist, at least on Fire Island

On Fire Island, we compete with Verizon's DSL product and a couple other wireless providers for the internet access market.  We like to think we're growing because we provide a better service, and treat our customers nicer.  Ultimately though, most commodity purchase decisions come down to economics.  If you are within DSL range, VZ is the cheaper alternative so far, and that's just the way it is right now. 

However, part of the fun in this business is enjoying the idiosyncrasies of Fire Island and its denizens.  We're bringing on a new customer in Ocean Beach who is well within DSL range who has the weirdest rationale for joining that I've heard in the five years we've been doing this. He actually has a party line telephone that he doesn't want to give up.  To get DSL, he'd have to switch.  When this guy picks up his phone, an operator has to connect the call for him.  I didn't even think that they existed any more!   There must be some kind of regulatory requirement that forces VZ to keep these lines active, which, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about, given the state of telecom regulation in this country.  I actually feel kind of bad for VZ that they have to support this anachronism, but hey, we're happy to get a new customer.  And no, it's not the "Petticoat Junction" magneto type phone, but I wouldn't be suprised if it's a rotary dial.

Blog Foci?

One of the things that I have learned lately is that focus is important in many areas.  The problem that I have is that I like a lot of stuff, I'm like a technology-sniffing puppy cruising from treat to treat.  So I've decided to define a little more closely what interests me. These interests lie in the intersection of several dimensions.  Temporally, I'm interested in what's happening in and around my physical and social communities of New York City, Long Island and Fire Island.  Technologically, I'm interested in what is happening in the spaces of local content, and the delivery of that content in both fixed and mobile modes. I'm building systems that enable the relevant and contextual delivery of that content.  To that end, I have opened up my networks, Urban Hotspots, Wi-RAN, and Fire Island Wireless to serve as platforms for testing out these systems and spaces.  Please contact me if you have an idea with a business model that may fit with these delivery systems, and we can explore the possibilities.

Muni Wireless In Action on Long Island

The Town of Smithtown on Long Island is saving $5000 per month by converting to a combination wireless and VPN network for their intra and internet needs.  We performed this installation partnered with NPA Computers of Holbrook, NY.  A logical diagram of the connections is shown here. The network that we created for them replaces a hub and spoke Frame Relay net that couldn't support their current need for internet access at each of the town offices, and the increased intranet bandwidth required by new applications and internal files.  In downtown Smithtown, we created a wireless intranet by using 20 Megabit/sec 5.8 GHz Motorola Canopy Backhaul links between the Town's main data center and several other buildings.  Somewhat ironically, we had to mount one of the Canopy units on an existing radio tower to get over the Verizon central office that stands in between two of the buildings.  Each location has Business Class Optimum Online from Cablevision, which provides between 5 and 10 Megabits download capability and 1 meg upload.  In the Town Campus, we also use the BCOOL links for a set of tunnels that backup the wireless, so that if a lightning strike takes out a link, the system fails over to the VPN tunnel, and reverts back to the higher capacity link when the link is fixed.  We get about 5ms latency on the Canopy links, and 35-40 ms latency on the VPN links.

Fleet Week Special!

Bounding from shore to shore on Long Island, CEDX is putting to sea (or sound, as it is) with the Huntington Yacht Club.  The club has retained us to create and manage a Wi-Fi network for members and transients, covering the slips, moorings, and pool area.  The net will also cover most of Huntington Harbor.  CEDX will create accounts for the members, and transients will sign up online via credit card.  As we go forward, CEDX will help the club establish reciprocal roaming agreements with other clubs around Long Island and the eastern seaboard.  Members will also have access to onshore  and rolling Wi-RAN hotspots at no additional charge as part of our agreement.  The network should be operational in about two weeks.

It was Kismet, plus a lot of hard work, as Wi-Fi returns to Kismet

After months of delay and waiting through weeks of miserable winter weather once the paperwork was done, Wi-Fi has returned to the petite village of Kismet, the westernmost community on Fire Island.  Perched atop the beautiful new Fire House, our relocated Saltaire access point is broadcasting the SSID FIWISPSALT out to the Marina, the homes, the Fire Island Lighthouse, and the western edge of Saltaire.  Many thanks go out to the Fire Commissioners of Kismet, and we at Fire Island Wireless look forward to reliably serving the Fire Department and the community with wireless broadband for many seasons into the future.

Coming soon to a coach seat near you

In brilliant Spectracalifragilistic color, a video primer on our Wi-RAN product for motorcoach passengers is here for your viewing pleasure. An epic tale of bandwidth and mobility for high-powered Hamptonites, it's a preview of our rollout across the thirty-five vehicle fleet of the Hampton Jitney.  Click on the logo to see our quicktime movie.  Be patient, it's packed with 10 Megabytes of talent and drama!  We'll be in full deployment over the next few weeks.  Stay tuned for updates.

The video was produced for us by Benson-Tapia productions, Cinematographer and Voice Narrator:   -  J.J. Pagano
For more information about Benson-Tapia productions, contact Brenda Benson at:  631-875-8791
For more information about Wi-RAN installations and marketing opportunities, contact Craig Plunkett of Wi-RAN at 631-262-9300

Crest Hollow Country Club

CEDX was chosen to install a Wi-Fi network for the Crest Hollow Country Club, the premier event facility located in Woodbury, Long Island.  We installed an 802.11G network providing complete coverage throughout the facility, with the capability of turning individual rooms on and off, without any  computer skills, and according to the booking needs of the management.  VoWiFi is fully supported and has been tested with Zyxel Prestige 2000W phones.  The system made its official debut for the November 2004 CEWIT conference.