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Fast-Air Newsletter
Vol 2011-1 02/02/2011
Hi all,
It has already been two years since the last newsletter, so I felt it was
time to give you an update on what is coming in 2011. This is our 7th
year of business and we will continue to try to bring you the most reliable
service in the area as well as more customer promotions to show our appreciation
of your continued patronage.
Hardware & Dataline Upgrades
After
much frustration we finally obtained our new fiber dataline.
We have almost doubled our capacity and it will be much easier and quicker
to expand in the future. We apologize for the long wait and the poor system
performance at times. Much of this was due to our usage increase of over
300% since the advent of things like Netflix and other online movie and TV
sites. I will expand on this in the next section. We have a number of system enhancements
to implement, however many are unable to be done until spring.
System Usage
Since
the start of Fast-Air, our Access
Agreement has stated a bandwidth usage limit. In 2004, it was 500MB. We then
increased the limit to 1GB, then 2GB, then 4GB, and currently it is at 8GB.
Before Netflix and other online movie and TV sites
came along, rarely did anyone go over the limit except a few who chose to leave their
music downloaders running all the time.
However,
since these sites have become available, usage has increased over 300%. We now plan to increase our
quota to 20GB, but have put additional bandwidth plans in place. You can
view these under Services - Plans.
We also have developed an application that will monitor usage
and report it once a week. It will send you an email when you have reached
75% of your quota or higher. If you
are over your quota we will charge $1.75 per
GB. If you purchase a data plan, you get a savings of $0.50/GB.
Movies streamed through computers are
typically about 1GB per movie. Movies downloaded
through gaming devices such as a PS2, PS3, Xbox, newer WII, or DVD players are typically high
resolution and about 4GB per movie.
NOTE: Keep in mind, 95% of our customers are
not likely to go over their quota and nothing will change for them. We will report
usage for the month of February without charging (except for those who have already
been notified of overage, or for extreme cases). If you do not receive any notification, you
do not have to do anything.
Expanded Coverage
We will be adding an additional tower at
Hagerman lake to off-load the current tower and help those on the East side
obtain better coverage.
We will
also be adding a tower in Tipler to cover that
area. Projected coverage can be
viewed at our Coverage Maps link.
We have
been trying to find a location to cover Brule Lake but have been unable to
find a location that would cover the lake well enough. We will be trying to
locate the owners of a plot at the north end of the lake this summer.
Coverage
maps can be viewed under the Services
- Coverage Maps menu of our website.
VOIP - Internet Phone
We now offer VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.
This can replace your current landline telephone. You get a local number or we are able to use your
current phone number in most areas. You can get unlimited calling for both local and long distance
for $24.95/month. For more information check out our website under
the Services menu and VOIP - Internet Phone Service. This service may not be available to
some rural customers who are using our Non-Line of Site units.
Current Email Address
Be sure to let us know if you change your email address. We send out invoices, system notifications,
newletters, referral credits, free-month notifications and most other types of
communication via email. If you do change it, simply email us at support@fast-air.net or
use the Contact Us page to let us know.
Troubleshooting Your Connection
Before you call about a problem, there are a few simple steps to try to get your connection working again.
1. - If you have a router, unplug the POWER cord from the back of the unit, wait 5 seconds, then reapply the power.
Wait at least 1 minute for the router to completely power up before you try your connection again.
If this does not work or you do not have a router then try step 2.
2. - Our power block (called a PoE) is typically mounted on the wall down near the floor near the computer or router.
There is a black power cord that goes from the PoE to the power strip.
Unplug the power plug from the power strip that goes to the PoE.
(If you are unable to find the correct power plug, you could simply turn off the power strip. However, this may shut off your computer also)
Wait 10 seconds and then replace the power plug or turn the power strip back on. You will need to wait at least 2 to 3 minutes for the unit to
power back up and reconnect to the tower.
If you need to perform step 2 and this does not still get the connecting working, you may want to retry Step 1.
If after these steps your connection still does not work, call the office at 906-265-2003.
We now have someone on call during each weekend. If you call the office and leave a message the person on call will contact you to help
with your problem.
Keeping Your Connection at Top Speed
We
have added a lot of customers since the last newsletter, so I want to
stress the need to run spyware removal programs. We recommend MalwareBytes be run at least once a month to
keep your connection at top speed. Be sure to have it download the updates each time before you run the scan.
Note: We now recommend Microsoft Security
Essentials over AVG Anti-Virus
for anti-virus protection. Although newer versions of anti-virus programs check for spyware,
it is still necessary to run MalwareBytes.
Whenever
there are upgrades for the packages mentioned above, always check our
website under the Help & Support - Software Links option. This
is typically the simplest way to upgrade these software packages.
We must
continue to emphasize the importance of disabling file sharing when using downloaders especially now that many are attempting to download movies.
When we encounter users with this functionality enabled, we will send a
reminder/warning. If this does not resolve the problem, we will then issue a
second warning and turn their speed down significantly. A third instance
will result in termination of the account. You can find instructions on
disabling file sharing at the Setting
up downloaders link
under the Troubleshooting
& Tips.
For
more information on how to keep your internet speed up, go to the link Maintaining your Internet
Connection Speed or find it under the Help & Support menu
and then Troubleshooting & Tips.
Customer Appreciation
We
will continue to give out referral credits and will again have a free-month drawing for 2011.
This time we will pick 2 names per month. You can see the 2011 winners on
our website link under 2011 Free Month
Winners. We just want to thank you all for your continued patronage. We
like giving back to our customers for their loyalty.
Your Feedback
We
would appreciate your feedback. If you have had any issues, have any
questions, any suggestions, or comments. please
let me know. You can reply to this message, or use the Contact Us page on the Fast-Air
website.
Thank
you for your patronage and getting out the word to the community about our
Internet service. Feel free to forward this to others or refer them to the Newsletter
link under the Company menu on the Fast-Air
Website.On behalf of our staff, Mike, Joy, Michael, Timm, and Jerry we truly thank you!
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