I don't know about other states, but Iowa doesn't have railroad tracks anymore. There are maybe 3 rail lines running across Iowa. And the railroads are already using them to transmit there own data. All the rest of the railroad tracks have been pulled up, and made into bicycle trails.
Most ISP's may be 56k, but here in Iowa, the phone lines are not 56k capable! I have a 56k 3com v.90 modem, and can only get, on a good day, 26.4k. If you complain to the phone company, (US Worst/Qwest), they basically tell you, "We only have to supply 9600", tuff sh_t.
I work for an international company that has 2 plants in Iowa. Our home office is located in Germany. Try to have a WAN over a 56k dialup!!! It has taken us 1 1/2 years to get a T1 from US West/Qwest. And it cost us an arm and a leg. If Prairie Inet had been around when we started this project, that is probably been the way we would have gone. Our one plant is located only 2 blocks from a Prairie Inet antenna.
I just subscribed to the Prairie Inet service today. In talking to their tech support people, I was informed that one of their major investors is Heartland Co-op. The owners of most of the grain elevator sites. This would help cut their overhead considerably.
As an aside to the people who have been flaming the midwest. Let me say that we are not all farmers/hicks. I happen to be an industrial programmer for an international company living in Iowa. This change will give me remote access to my systems at work without driving 40 miles.
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I don't know about other states, but Iowa doesn't have railroad tracks anymore. There are maybe 3 rail lines running across Iowa. And the railroads are already using them to transmit there own data. All the rest of the railroad tracks have been pulled up, and made into bicycle trails.
Most ISP's may be 56k, but here in Iowa, the phone lines are not 56k capable! I have a 56k 3com v.90 modem, and can only get, on a good day, 26.4k. If you complain to the phone company, (US Worst/Qwest), they basically tell you, "We only have to supply 9600", tuff sh_t.
I work for an international company that has 2 plants in Iowa. Our home office is located in Germany. Try to have a WAN over a 56k dialup!!! It has taken us 1 1/2 years to get a T1 from US West/Qwest. And it cost us an arm and a leg. If Prairie Inet had been around when we started this project, that is probably been the way we would have gone. Our one plant is located only 2 blocks from a Prairie Inet antenna.
I just subscribed to the Prairie Inet service today. In talking to their tech support people, I was informed that one of their major investors is Heartland Co-op. The owners of most of the grain elevator sites. This would help cut their overhead considerably.
As an aside to the people who have been flaming the midwest. Let me say that we are not all farmers/hicks. I happen to be an industrial programmer for an international company living in Iowa. This change will give me remote access to my systems at work without driving 40 miles.