In general, broadband refers to telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information. Because a wide band of frequencies is available, information can be multiplexed, and sent on many different frequencies or channels within the band concurrently, allowing more information to be transmitted in a given amount of time (like more lanes on a motorways allowing more cars to travel on it at the same time).
When it comes to the Internet and the information superhighway, broadband connections are the future, and it is available today. Jet-steam connections utilise the wider band of frequencies available that can be transmitted down copper phone lines, those above and below those frequencies required for simple transmission of the human voice, and possible to be delivered simultaneously. All the home user requires is a plug in the phone socket to separate the speech, from the data frequencies. And the proximity to a Jet-stream enabled telephone exchange, a feature which sadly for some, is currently lagging behind present demand.
The biggest obstacle to rural internet users is often to overcome the 'proximity' issue. However ThePacific.net, based in Queen St, Richmond now offers broadband connections via a rapidly developing network of wireless receivers and transmitters, sending and receiving data via radio waves. Six transmission points in the Tasman Bay area presently provide coverage from The Glen to Kaiteriteri, and all that is required is a clear line of sight to a transmission site. Transmission points also cover Westport and are provided by ThePacific.Net partner, Buller Electricity, with Blenhiem and Marlborough sites being proposed for the near future.
High speed wireless broadband connections offer several advantages over traditional dial-up connections. It is a continuous and always on connection, with no 'dialing up' procedure required, and immune from electric fence interference, emails can be sent and received instantaneously, websites and internet downloads are accessed up to 40 times faster, and your home phone line is always available.
Security of 'always on' wireless internet connections is vital. Both to stop people from accessing your personal computer data, and from people wirelessly hacking in and using your account to access the internet themselves, a growing problem overseas in large cities with proliferating and often less secure wireless networks (although some users openly welcome sharing connections with others). ThePacific.Net connections use an 'eBox' to provide a secure firewall against intrusion. This small device is owned and maintained by ThePacific.Net team and leased to wireless customers, providing security that is constantly monitored and upgraded instantly, using the very high speed network connection that it enables.
Broadband technologies can provide the real potential to change the way home businesses operate, and where you physically set up your business is no longer dictated by just geography. Rural home owners can opt to telecommute rather than drive, with a permanent high speed connection, leaving phone lines for what they were originally designed for - phone calls.
ThePacific.Net representative Nick Jones explained how people now have the opportunity to be proactive in establishing broadband networks for rural communities, presently neglected by New Zealand's incumbent telco. "We are looking to give people an individual connection, but we need the interest to make it viable for us to set up more WiPOP's (Wireless Points of Presence i.e. Transmission Sites) for people to use, and we already have interest from the Dovedale community where they have problems with their phone lines."
The numbers required to establish wireless points of presence vary depending on location and volumes of intended usage, but as an example, interest from as few as ten users would get coverage for Upper Moutere, with perhaps 20 users to provide coverage to areas such as Tapawera and Tadmor.
