Stop the Junk E-mail
To address this issue I like to compare it hand-in-hand with Junk mail we receive in our mailbox outside our houses. Now I don’t work for the post office, but when an envelope is addressed to me I’m pretty sure the post office does not read my mail to determine if I want it or not, they simply deliver it to my mailbox.
To address SPAM, we must look at it in much the same light. The primary difference between SPAM and Junk Mail or Junk Fax is that SPAM has no law prohibiting it and it can be done without costing a single cent.
Our only advantage when dealing with SPAM is that most of it is sent in an improper fashion, which can be detected by automated systems like the one we use here at NCATS for our customers. These systems are unfortunately never foolproof and sometimes SPAM is sent via proper means and cannot be automatically determined as Junk. Alternatively, some mail that we would consider legitimate fails these tests because of ISPs who do not maintain their mail servers in a typical and secure fashion.
NCATS current policy towards SPAM is to provide filtering assistance to the customer. We do this by subjecting all mail to a number of weighted SPAM tests, which in-turn mark e-mail as SPAM if it fails. At this point the responsibility for the mail lies in our customers hands, who can then decide to manually delete the Junk messages or use their NCATS services to automatically delete such messages.
Details on how to configure such auto-delete services can be found on the NCATS web site under member services.
Any user who doesn’t want to have any of their mail marked with SPAM can e-mail support@ncats.net to have it disabled. Be aware that you will continue to recieve the same SPAM at this point, only without the SPAM in their subjects. If you wish to take advantage of our filtering help and automatically delete this SPAM, go to http://www.ncats.net/spam.html, which is also linked from our web site.
Connection Speed and Reliability
Connection speed and reliability is affected by line quality and hardware compatibility. Distances and cable types affect line quality. The most important span is between your home and the local CO (Central Office for that telephone exchange). Hardware compatibility would be how well a certain brand and type of modem functions with the modems your ISP (NCATS) has installed.
As an example of location, when I lived in Verizon territory I could connect to NCATS with my external 56K Zoom modem at an impressive 53.3Kbps. I lived only a few blocks from the Verizon CO and enjoyed the benefits of newly installed, crystal clear lines between my house and the CO, which is the most important part of the connection. After moving to Newaygo a couple years back I noticed my connections dropped to a top connect speed of 41Kbps, which only happened after Ameritech installed additional lines and services about a year and a half ago.
Line quality is also important. Older, less maintained circuits will of course not perform as well as newly installed services. As an example, you may notice that when we have wet weather, when it is raining, or perhaps snowing heavy, your connection speeds will decrease. This is directly related to the interference weather has on the phone lines running between each house and the CO.
Lastly, hardware compatibility has an effect on connection speed and reliability. The best means to ensure you have the best possible connection with your modem would be to update its firmware (software contained on the modem) to the most recent version as provided by the modems manufacturer. We have had many cases where an upgrade to the modems firmware has resolved all connection issues like not being able to connect or being disconnected after a period of time.
This is a task that is not comfortable for most to complete unfortunately. We recommend that if you are uncomfortable or unsure how to pursue such a task that you contact a local computer repair facility or call that niece/nephew or son/daughter who seems to be a wizard on these darn contraptions.
Followup Questions:
Why is the span between my house and the telephone company the most important?
This is the Analog part of the connection. The CO communicates with other CO’s and NCATS through a digital connection, which is not susceptible to line noise and interferences like an Analog connection.
How often does NCATS upgrade their own modems for improved compatibility?
We find that new updates are available for our modems every three to six months. When they are available we schedule down time one number at a time from our web site located at http://www.ncats.net
Is there anything else I can do besides upgrading my modems “firmware” that will help my connection?
In rare cases, the phone company has been able to clear noise from customers phone lines, which again, has been rare considering the amount of customers they provide service to.
Most often, if there is an issue with line noise, the problem occurs inside the house, which the phone company is not responsible for. This could be a problem with a poorly insulated phone cable or perhaps multiple lines spit from the same phone jack or cable. Or often times a line that runs near a running microwave.
Besides an issue with the phone line, we have seen certain brands of bargain modems not perform as well as their fully functional counterparts. A firmware or driver upgrade is always a good idea when a connection is less than satisfactory.
Lastly, we have had it reported that some modems seem to suffer during any idle connectivity. Though this is by no means a solution over that of upgrade, many users have resolved these issues by simply running an instant messenger.
High-Speed Broadband Internet
NCATS has always provided broadband Internet services in the form of leased Ameritech copper (T1, 56k, etc.). This type of service is obviously not economical for private use and has only been taken advantage of by local area businesses.
There are four primary types of broadband that we consider as having any promise in Newaygo County. They are Cable, DSL, Satellite, and Wireless. We will look at each one and how NCATS could be involved with their implementation.
Cable
Currently the only cable Internet access in Newaygo County is located in Fremont. This is a residential only service and is provided by AT&T.
Newaygo’s cable provider is Charter, whom currently claims to have plans for providing cable Internet, but those plans are yet to be realized. There is also rumor that AT&T may offer cable in Newaygo.
Current prices for cable Internet average $43/month.
NCATS is not a cable company or provider, and thus cannot provide this type of service in Newaygo County.
DSL
DSL is currently the only promising solution for NCATS residential broadband Internet. DSL however, is not available in Newaygo County and will only become available when Ameritech decides to implement it. If implemented, DSL lines would still be Ameritech owned, but Internet service would be provided by NCATS. Ameritech themselves would be the competition for DSL services and only through state requirements would NCATS be allowed to use Ameritech line services to provide Internet. This would be similar to the comparison between MCI and Ameritech in this area. MCI is allowed to sell service, but Ameritech still owns the lines and performs maintenance on them.
DSL has been around for many years now, but has found great difficulty in maintaining or even achieving profit in rural areas. Due to this, we will inevitably see delays, if not all-together canceling of service plans.
Lastly on the topic of DSL, there is something we like to call Home-Brew DSL, which utilized DSL modems and copper phone lines to achieve a DSL style connection. This is a possibility in many cities around the country at very reasonable prices, but Ameritech currently does not lease their copper for this use, though their Tariffs do cover this type of circuit. Even if this was available, the distance limitation is less than 25,000 feet from your ISP.
DSL speeds range from anywhere to over 10Mbps. Typically, speeds are limited to 1.5Mbps and below.
Current prices for DSL service average $48/month.
Satellite
Satellite Internet is available everywhere, which is the great advantage of a satellite based service. There are two types of Satellite Internet which we will discuss.
The first is where you maintain a dial-up ISP like NCATS for uploading data, while utilizing a dish for downloading. The price ranges between $20/month for limited access to $40/month for unlimited access, which is in addition to your normal dial-up ISP fees and phone line fees. This solution works great for normal web browsing and e-mail, but has serious compromises with applications that require low-latency, like games and assorted access software. This is due to the great distances the signal must travel to be bounced into orbit and back down again. Latency is on average 600ms for this solution.
The second is where you use the dish for both uploading and downloading. This frees you from the dial-up ISP all-together, but increases your latency. Current prices are around $70/month. Latency is on average 900ms for this solution.
Downloads with a Satellite service average about 400-600kbps
Just to be clear, NCATS does not own any satellites. Satellite service is reserved for the big boys like Hughes Networks. There are plans in effect for two of the large providers to merge to supply a more direct competition with cable providers. If you are thinking of purchasing a one-way dish, NCATS will work with that system.
Wireless
Wireless is a popular topic for Internet provision, which enables ISP’s to forgo any dealings with the local Telco and provide Internet access directly to the customer. NCATS looked into the possibilities of wireless a year ago and found that implementation of such a service would be unable to support itself financially.
The largest problem with wireless Internet is the need for line-of-sight. Wireless was primarily designed for urban areas that do not have a tree line or large hills to obstruct this line-of-sight. Newaygo County is a rural area with many hills and many trees. Though wireless is possible in this county, it would require very expensive equipment and a large tower at each customer location. We estimated a $2000 install fee per customer and a $50 to $100/month bill for this service to maintain itself without profit.
Downloads with a wireless connection range from anywhere to over 10Mbps.
NCATS currently has no plans to implement public wireless Internet.
Misc. Comments and Concerns
“Need to offer more for the money like multible email accounts ect.”
We do offer multiple e-mail addresses, but we have only dealt with such on a per request basis.
“I don't like getting my e-mails with the SPAM message on them. Can you run them through the virus scan without attaching that message?”
SPAM filtering is a different service than the virus protection even though they both came into effect at the same time. You can have this feature disabled at any time by e-mailing support@ncats.net, providing your username, and requesting to have the feature disabled.
“It also appears that I am receiving much more junk mail since the SPAM has been in effect. Is that possible?”
This is possible, unfortunately. The longer you use an e-mail address, the more often you use it in web forms and message boards and the faster it spreads to those responsible for SPAM.
“add a methoid for blocking mail!!!!”
There has always been a means to block e-mail. If you visit http://mail.ncats.net you will find that delivery options allow you to block senders and key words that may appear in your e-mail. You can also do this from Outlook Express or your favorite mail reader by using mail rules.
“I would like to know my current bill status, like whether it was paid or not. It's hard to remember and it's inconvenient to have to go to your office or call. It would be nice if our bills could be more user friendly in this way. “
This is an excellent suggestion. We are looking into providing a more advanced means of displaying account usage online.
“What does tucows offer?”
Tucows is a collection of popular shareware and freeware. It is located on NCATS network for maximum download speed. It is located at http://tucows.ncats.net
“Your "busy signal" rate has gone way up again, after you quit the automatic disconnect, especially during peak hours. With so many two-phone line households, I have to believe people, especially kids, are just signing on and leaving it on permanently. I would suggest you keep monitoring it and go back to some kind of disconnect rule if necessary.”
Fortunately for us, this is not accurate. As a user you can view detailed graphs displaying exactly what NCATS usage is and whether busy signals are present. Currently we have a good buffer between maximum connections used and maximum allowed connections. Visit the NCATS web site to find these details.
“Help to make 56k modems connect at 56k or fairly close instead of 44 to 48k”
Many people will realize that their modem never connects at 56k. Current phone lines simply do not support a true 56k connection. It is a limit of the service provided by the phone company and is by design. 44k-48k is very good though. You have an excellent connection.
“I miss the scroll bar at the top where you enter the address. I do not like to little box that you enter what you want to look up, I want the scroll bar back.”
I believe this statement is referring to the new feature in more current browsers that detects whether or not you entered a URL, and if not submits the contents of the address bar to a search engine. Just enter proper urls like http://www.ncats.net or just www.ncats.net.
“Bring back the website message board, YaBB is a good one ;)”
Well, this is the only request for the forum to return, but I suppose that's good enough for us! It's back.
“Would like you to be more Macintosh friendly. You have a very negative attitude toward Mac users. Think different!”
I apologize for this. It is true that Macintosh is not a common platform we need to provide support on. Be assured that we do have staff competent with Macintosh computers, which are often available to assist.
“Supply classes for those who are not familiar with the internet services, webb sites, e-mail, etc. I'm new at all this and I know there is a lot more I could do with this computer, but don't know about it yet.”
Some of our customers have mentioned a need for some classes to help them get around on the Internet. NCATS offers free courses every 3 or 4 months for our new users or those customers who are struggling with the basics of Internet and email. For more information on these courses see NCATS Training. Space is limited for these classes so don’t wait too long.