It is very sad when a resident of the San Juans writes a mean-spirited letter to the editor which promotes boycotting a local business that provides local jobs to hard-working people and provides a high quality, much needed service for myself and fellow islanders. As a retired “techie,” I find it additionally sad that the letter also attempts to denigrate these hard-working local people by using the term “techie” and saying that they really hate that “old technology.”
Working in technology and hate have nothing to do with it. Time passes by all technology, whether it be the assembly line replacing the craft shop, the farm tractor replacing oxen, the automobile replacing the horse & buggy, telephone switches replacing operators with patch panels, airplanes replacing blimps, etc, etc…..it happens! I am sure when all improvements came about, there were numerous nay-sayers spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), which is the basis of the arguments against the OPALCO/Rock Island initiative. History has proved the nay-sayers wrong before, and it will again.
The technology of DSL does not work for me and many other residents and visitors, but Rock Island’s LTE service works wonderfully for me and many other customers. Using that service, I am able to get approximately 10 times the speed I was getting through DSL, my cellphone now works at home through my AT&T microcell, and I can keep my local number with national long distance at 1/5th the cost I was paying – what is not to like about that?
OPALCO and Rock Island should be applauded for making the wise decision to provide fiber and LTE access to our community. This capability greatly improves the quality of life, including safety, healthcare, education, employment and just about every other measurement that can be made, for all current and future residents of and visitors to our beautiful islands.
Terry O’Sullivan, Orcas Island
Read online at: http://www.islandssounder.com/opinion/letters/375279251.html