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Trout Lake BC Internet Society excerpts appeared in the 'Trout Lake Tracker' column of the Arrow Lakes News and the Revelstoke Times Review. The final article was published in May 2014.
Articles were written by Linda Wall. |
December 2010
The Trout Lake Community Club has applied for a grant from Network BC (Connecting Citizens Grant Program) to pursue bringing high speed internet to the area. John Wall, who is the Committee chairman for the project (Trout Lake and District (TLD) infoNet), along with eight other volunteers from Trout Lake, Beaton and Galena Bay, will oversee the project if the grant is approved in late March 2011.
The committee received overwhelming support from the CSRD, RDCK, the East Kootenay MLA and the Village of Nakusp and four ‘anchor tenants’; CMH, Roca Mines, Great Northern SnowCat Skiing and Halcyon Hot Springs. Also, dozens of project support letters were received from permanent and seasonal residents, reinforcing the enthusiasm and desire to have high speed internet in our remote, rural locale.
June 2011
The recipients of the ‘Connecting Citizens Grant Program” was announced by the BC Government on June 18, 2011. The Trout Lake Community Club is thrilled to have secured a $50,000 grant that will bring high speed Internet to Trout Lake and surrounding communities. This project began with a labour intensive application procedure in November of 2010.
Project Chairman, John Wall, thanked his committee of volunteers from Trout Lake, Galena Bay and Beaton at the May Community Club meeting. Moving forward, contact has already been established with contractors, engineers and equipment suppliers whose expertise will get the first phase on course.
The high speed Internet service, when completed, will service Trout Lake, Galena Bay, Beaton and Halcyon Hot Springs; and possibly Ferguson at some point in time. Internet will be available to most permanent and seasonal residents, with some limitation due to topographical and vegetation issues. The anchor tenants will be CMH Galena, Roca Mines, Great Northern SnowCat and Halcyon Hot Springs.
September 2011
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society was officially established on September 2, 2011. The Directors are John Wall, Bob Little, Pat Gaviller, Paula Burns and Peter Kearns. The Society has a competent, enthusiastic team of volunteers that are preparing the sites and working many hours behind the scenes to get high speed Internet up and running.
Over 40 residents attended the first open meeting of the Society on September 3rd. John Wall presented a summary of what has been accomplished so far and a timeline for the activation of Internet service. Discussions followed covering various topics including health issues and equipment placement.
The Society is anticipating that Halcyon Hot Springs, Galena Bay, Beaton and Trout Lake will be online before the snow flies. All the sites have been prepared except for the radios, which are expected to arrive the last week of September. Volunteers spent 3 days at one of the sites prepping the area, putting together the shed, raising the solar panel frame, mounting the panels and testing equipment.
December 2011
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) is pleased to announce that Internet service is ready to go into full production before the New Year. After overcoming some unforeseen glitches along the way, transmission from the Nakusp site, through the two backhaul towers, to Trout Lake was brought online in October. The task now is to distribute equipment and sign up waiting customers to the service. The TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net) is currently in the design stages, but in the meantime, contact information is available online at this site.
TLBCIS President, John Wall, is happy to welcome two anchor tenants, as well as a handful of residents at Trout Lake, as first subscribers. He noted that without the cooperation and unwavering support of corporations, contractors, local residents and key volunteers, this project may not have been so successful.
March 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has been successfully up and running since January 9th, 2012. To date, over twenty customers have subscribed to the Internet service with many others ready to sign-up as they arrive for annual mountain vacations. President, John Wall has been busy configuring, delivering and installing equipment at customer locations. With the snow starting to recede, John is ready to get equipment in place for Internet coverage into Galena Bay and the surrounding area. Also, a crew is being organized to begin construction of the Beaton repeater site and setting up the Internet service there.
The TLBCIS wishes to thank Paula Burns for her service as TLBCIS Director and Treasurer. Paula opted to step down in December 2011.
John is pleased to welcome Krys Barnwell, who recently signed on as a TLBCIS Director and Accountant. Krys has a strong background in accounting and bookkeeping and is a valuable addition to the team.
We invite you to browse the TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net). It is still under construction but contact and subscription information is available at the site.
June 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has now completed the primary equipment installation for coverage into the Galena Bay area. Work continues at the Beaton repeater site and TLBCIS President, John Wall, expects Internet service to be activated there in July. To date, over forty customers have subscribed to the Internet and many others are booking appointments to sign-up for the service as they arrive for their annual vacations.
September 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has now completed the equipment installation for the community of Beaton. As Beaton residents have no electricity or phone lines, they rely on solar panels, batteries or generators to power up devices. They can now surf the Internet and use communication services such as Skype or E-Mail.
President, John Wall, will be scheduling some maintenance work at the repeater sites during the fall months to prepare the system for the winter.
The TLBCIS annual meeting was held on September 2nd. This date coincided with the first anniversary of the Society's incorporation. John summarized this year's accomplishments and problems that were encountered, and reported on the Society's finances. Secretary, Pat Gaviller, clarified specific sections of the Society's Constitution and Bylaws. Thirty subscribers attended the meeting and then enjoyed a variety of appetizer plates and good conversation at the casual social afterwards.
January 2013
Telus held a town meeting at the community hall on November 29th, at which nearly 30 residents attended. Telus representatives were General Manager for Interior South, Steve Jenkins; Telus Ambassador, Aurora Sekela; and Field Manager West Kootenay Region, Chris Ridge. During the presentation, Steve clarified the purpose of the government deferral account program and its effect on high-speed Internet service into the Trout Lake area.
Telus’s directive from the deferral program was to install the fibre optic connection to Trout Lake. Once that directive was complete, Telus would be obliged to enter into a partnership with any existing, local Internet service provider (ISP). What this means is that Telus will now provide a wholesale service to the Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS), the local ISP, as they already have the Internet infrastructure in place.
TLBCIS has an expansive Internet coverage area from Trout Lake to Halcyon Hot Springs, which dwarfs the Telus range of 4.2kms from the point of presence (POP) at the Trout Lake townsite. Telus representatives assured the audience that working with TLBCIS, they would ‘do what needs to be done’ to get residents connected. TLBCIS President, John Wall, spoke with a number of potential subscribers at the conclusion of the meeting to explain that TLBCIS also remains committed to getting the Internet service to their residences.
John Wall is happy that subscribers can expect improved Internet service with fibre optic connection speeds greatly increased allowing faster download and upload response times.
March 2013
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) is happy to announce that other than a hiccup around Christmas, the system has been running very smoothly. President, John Wall, would like to thank Corey Merkel, Todd Johnstone, Steve Spencer, and Wes and Tammy Heck, as they were a tremendous help at the Dillon Mountain repeater site.
The Telus fibre optic connection was put into operation at Christmas and after a few details were ironed out, the transfer from the Nakusp hub to Trout Lake hub was nearly flawless. To date, over seventy customers have subscribed to the Internet service. President, John Wall is currently preparing for spring and summer maintenance scheduling as well as seeing to upgrades and additions to the system. A date for the annual general meeting will be announced later this spring.
Just a reminder, please visit the TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net). We encourage you to submit comments and suggestions to help us make improvements to the website.
July 2013
Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) President, John Wall reports that an inspection of the Dillon Mountain repeater site has been completed, and there are some small maintenance issues needing attention this summer. The Beaton site is operating very well, while the Pingston site is to be inspected in early July.
October 2013
Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) held their annual meeting on October 12th. The brief meeting was chaired by President, John Wall. John presented the society’s financial status and reported on the upgrade and maintenance work done over the summer at the two mountain repeater stations. He also commented on future objectives to explore increasing the service bandwidth and customer base. There are currently over 70 active subscribers to the Internet service.
April 2014
John Wall, President of the Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS), is pleased to announce that a second fibre optic cable connection from Telus has been installed in the main hub at Trout Lake. He said that the installation went smoothly and the additional service is a big step forward. The Trout Lake Internet was pushed to its usage capacity last summer and again this past winter. This supplementary connection will go a long way to relieve some of the pressure within the small network by increasing Internet bandwidth.
The Trout Lake Community Club has applied for a grant from Network BC (Connecting Citizens Grant Program) to pursue bringing high speed internet to the area. John Wall, who is the Committee chairman for the project (Trout Lake and District (TLD) infoNet), along with eight other volunteers from Trout Lake, Beaton and Galena Bay, will oversee the project if the grant is approved in late March 2011.
The committee received overwhelming support from the CSRD, RDCK, the East Kootenay MLA and the Village of Nakusp and four ‘anchor tenants’; CMH, Roca Mines, Great Northern SnowCat Skiing and Halcyon Hot Springs. Also, dozens of project support letters were received from permanent and seasonal residents, reinforcing the enthusiasm and desire to have high speed internet in our remote, rural locale.
June 2011
The recipients of the ‘Connecting Citizens Grant Program” was announced by the BC Government on June 18, 2011. The Trout Lake Community Club is thrilled to have secured a $50,000 grant that will bring high speed Internet to Trout Lake and surrounding communities. This project began with a labour intensive application procedure in November of 2010.
Project Chairman, John Wall, thanked his committee of volunteers from Trout Lake, Galena Bay and Beaton at the May Community Club meeting. Moving forward, contact has already been established with contractors, engineers and equipment suppliers whose expertise will get the first phase on course.
The high speed Internet service, when completed, will service Trout Lake, Galena Bay, Beaton and Halcyon Hot Springs; and possibly Ferguson at some point in time. Internet will be available to most permanent and seasonal residents, with some limitation due to topographical and vegetation issues. The anchor tenants will be CMH Galena, Roca Mines, Great Northern SnowCat and Halcyon Hot Springs.
September 2011
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society was officially established on September 2, 2011. The Directors are John Wall, Bob Little, Pat Gaviller, Paula Burns and Peter Kearns. The Society has a competent, enthusiastic team of volunteers that are preparing the sites and working many hours behind the scenes to get high speed Internet up and running.
Over 40 residents attended the first open meeting of the Society on September 3rd. John Wall presented a summary of what has been accomplished so far and a timeline for the activation of Internet service. Discussions followed covering various topics including health issues and equipment placement.
The Society is anticipating that Halcyon Hot Springs, Galena Bay, Beaton and Trout Lake will be online before the snow flies. All the sites have been prepared except for the radios, which are expected to arrive the last week of September. Volunteers spent 3 days at one of the sites prepping the area, putting together the shed, raising the solar panel frame, mounting the panels and testing equipment.
December 2011
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) is pleased to announce that Internet service is ready to go into full production before the New Year. After overcoming some unforeseen glitches along the way, transmission from the Nakusp site, through the two backhaul towers, to Trout Lake was brought online in October. The task now is to distribute equipment and sign up waiting customers to the service. The TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net) is currently in the design stages, but in the meantime, contact information is available online at this site.
TLBCIS President, John Wall, is happy to welcome two anchor tenants, as well as a handful of residents at Trout Lake, as first subscribers. He noted that without the cooperation and unwavering support of corporations, contractors, local residents and key volunteers, this project may not have been so successful.
March 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has been successfully up and running since January 9th, 2012. To date, over twenty customers have subscribed to the Internet service with many others ready to sign-up as they arrive for annual mountain vacations. President, John Wall has been busy configuring, delivering and installing equipment at customer locations. With the snow starting to recede, John is ready to get equipment in place for Internet coverage into Galena Bay and the surrounding area. Also, a crew is being organized to begin construction of the Beaton repeater site and setting up the Internet service there.
The TLBCIS wishes to thank Paula Burns for her service as TLBCIS Director and Treasurer. Paula opted to step down in December 2011.
John is pleased to welcome Krys Barnwell, who recently signed on as a TLBCIS Director and Accountant. Krys has a strong background in accounting and bookkeeping and is a valuable addition to the team.
We invite you to browse the TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net). It is still under construction but contact and subscription information is available at the site.
June 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has now completed the primary equipment installation for coverage into the Galena Bay area. Work continues at the Beaton repeater site and TLBCIS President, John Wall, expects Internet service to be activated there in July. To date, over forty customers have subscribed to the Internet and many others are booking appointments to sign-up for the service as they arrive for their annual vacations.
September 2012
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) has now completed the equipment installation for the community of Beaton. As Beaton residents have no electricity or phone lines, they rely on solar panels, batteries or generators to power up devices. They can now surf the Internet and use communication services such as Skype or E-Mail.
President, John Wall, will be scheduling some maintenance work at the repeater sites during the fall months to prepare the system for the winter.
The TLBCIS annual meeting was held on September 2nd. This date coincided with the first anniversary of the Society's incorporation. John summarized this year's accomplishments and problems that were encountered, and reported on the Society's finances. Secretary, Pat Gaviller, clarified specific sections of the Society's Constitution and Bylaws. Thirty subscribers attended the meeting and then enjoyed a variety of appetizer plates and good conversation at the casual social afterwards.
January 2013
Telus held a town meeting at the community hall on November 29th, at which nearly 30 residents attended. Telus representatives were General Manager for Interior South, Steve Jenkins; Telus Ambassador, Aurora Sekela; and Field Manager West Kootenay Region, Chris Ridge. During the presentation, Steve clarified the purpose of the government deferral account program and its effect on high-speed Internet service into the Trout Lake area.
Telus’s directive from the deferral program was to install the fibre optic connection to Trout Lake. Once that directive was complete, Telus would be obliged to enter into a partnership with any existing, local Internet service provider (ISP). What this means is that Telus will now provide a wholesale service to the Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS), the local ISP, as they already have the Internet infrastructure in place.
TLBCIS has an expansive Internet coverage area from Trout Lake to Halcyon Hot Springs, which dwarfs the Telus range of 4.2kms from the point of presence (POP) at the Trout Lake townsite. Telus representatives assured the audience that working with TLBCIS, they would ‘do what needs to be done’ to get residents connected. TLBCIS President, John Wall, spoke with a number of potential subscribers at the conclusion of the meeting to explain that TLBCIS also remains committed to getting the Internet service to their residences.
John Wall is happy that subscribers can expect improved Internet service with fibre optic connection speeds greatly increased allowing faster download and upload response times.
March 2013
The Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) is happy to announce that other than a hiccup around Christmas, the system has been running very smoothly. President, John Wall, would like to thank Corey Merkel, Todd Johnstone, Steve Spencer, and Wes and Tammy Heck, as they were a tremendous help at the Dillon Mountain repeater site.
The Telus fibre optic connection was put into operation at Christmas and after a few details were ironed out, the transfer from the Nakusp hub to Trout Lake hub was nearly flawless. To date, over seventy customers have subscribed to the Internet service. President, John Wall is currently preparing for spring and summer maintenance scheduling as well as seeing to upgrades and additions to the system. A date for the annual general meeting will be announced later this spring.
Just a reminder, please visit the TLBCIS website (www.troutlakebc.net). We encourage you to submit comments and suggestions to help us make improvements to the website.
July 2013
Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) President, John Wall reports that an inspection of the Dillon Mountain repeater site has been completed, and there are some small maintenance issues needing attention this summer. The Beaton site is operating very well, while the Pingston site is to be inspected in early July.
October 2013
Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS) held their annual meeting on October 12th. The brief meeting was chaired by President, John Wall. John presented the society’s financial status and reported on the upgrade and maintenance work done over the summer at the two mountain repeater stations. He also commented on future objectives to explore increasing the service bandwidth and customer base. There are currently over 70 active subscribers to the Internet service.
April 2014
John Wall, President of the Trout Lake BC Internet Society (TLBCIS), is pleased to announce that a second fibre optic cable connection from Telus has been installed in the main hub at Trout Lake. He said that the installation went smoothly and the additional service is a big step forward. The Trout Lake Internet was pushed to its usage capacity last summer and again this past winter. This supplementary connection will go a long way to relieve some of the pressure within the small network by increasing Internet bandwidth.