While still maintaining its rural charm, North Mason County has entered the big-city world of high speed internet access through the localized availability of broadband services. If you are considering telecommuting from home or opening a business in this area, the addition of these high-speed services provides more options than ever before.

Access to these high-speed services is available through the 100 megabit fiber optics network built and owned by the Mason County Public Utility District 3 (PUD 3) and also via cable modem with service provided by Wave Cable Company.

This map will show all areas where providers can offer service and also future dates of availability.

PUD 3 is a wholesale provider of telecommunications services to five area businesses that resell the services made available through the PUD network to consumers. The PUD provides a 100mb Ethernet connection in a gateway box located near your power meter.

Through a local retail provider, you connect your home and/or business network to the gateway box. The PUD bills your retailer for the amount of bandwidth or data transport that you use on the PUD system, providing unlimited flexibility. Retailers include Adjicent Technologies at www.adjicent.com ; Donobi at www.donobi.com ; Hood Canal Communications at http://hood.hctc.com ; ReachOne Internet at www.reachone.com/mason ; and NoaNet at www.noanet.net .

“The incredible speeds and capacity afforded by the fiber optic network are lighting the way for infinite possibilities for homeowners. We've really enjoyed watching the growth of high speed internet in Mason County and are excited for the opportunities it will provide to the community,” said Dale Knutson, PUD 3’s telecommunications manager.

 

Wave Cable Company also offers high-speed internet access via cable modem and delivers advanced products and services to all homes and businesses passed by their broadband footprint, available throughout the North Mason area. The same infrastructure that delivers video also has the capacity to transport large amounts of information to personal computers because of an upgrade in the cable infrastructure to a state-of-the-art combination of fiber-optic lines and coaxial cable.

Wave Cable offers several service configurations with download speeds ranging from 384 Kbps to 768 Kbps, 1.5 Mbps and 2.0 Mbps. Upload speeds range from 128 Kbps to 512 Kpbs with a single point of contact 24/7 for technical support and trouble-shooting.

Wave Cable also offers a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which affords remote employees the benefit of high speed connections into a local area network (LAN) without the latency of the public Internet. Contact Wave Cable at wavecable.com for more information.

 

Thanks to the availability of broadband technology in North Mason, local company Allyn Analytics, Inc. (AAI) is able to provide website hosting and many other high-speed internet-dependent services for a rapidly expanding client base that spans the nation.

In 2001, co-owners Fred Barrett and Debra Jacobs founded AAI, a Software and Systems Design company that provides development, installation, migration, and maintenance support for all popular Internet, e-Commerce and database packages. Their home base is a suite of offices located in the seaside village of Allyn, where they enjoy a waterfront view of Case Inlet on Puget Sound's southern shores.

Barrett is very satisfied with his company's five T-1 internet connections provided by PUD 3's fiber optics network and Hood Canal Communications. The low cost of broadband enables AAI to compete successfully against big-city firms because of access to the same or better quality infrastructure necessary to provide services.

Barrett has been developing Internet applications since 1993, the "pioneer days" of the World Wide Web. As President and Senior Design Engineer of AAI, Barrett creates the design and technology architecture that provides a foundation for the company's product and service offerings. He communicates on-line each day with customers, beta testers, outside consultants and company partners.

Jacobs has 25 years of experience in sales and marketing. She manages the business's financial and contractual interests and addresses all aspects of customer service.

Before leaving Seattle in 1999, Barrett and Jacobs were actively seeking a quality of life that included family activities, the availability of broadband access for business and good schools. The Allyn and North Mason community has far surpassed their expectations and the two are very pleased with their decision to move.

Buying a family home was an immediate benefit. "We moved from a 2300 sq ft house in Seattle to a 3800 sq ft house in LakeLand Village and the price difference was only $5,000.00," said Barrett.

Barrett and Jacobs agree that the area is a great place for raising children. "LakeLand Village has an excellent golf program for kids with great leadership at the clubhouse and opportunities for unlimited junior golf on a PGA-level course year-round - right in the neighborhood!"

Jacobs is enthusiastic about the North Mason School District and the community's active support and involvement. "It's a smaller district so class sizes are comfortable, yet there are still plenty of offerings. The district also partners with the local Boys and Girls Club for after-school programs at three locations," she points out.

To learn more about AAI, visit their website at www.allynanalytics.com.

LakeLand Village resident Michael Moore, married and the father of four children, has worked for the past three years as the Director of Sales for NRI Industries, with corporate offices based in Toronto, Ontario. Moore works primarily from his home, using the Wave Cable Company high-speed internet service as his means of telecommuting.

NRI Industries is the North American leader in converting recycled tires into high quality Symar® products. With over 75 years of rubber manufacturing experience, NRI continues to lead the industry in material technology advancements and product development. Two primary product divisions are rubber components for the automotive industry and non-skid matting for cargo shipping on board container ships.

Moore's sales territory encompasses all of the Western US and Canada. He also works with other sales representatives nation-wide.

"I used to travel quite a bit, but with the new technology and high-speed cable modem, I have cut my travel time in half," says Moore. In the old days, he would typically have to travel to the Canadian office regularly and make the vast majority of his sales calls in person.

Moore cites research by internationally-known sales guru Zig Ziegler that confirms the need to make an average of seven sales calls before successfully landing a new account.

With the new technology, however, Moore can teleconference with prospective clients and send out a video presentation on-line of his company's offerings without ever leaving his home office. The responses to his video presentations aid Moore in prescreening clients and gathering the information which previously took him several sales calls to obtain.

"I can close a new account in typically one or two calls, saving me quite a bit of time. This also makes me tremendously more productive for my company," he states.

Moore's family consists of his wife Courtney and four children ranging in age from elementary school to high school. After the kids get on the bus in the morning, Moore goes to work in his home office, dressed comfortably and enjoying a cup of coffee. He says his family really appreciates the fact that by the time everyone returns home in the afternoon, his work day is over.

"By telecommuting, I'm more focused and get more accomplished in a shorter time, which gives me more time to spend with my family," he states. "I'm a lot more relaxed, too because I've completed my work day minus the time I've previously spent sitting in traffic - a definite bonus!" he adds.

One more bonus Moore relates is the close proximity of Bremerton National Airport to North Mason County and Allyn. When necessary, it's easy for him to catch a shuttle flight into the SeaTac airport and make connections with all major airlines to wherever he needs to go. "It's reasonably priced, very convenient and quick," he says. It's also perfect for business travelers, who often service larger territories than ever before because of the ease of telecommuting.

Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoore@earthlink.net.