​If you are like me, you have been patiently waiting for Starlink satellites to become available for service in our area. I recently interviewed a Transylvania County couple that has started using Starlink’s service. Yes, it’s available here now under their “Best Effort*” plan.  When you click to preorder on Starlink’s website you will get this message that makes it seem as though it is not available yet:

But, for those of us that have been on the waitlist we got this note in September that Best Effort service is available for use. Local residents, Desmond Dunker and Tisha Allen, decided to take the risk and order their satellite after seeing the message from Starlink. Desmond was thrilled to tell me and came to Through the Trees recently to say that he had installed the satellite and he was already satisfied with the service. I asked to interview him and he invited me out to the house to come see for myself. 

I drove the windy road up off of East Fork to get to Desmond and Tisha’s place. When I arrived Desmond was on the roof. He was snapping a photo of the Starlink Satellite so that he could show me.

This is its temporary spot. He’s got it positioned for the best service to pick up the satellites when they orbit by. Desmond and Tisha are picking up broadband literally Through the Trees right now thanks to the fallen foliage. 

In the spring, he plans to use a poll to mount the satellite on his roof to continue to get an open view of the sky and not be covered up by the canopy of leaves. When Desmond uses Starlink’s app it says that there is no good position on his property. So, before taking me on a tour inside he showed me the antenna that he plans to mount the Starlink on. 

When Desmond and Tisha decided to buy their home they knew that there was not going to be good service. They came down from New Jersey and brought their router and booster with them. They even bought this booster to help improve cell phone service. Turns out that if you don’t even have one bar of service it won’t work because there is nothing to boost. You are looking at the best cell phone amplifier money could buy in 2017 that ended up being useless. 

Why move to the middle of nowhere with no internet access? Tisha fell in love with the house. It’s a whole story. They were not planning on moving to Brevard when they came through on vacation**. 

As our tour continued into the house I learned that they first subscribed to Hughes Net satellite internet that promised 25 Mbps download speeds and it did not deliver. The problem was latency. They would hit refresh on a browser and wait 3-4 minutes just to see if they had new emails come through their inbox. They had service with Hughes for over a year and spent $500 to cancel it early. When there was decent cloud cover they said they could not expect it to work at all.

Next Desmond and Tisha signed up with Comporium Communications.  Their service cost $70/month for DSL for 9 Mbps. They quickly decided to pay to boost their service to get 11 Mbps. So, at this point they were still in a contract with Hughes, they could not rely on the service, they had service with Comporium and they could finally Zoom meetings and stream videos and check their email.

Desmond and Tisha’s DSL network looks like this:

When Starlink Satellites became available for preorder. Desmond and Tisha signed up March 2021 and made a $99 down payment. At the time preordered households were told that service would be available in Sept of that same year. Since then the date has been pushed back several times to now with “Best Effort” service available. 

So, continuing on the tour Desmond proudly bought the satellite for a total of $540 on Sept 26, 2022 and pays $110 monthly for service. When you decide to sign up with Best Effort service you will receive an antenna with a bolt, the cable, a router and a power cord. 

​Their internet situation is not like the typical household user. They bought a beautiful home that was built in 1988, but on the property is a natural spring and a cabin that was built around 1880s and they need internet service for both. Desmond has internet access and security systems in both homes. He’s also interested in extra gadgets for fun. The internet range was not far enough initially, so he had to buy an ethernet adapter. He’s installed a mesh router system to reach his whole property.

Our tour continued from the living room to the hallway where Desmond showed me his Alexa enabled thermostat. They didn’t know it had this special feature until one day it started talking to them when they said something that sounded like “Alexa”. Their thermostat is an Ecobee which is a top selling smart thermostat. Desmond told Alexa to play a song and Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras starts playing from the thermostat and y’all… it sounds amazing. I would be proud to have a thermostat speaker like that in my house.  Desmond’s face lit up and he said I have never heard this song. I told him that it was currently one of the top hits.

Then, he says that he got a Google Home device sent to him for free because he pays for storage and he asked Google to play him a song. In the kitchen behind us the device starts playing another song. Both devices sound amazing and are battling until Tisha emphatically tells Google to “shut up” which stops it instantly. 

Currently in their network there are security cameras, temp sticks, smart plugs, Alexa and Google devices, smart thermostat, water detectors, and doorbell cameras.

Desmond really needs the high speeds. They are both retired, but he does a lot of volunteer work for the community. Before Starlink when he was on a Zoom, Tisha would be careful to not stream when Desmond was in a Zoom to cause lag.  For meetings where he would need to record the session he would need to upload big files the night before. With 300+ megabits files and Comporoum's upload speeds at ½ a gegabite a second it would take hours.

Lastly, he showed me the recent speed tests connected to his Starlink satellite. Since it’s on “Best Effort” you can see that there is a wide range of speeds. From frustratingly slow 3.72 to 192 Mbps totally off the charts.

​Desmond and Tisha are currently using Starlink service which they are happy to report works on cloudy days and they have Comporium for now as a backup. I wish them luck mounting their satellite to the new position on the roof which will put them in the best position by next summer when the high speeds will be guaranteed. At that point if the speeds are consistent they will just continue with Starlink.

*For those with urgent connectivity needs, we are offering a Best Effort service option. 
 
What is Best Effort?
Best Effort enables typical internet activity with the understanding that Best Effort users will be deprioritized behind Residential users. 
 
The monthly service charge is the same but unlike Residential, Best Effort users will have the option to pause service on their account page. 
 
What will the internet experience be like with Best Effort?
During times of peak network congestion, Best Effort users will experience notably slower speeds than Residential users.  Best Effort users will be able to engage in typical internet activity like email, online shopping, or streaming an SD movie, but they won’t be able to engage in activities like online gaming, video calls or streaming 4K and HD movies.
 
Outside times of peak network congestion, Best Effort users can expect to engage in all of the above activities and more, but speeds will be slower than Residential users.

Even with the amazing job that teachers, administrators, public health, bus drivers and food service workers have done (shout out to Free Food Fridays!!) it's been hard. It's... Been... So... Hard…  We've got a plan to help.

There are many people in Transylvania County who do not have the capability to shop online. Before the pandemic hit, folks could go to local places for internet access or log on at work. Most kids in the county went in person to public school and teachers would send home virtual day packets well before there was ever a poor weather/virtual day. Even the middle and high school students without access to the internet at home were identified and given packets to complete so that these days would not cause them to fall behind their peers.

Well, that all changed this year in our county. Many of those changes aren’t going away after Covid is gone and at home internet will continue to be a vital necessity. In March, Comporium stepped up early to offer 60 days of free internet access to new customers with students at home. This was a blessing, but the 60 day access ended long ago. Sadly some families haveto choose between at home internet access and other bills.

Then, when the fall school year hit all grades were issued Chromebooks at the public schools. This feat was pretty amazing. It was exciting for the younger students, but there were flaws. The burden of online learning on families was great. They had to balance their children’s online education and their jobs. The typical 6 year old cannot independently learn from home without the assistance of an adult.  My heart sank when I learned about how supporting young learners has impacted women specifically.  865,000 women across the US dropped out of the workforce in September, compared to 216,000 men. It’s been coined a "shecession", she-recession. (Insert Shecession image-orange and NPR shesession)

Here's how it looks with unemployment rates over time for comparison:

A month later our governor opened up in school instruction for grades 5 and under to be 4 days a week with a 5th virtual. This was a huge blessing for many families. By this time many families were "over it". Some tried homeschooling and decided to put their kids back in public school.. Some that had been doing the "Online Learning Path", all online free public education, and decided to switch in-person for their child to socialize again and because their children were falling behind in the online format. Many families I spoke with felt like they had "hit a wall" regardless of what path they had chosen. Every parent I spoke with mid October was saying the same thing. We were all feeling it. 

Now the semester has ended. We should take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief and focus on the positive. Now we get to "be with family" however that looks and take a few weeks off before the school year starts again…

I know I am painting a bleak picture. I don’t want to make it sound like we here in Transylvania County are an ungrateful bunch. I’m trying to paint a picture for the lucky ones who have not experienced this burden and want to know how to help.  To those who are struggling, help is coming. 

Through the Trees is focused on three areas in 2021-Expansion, Support and Connection. With your help, we will obtain funding to expand neighborhood access  to the Internet, subsidize monthly payments for home internet, and help people stay connected to the digital services available to the community.
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​Also, please like and share our content. If you see anything rural internet related we want to know. Send us a message anytime. Have a very happy holiday however you celebrate and a healthy new year.
#ThinkLocalThinkTransylvania #Expandruralbroadband #connectallstudents #NCbroadband

I took a leap of faith when I started this new journey.

​Oftentimes, Brevard, NC seems to run on grants and volunteers. This rings true for my non-profit as well. 

When the pandemic hit our county and schools switched to virtual learning, I was working at a non-profit helping survivors of domestic violence. But I felt compelled to help at a deeper level. When I heard that the Internet in rural parts of the county is really patchy, and not even available for some, I realized that’s it! I could help others in our county.

Having bad internet at home was easier to deal with pre-pandemic. Transylvania County has an amazing public library, usually only has a few snow days per year, where school-aged children are expected to attend virtually, and those who worked from “home” could hang out at a local coffee shop if they wanted. Suddenly, with businesses closing, not having in- person dining and the library available thrust the issue of internet access to the foreground. 

I knew that I wanted to help. I created my mission statement of “Connecting the rural community of Transylvania County through technology”, but I still had my doubts. I attended a board meeting for Pisgah Collective. They are a local, private preschool and have recently gained their non-profit status. They are excited to use their new status to offer their program to more families. I pitched my idea and the name “Through the Trees” to Julia, Caroline and Kristine. They were very supportive and lit up with the name. 
About a week later, I met with Julia again, and she was even more forceful in her support. She said that the need is immediate, so now is the time to start a non-profit. That was the last nudge that I needed to take the leap. 

Thanks to board member Marie Jones we had our application written and submitted on time. Marie has a wealth of knowledge and is very experienced in professional writing for research and grants. She has helped me organize our data and present it in a way that is very clear for our grantors. I look forward to collaborating on future grants and fundraising campaigns with Marie. I feel so lucky to have her on our team.
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My other board member, Tracy Bodenhamer, was on a much deserved vacation recently with her husband. During her time off she not only got an impulse tattoo, but she surprised me with hiring Creative Collective Branding to have a logo created for our non-profit. Here’s her Facebook post about how she got another tattoo. Tracy really keeps me laughing. 
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I am so excited that we are working with the very talented Carly Callahan of Creative Collective Branding. Fun fact: she used to be my cubicle neighbor at our past jobs at SAFE Inc. Her space was always so nice, and mine at times would just be overrun with paperwork. I would be at a loss as to how to organize it in between helping victims of domestic violence. She staged an intervention and we (who am I kidding, she) rolled up her sleeves and organized my workspace. Papers got hole punched and sorted into binders that were decorated on the edge with her beautiful handwriting. After she got me all sorted out, I would proudly show her how I was keeping it up. She’s amazing, and I’m happy to say that my desk never got out of control again. 

​Our social media presence and engagement strategy is coming together with the help of Corey Gafnea. I am so thankful that she is going to UNC and eager to practice what she is learning with our non-profit. I enjoy staying connected with people on Facebook, and I like scrolling through pictures on Instagram, but when it comes to advertising our services and spreading awareness, I realize that I’m in unfamiliar territory. I am so thankful that I can call Corey and meet weekly to strategize how to engage online. She’s created images for us to post and really has her finger on the pulse.
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When I first started the non-profit I felt that I didn’t know which paperwork to start first. Open a bank account? Wait, no, I need an EIN number… How do I become a non-profit? Should I file with the state or federal government first? I reached back out to Caroline Chambers, and she was so kind as to give me a check list. I have referred to that list so many times since to make sure that I am on track, and I know that I wouldn’t be as far as I am now without her guidance. I thrive with encouragement. Caroline, “cat herder extraordinaire”, I am so blessed that you have a talent and passion for encouraging people to reach their fullest potential. 

​Would you believe with all these amazing volunteers I also am friends with a fabulous poet who is also an editor? Alyse and I became friends shortly after her moving to town to come work at Brevard College. We have a shared love for wine, snacks and series. We bonded over the last season of Game of Thrones and met throughout the pandemic weekly for my “Whatever Wednesdays” where I get out of the house to do something for myself with girlfriends no matter what I have going on. At the beginning of the pandemic it looked more like me Zooming from my basement so that I still got “away”. I am so glad to have gotten to know her fabulous baking self and I am so thankful that she’s happy to look over my pieces that I submit to the local newspaper and post online. Here’s a picture of Alyse with her recently published book of poetry:

Finally, I need to give a big shout out to my husband, James. He believes in me and my vision and has always been into technology and fixing things. He has been working full time at Brevard College through the pandemic. At first, he stayed at home with all four kids, then went back to campus, and during the past six weeks he took on a second job working for the Census. That’s enough to make most people tired and ready to put their feet up at the end of the night, but not James. He has built my website, helped me publish my blogs, and, with our daughter Alora,  created this really cool video that shares our vision. We used it while applying to our first grant and are excited to continue sharing it to spread awareness. 

​Collaboration in the county is already off to a great start. Through the Trees is Zooming weekly with the incredible ladies of Smart Start, The Family Place, The Transylvania Public Library, and Land of Sky. During this “tech meetings” we are working to spread internet access to parts of the county without it. We are coordinating grants to make sure that we aren’t duplicating services.

If I were starting this non-profit all on my own, I wouldn’t be successful. I know that I’m on the right path to helping the community of Transylvania County connect through technology because of my great team.

Tracy and I had many questions. The first was how will there be WiFi in the future, but not today. The second was, why only 2 hours. The third was why is the food truck coming one hour after the free WiFi event was over?

As we approached the community center we noticed a sign for free WiFi. We were able to connect but the signal was weak. As we drove closer to the building, we were able to log into Facebook, but I didn’t have much luck getting pages to load. Tracy was able to do a little more on Facebook than I could. We decided to hop out of the car and I took pictures of the building, playground and sign advertising free WiFi. The playground looks so fun and brand new. ​