— from Chris Brems —

With a shout of “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore,” five residents of the Doe Bay area have formed the Doe Bay Internet Users Association. Chris Sutton, Tony Simpson, Shawn Alexander, Tom Tillman, and Chris Brems have created the new group to explore alternative internet service options for Doe Bay residents.

Doe Bay is at the end of the existing internet service line so residents receive only the service capacity that is left. “Think of it as a water hose,” explained Chris Sutton, spokesman for the group. “If you have two or three or four hoses connected to one line, the person at the far end receives only a trickle of water.”

Despite years of complaints by residents regarding speed and dropped service, there has been no effort made by CenturyLink, the current internet provider, to solve the core capacity problem. “CenturyLink has oversold its ability to serve the Doe Bay area,” said Sutton. “Residents are paying for a service they don’t receive.”

Some residents report that they are often unable to access the internet between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Others report being online and then the connection is dropped, and they are unable to reconnect.

Washington State’s average internet speed is reported to be 8.51 mbps. An internet speed of 1.5 mbps is the fastest speed offered to Doe Bay residents, and residents report that even when they are able to log on, they seldom receive that speed.

“We’ve already started our explorations.” Sutton elaborated. “We have been in contact with OPALCO and also with an off-island service provider that uses microwave wireless. So far our initial research says – from both a technology and a cost standpoint – that it appears to be possible to accomplish our goal of offering Doe Bay residents a more reliable and faster internet service.”

To contact DBIUA, info@dbiua.org.

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