Satellite Internet not same as broadband
Your coverage of Otsego County's struggle to provide affordable broadband to rural residents is much appreciated by those of us whose property prices are being hit by the lack of broadband access. ("County's request for Web funding denied," Feb. 4.) I have seen neighbors move already, putting property up for sale because of the lack of broadband.
With all due respect to Rep. Betty Anne Schwerd, whom you quoted, satellite Internet service is not broadband.
A broadband Internet connection should support real-time trading, Voice over IP (like Vonage), video streaming (like YouTube and NetFlix), and Virtual Private Networking (VPN is required for many telecommuting jobs).
Satellite does not support these core broadband functions, as stated on the website of HughesNet, one of Otsego County's two main satellite providers. The other provider, Wild Blue, is not accepting new customers in parts of Otsego County due to capacity issues. These can cause a big drop in performance. As a HughesNet customer, my median download speed is 258kbps, much slower than the "headline rate" of 1.6mbps for which I pay $70 per month.
Cheap dial-up delivers 56kbps plus better latency than satellite (which will always be weak in this regard because every bit travels 45,000 miles into space and back).
Sadly, lobbyists for cable and phone companies, fighting requirements that they serve rural customers, have tricked politicians into thinking that "everyone in rural areas can get broadband thanks to satellite." This is deceptive at best. Satellite Internet is not broadband and, if there's no broadband where you live, you cannot participate in all the opportunities that the Internet affords. As a result, the value of your property, like mine, will continue to decline relative to areas that have broadband.
Stephen Cobb
Cherry Valley
Town of Oneonta has no need for merger
Once again the subject of city-town merger has come up. I served on the town of Oneonta board about 40 years ago, and since then merger has come up several times. It has always failed because it is one-sided. It is a scheme to allow the city to access the town's tax base.
I have heard the argument that it will improve town services; however, the town has and continues to have excellent services at reasonable costs.
There is no logical reason for the town to take on the problems of the city, and that is the reason this idea always fails.
Henry Stafford
Bradenton, Fla.
Spelling bee words aren't same difficulty
It seems to me the words in your spelling bee are not of the same difficulty. Compare the recent word "aggrandizement," with "revision," "garland" or "enormous."
If there was a way I think the students should all spell the same words, to be fair. (Congratulations, Ben.)
I assume the words are eighth-grade spelling words! Maybe there's a logical explanation.
Phyllis Dandignac
Delhi
