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Parts of rural America have broadband internet access and I guess you could say it is available to everyone if you consider the satellite services which cover the entire country which are ridiculously expensive for the initial setup and monthly service. There also is a patchwork of local providers offering wireless internet services off of water towers and grain elevators and buildings. These services are limited in the amount of bandwidth they can offer, not because the wireless gear is not capable of high speeds, but because the actual t1s or t3s to provide the backhaul to the internet are so expensive.

The nice thing about this particular spectrum is it will go through trees, walls, and just about anything for a long distance from a central broadcast point. So the cost of deployment is reduced because one central broadcast station will cover a large area and the cost of setting it up and providing internet access is spread over more customers. This is all contingent upon local providers being able to gain access to the spectrum in their area.

Google started a discussion about this spectrum and tried to influence the FCC to require the purchaser of the spectrum to provide access to third parties at wholesale prices. I am not sure what wholesale prices means but to a company like verizon it means another chance to gouge anyone who wants put up the amount they will arbitrarily come up with.

I think if some company is going to rent a piece of this spectrum in their area it should be cheap, cheap to the point it is a negligible expense in the operation of an ISP's costs to provide internet access. The telcos like to promote themselves as service providers. If one of them gets this spectrum let them do a real service to this country and provide cheap access to everyone who is willing to do something valuable with the spectrum in their area.

Each election cycle politicians have spouted crap about bringing broadband access to rural areas. first of all, I do not think they really know anything about the business and the technology. Secondly, they have ignored the large group of small companies that have already been providing broadband access in rural areas. Finally, they have been all to happy to take money from telcos that maintain a stranglehold on access out to the internet by charging too much for broadband circuits to carry rural traffic to the internet.

Michael Dappert is a co-founder of Winco, Inc., a provider of wireless internet access to small communities in West central Illinois. More articles and discussion can be found at Mike's Garden Blog and discusses a wide range of topics at Flyoverfolks.com

posted by 2772  # 2:29 PM 0 comments

Knowing when to disconnect, shut it off, unplug, or walk away from work is one of the essential keys to work/life balance for harried and overworked people.

When was the last time you completely left work behind? How frequently do you take work home, check e-mail or voice mail from home, or take your work with you on vacation? Do you feel you cant afford to not do these things? Whats the real impact on your personal sense of balance when you are consistently making work your top priority?

The work many of us do is extremely demanding of both our time and energy. In many cases, you may allow the intrusion and justify the cost on a personal level for real or anticipated gains on the career level. But way too often, were sacrificing family time, exercise, or much-needed personal time without making conscious choices about the implications and trade-offs.

Many of us feel stressed and overworked because we are overconnected. As a result of the onslaught of information, along with the never-ending ways that people can access us anytime of the day or night, we feel perpetually connected to our work. Think about the number of technology resources you now use that were not commonplace just a few years ago. Cell phones, pagers, e-mail, instant messaging, online chats, voice mail, call forwarding, wireless Internet pagers. the list just keeps growing. How much is enough of these technology tools and the obsessive connection to our work?! And how do we begin to reestablish those important boundaries between our work and our personal lives?

In our book, "Dot Calm: The search for Sanity in a Wired world," we provide a wealth of how to tips for managing the work-life challenge:

The first step: JUST SAY NO!and draw clear boundaries. this takes on multiple forms:

• Turn off your cell phone when you shouldnt be interrupted.

• Dont take a cell phone to an appointment or when you are focusing on someone else.

• Dont give out your cell phone number. Use it only for outgoing calls.

• Screen calls using caller ID.

• Block out time when you will not be interrupted.

• Hold certain times sacred. If you make a commitment for a social or family event, honor that commitment without interruptions.

• Use the delete option early and often.

• Arrange for calls from the office only in cases of emergency.

• Maintain your commitment to work-free vacations.

• Make sure you are clear about what you value and what is important to you.

• Let voice mail or the answering machine take your calls.

• On your voice mail greeting, be clear about when you will and will not be available. Update that message regularly.

• Exercise to burn off stressand dont talk on your cell phone or into your dictation machine while exercising!

Obviously, some intrusions of work into personal life are unavoidable, depending upon the nature of your work. If you manage a nuclear power plant, are a member of an organ transplant team, or have on-call responsibilities as part of your job, then some intrusions go with the territory. However, more often than not, we let work seep into our personal lives even when theres not a bonafide emergency or time-urgent crisis. Weve become so accustomed to the ever-presence of our work that weve unconsciously allowed further intrusions that have, in many cases, become unreasonable.

Our research involved hundreds of interviews and surveys to learn how busy people are achieving balance and integrating overwork solutions into the lives. There are five key solutions that are working for these people, some of whom work long hours, receive over 300 e-mail each day, travel extensively, and have families they treasure. Here are a few specific steps you can take for each of these solutions:

1. PRIORITIZE AND ORGANIZE

• Know what you need to accomplish and focus on that.

• Maintain a firm commitment to being organized and used systems that support that.

• Ignore those e-mails and voice mails that are not really important.

2. TAKE DAILY TIME-OUTS

• Take a nap, a walk, or a mini-meditation break with a few minutes of silence.

• Maintain daily rituals, such as teatime, meditation, prayer, exercise.

• Leave the officeand leave your work there.

3. TAKE MINI SABBATICALS.

• Enjoy a weekend trip with family or friends.

• Schedule game night (or movie night or pizza night) with your family.

• plan a work-free family day at least one weekend each month.

4. NURTURE THE SOUL AND MIND.

• Read a good book (unrelated to your work).

• Participate in community service activity with your family.

• Go to a movie, the theater, the opera, or the museum.

5. NOURISH THE BODY.

• Exercise regularly.

• Eat and sleep well.

• Get a massage.

About The Author

Debra A. Dinnocenzo is a dynamic speaker, author, and trainer with expertise in telework, virtual teams, and work-life balance. She is president of ALLearnatives, a learning and development firm that designs and implements telework, sales performance, virtual teams, and work-life balance programs. She is the author of 101 Tips for Telecommuters and co-author of Dot Calm: The search for Sanity in a Wired world, which offers solutions for achieving work-life balance. ALLearnatives offers workshops, seminars, and the free e-newsletter, WorkWisely. Visit www.allearnatives.com to subscribe to WorkWisely, schedule a presentation, or obtain additional resources.

this article may be reproduced providing it is published in its entirety, including the author bio and all links. For additional information or to request additional content for articles, contact Debra Dinnocenzo, ddinnocenzo@allearnatives.com

posted by 2772  # 4:53 AM 0 comments