Thanks Mark as always, I will ask my brother to install the Smart Home device, he is an electrician, I have Comcast cable, phone and internet, I don't know if broadband means fiber optic cable, everything comes in from one line and I think it is tyied into house ground. Never realized the importance of UPS systems till you mentioned your experience last night, just thought they were used to save data in case of power outage. Do you think I can get the equivalent of the Smart Home device at local electric suppy house? There are severasl in my area. Thanks Mark for the heads up.
Jeff
I expect you could well get a whole house surge protector from a local supply house and your brother will get his discount.
Broadband does not mean a fiber connection. Fiber gives very fast upload and download speeds. I don't think Comcast has invested in fiber connections for their customers. Our connection at Eagan is not fiber, but old fashioned copper.
On Lake Benedict we are served by a rural telephone cooperative.
Paul Bunyan Telephone. As of about 18 months ago, all their consumers have had a fiber connection. They are the first system in the nation to have 100% of their customers on a fiber connection. Their system is known as a PON. (Passive optical network). It is a large rural area bases out of Bemidji MN
We are right down in the lower left hand corner of district 5, SE of Laporte. This service (district 6) area also includes the large Indian reservation around lower Red Lake.
The construction of this PON involved laying thousands of miles of fiber cable at $1.4 per foot!
The entry has the optical converter with its own UPS.
I think you would know if you had something like this where your cable enters!
The fiber cable being laid on my property.
Note that there is a quick connect disconnect device, the handle of which is a bolt. I fabricated this for them while I had it for repair. I had to replace the diesel lift pump and replaced the fuel lines. It was continuously stalling when it arrived on my property, and in dire need of some TLC, which it promptly got.
Outside my shop waiting for parts the morning after arrival.
So that's one way to get your fiber connection!
One interesting aside: - Our rates have been very low, as PBT are very efficient. However we have recently had a raise in rates, as the US government have insisted our rates are too low and we have to subsidize the less efficient networks!
