Related stories
New telephone switch installation underway
No need to dial ten digits locally
posted 08/24/01
Islanders will not need to dial area code 360 to call their neighbors after all. The state Utilities and Transportation Commission decided Aug. 22 to postpone indefinitely the addition of another area code in the area. If they had added an overlay area code as previously announced, everyone in Western Washington would have to dial ten digits for every phone call.
New telephone switch installation underway
posted 08/11/01
CenturyTel is spending $4.3 million on telephone network enhancements for the San Juan Islands. Telephone equipment and transmission systems to add telecommunication capacity to the entire area are being installed. The phone company is currently installing and testing the new equipment with the cutover date scheduled for Sept. 26.
Area Supervisor Bob Jarman says this installation will increase the current capacity available to this CenturyTel service area. The new equipment will accommodate growth in access lines and increased telephone use for the approximately 15,000 residential and business customers on San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, Blakely, Decatur and Shaw Islands.
Installation of new telephone equipment in CenturyTel’s Friday Harbor, Lopez and Eastsound central offices, as well as installation of equipment to offer Digital Line Subscriber (DSL) services is included. Customers who subscribe to Caller ID should see an increase in the number of out-of-area calls that are displayed on their Caller ID units.
Things speed up in Friday Harbor
posted 06/29/01
San Juan Island residents won't be hearing a busy signal quite so often when they call their computer-loving friends. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service is now being offered in Friday Harbor. With the high speed service, a single phone line can be used at the same time for both phone calls and internet access. Speeds are almost 10 times as fast as a 56K modem -- 512 kbps up/256 kbps down.
CenturyTel representatives held an open house June 26 for the business community and explained their new service. Prices range from $49.99 per month for a single-user, to $79.99 for multi-user packages with 10 e-mail addresses. Customers need to purchase some hardware -- a network interface card (NIC) and an aDSL modem.
Dan Roso, manager of area operations for Western Washington, said CenturyTel plans to expand the area covered by DSL. Decisions on how soon DSL comes to a specific neighborhood will be driven by consumer demand. Interested residents should call CenturyTel for more information.
Sharon Kivisto
and
Matt Pranger
can be reached:
phone:
360.378.3748
fax:
360.378.9748
by e-mail:
news@sanjuanislander.com
by mail:
San Juan Islander
PO Box 1118
Friday Harbor, WA 98250 USA