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Someone, the guy that used to have "Solar Man" and some others, has begun an i-net service that is supposed to be in competition with Spectrum in our area.
I do not remember the name of the company.
The last I checked on it, its service areas were small and scattered.
I do not know the state of their efforts at the moment.
EDIT:
WE cut the cable cord a long time ago.
We only get phone and i-net.
M'Lady watches Netflix, Prime, and I don't know what all else.
I don't do much TV and haven't for many years before coming here.
Cable/I-net providers are looking like they are being hurt by people like us.
Some are now saying that they will not upgrade bandwidth for non cable subscribers.
I'm rooting for the upstart provider.
I'm wondering how much the eruption is affecting their efforts.
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
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With the FCC's Spectrum Auction now over and the resulting minor rearrangment of frequencies, and the FCC processing some stalled decade-old applications, I can say with high confidence that there will be some additional OTA options broadcasting locally in 2019.
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Download speeds are agonizingly slow in various regions of Hilo. Hawaiian Telcom regularly advertises download speeds of up to 300 mbps. In Puna, you are lucky if you get 15. If you decide to go with a web platform for tv, check the available download speeds.
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We have Spectrum Internet, a Roku and Netflix and Amazon Prime. It keeps up plenty entertaned.
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I supplement my OTA with a $300.00 Channel Master DVR (record two channels, pause, etc., all the normal DVR functions). The digital schedule guide makes recording a single button breeze. That way I can watch Colbert in the morning, skip commercials, and go back if I miss dialog. I have Amazon prime too, and watch it on my MacBook.
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I really appreciate everyone's input. It is surprising how complicated watching the news has become. I am unhappy with Spectrum. I was reasonably happy with Oceanic. So now I am on another learning curve.
Mahalo...
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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We first applied to Hawaiian Tel when we got here.
We were denied access because they had no room for more subscribers.
So, we went with Oceanic.
That proved to be the correct move.
Here as in Alaska, the telephone service providers, when they built their system, went with aluminum wires because of cost savings.
That was before I-net.
Aluminum wires work OK for telephone transmission.
They are not efficient enough for satisfactory i-net transmission.
The only cure is to replace all the aluminum wires with copper wires, not going to happen, too costly.
If you are more than a short distance from the origin of the transmission wires the your peak bandwidth drops off quickly.
As in Hilo, that was also the case in Anchorage.
Many areas of Anch. could not receive anything near the advertised speeds.
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
Posts: 8,484
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Well, I ended up on Spectrum by default.... was too busy with other things to explore the good advice I got here.
Spectrum really sucks. At least I'm not getting charged while they schedule techs to replace defective equipment. I never really noticed so many channels of nothing before. A fifty button remote comes with no instructions. Stations are only identified by their call letters in some strange code.
Spectrum.... I'm outta here.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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rob, i totally agree with you. for us folks at a certain age, i get all this advise that sounds like a foreign language and all i want to do is watch the news. i now have 3 remotes staring at me, one with 200 buttons and a bunch of wires and a huge monthly bill to wade through hundreds of channels of folks acting stupid... i need a 5 year old to come show me how to work all this and mourn for the day i could turn on the tv and turn the dial, adjust the rabbit ears and watch the news...
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mourn for the day i could turn on the tv and turn the dial, adjust the rabbit ears and watch the news...
You still can if you’re close enough to Hilo, 15-25 miles and the right antenna. Over the air stations still broadcast for free, all you need is an antenna.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
