Recently, I found a copy of the Ruralite Magazine from August 2004. In it is an article about Eastern Oregon Telecom (EOT) launching fixed wireless Internet service in Irrigon and the northern parts of Hermiston. Download speeds offered over this new service ranged from 256 Kilobits per second all the way up to 1,544 Kilobits per second (that’s 1.5 Megabits per second in today’s vernacular). The fastest tier of service was $89.90 per month.
EOT has come a long way since then. That wireless Internet platform has expanded and gone through several significant upgrades and now offers speeds up to 20 Megabits per second in much of northwestern Umatilla County and northeastern Morrow County. But, that is not what is most exciting.
Several years ago, EOT acquired the old Almega cable TV system in Umatilla, McNary, Irrigon, Boardman, and parts of N.W. Umatilla county. That cable TV system had been abandoned years prior and was in a state of significant disrepair. Since then, EOT has rebuilt many of the cables and amplifiers and deployed new electronics, so it is now capable of delivering Internet downloads of 100 Megabits per second. EOT was the first company in the United States to launch this kind of service using a Distributed Cable Modem Termination System from Huawei Communications, one of the largest communications electronics companies in the world.
What does this mean for residents and businesses in these areas? They now have access to Internet speeds that are faster than what is available in most major cities. Residents can now take advantage of all of the many benefits that ultra-fast Internet connectivity provides. Distance education, tele-health/tele-medicine, e-government, economic development, and entertainment are all ways that quality of live is enhanced by having fast Internet connectivity. No longer do people have to put up with that awful spinning circle while trying to watch streaming videos. In fact, those who subscribe to one of the faster tiers of service available can actually stream movies to multiple TV’s at the same time.
EOT also serves businesses and government buildings in Umatilla, the Port of Umatilla, McNary, Irrigon, and Boardman with fiber optic services providing speeds as fast as one Gigabit per second (that’s 1000 Megabits per second).
This is one of the reasons why having a locally owned and operated telephone and Internet company is so important to this area. Instead of taking revenue and sending it out of state to some big corporate headquarters, EOT continues to reinvest in Eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon is a much better place to live and do business because EOT is here.
Joseph Franell is the general manager of Eastern Oregon Telecom in Hermiston.
