Always on: ; New company takes Internet access to the next level

High-speed Internet access has arrived in the Kanawha Valley.

Well, high-speed Internet access has been available for severalyears for those with enough money to buy T-1 lines or ISDN servicefrom the phone company. Now there's a cheaper alternative calledFastNet Wireless.

FastNet Wireless is the brainchild of Louis Flores, a Michigannative who also runs a small computer business in Charleston.

As its name implies, the new company offers fast, wirelessInternet access. Wireless means no phone lines and no modems to slowthe flow of data. Instead, FastNet customers link up with the homeoffice on Quarrier Street through a two-way microwave radio. Eachcustomer receives a compact antenna that must be aimed at one ofFastNet's access points - a series of antennae mounted in highplaces around the valley.

"The advantage of this is it's less expensive than ISDN and 15times as fast, and it's 30 times faster than a 56K modem," Floressaid. In addition, the Internet connection is always on, 24 hours aday. There's no dialing up to your Internet service provider (ISP).

The catch? As usual there are several.

For one, it's still relatively expensive, at least for individualusers. The base rate is $395 a month, plus a one-time installationfee. For another, the geographic range is limited. Users must bewithin several miles and have a direct view of a FastNet antenna.

"Most of this works by line-of-sight," Flores said. "Speed isdirectly proportional to signal strength."

That means the service appeals mostly to businesses and otherhigh-volume users. Though the company has been up and running forless than a month now, Flores has already landed a number ofcustomers. Kanawha County government has signed on, as has the WestVirginia Housing Development Authority, Potesta and Associates,Executrain and some accounting and law firms, he said.

So far, service is limited to downtown Charleston and parts ofKanawha City until FastNet can erect more antennae, or accesspoints. Besides the main access point atop FastNet's home in theAtlas Building, there are antennae on Laidley Tower and the newbuilding at Memorial Division, CAMC.

"I picked Laidley as our first site because who can't seeLaidley," he said. "With that one antenna on Laidley, we can provideaccess to everyone in Laidley. Executrain houses our router overthere."

Until now, T-1 phone lines provided the fastest Internetconnections in the Kanawha Valley. Bell Atlantic and CableCommpromise to offer new services, but they haven't arrived yet.

"People think if they have a T-1 line, they're automaticallyconnected to the Internet," Flores said. "It's just a high-speedline." T-1 users must also pay a hefty monthly fee to an ISP.

"Someone in downtown, they can get a T-1 line for $400 to $800 amonth. Then they have to get an ISP. We don't do that. Citynet doesthat. For a dedicated T-1 access, they charge $2,000. So now thetotal cost is $2,400 to $2,800 a month. What we're offering, forless than the cost of a T-1 line alone, is double T-1 speeds."

Though the high-speed wireless connections are targeted at volumeusers, FastNet will begin to offer traditional dial-up modemconnections to home users as early as this week.

"I think one of the advantages of our dial-up is that it will betrue 56K speed," Flores said. He said he hopes to avoid some of theproblems that have plagued other local ISPs, such as slow serviceand access difficulty during busy hours. One local ISP tried to cramtoo many customers onto a single T-1 line, and service suffered, hesaid.

"We don't want to be the cheapest; we want to offer the bestservice," he said. "We can only suffer the same fate by notupgrading our equipment when we add more people. When we reach 70percent [of capacity] we'll add more bandwidth. We'd double again."

Flores, 30, launched FastNet with a staff of four and startupcapital of about $130,000. He expects to start making a profit insix months. He runs the business from the cluttered offices of his 3-year-old computer networking business, H&C Technologies.

A self-taught computer engineer, he said started fooling aroundwith computers at age 8, when he bought a Commodore Vic 20, one ofthe original home computers. Now he's certified by folks likeMicrosoft, Novell and Cisco Systems.

"Interest is the greatest teacher," he said. "That's the firstthing I look for in an employee. Unless they've taken their computerapart and fried a few motherboards, I'm not interested in hiringthem as techs."

To contact staff writer Jim Balow, call 348-5102 or e-mailbalow@wvgazette.com.