Growing pains! Why is my video stream buffering?

281 Communinications Corporation Inc. is expanding it's network and increasing it's backhauls to keep up with the ever increasing demands for new clients moving into the area as well as current clients continued increase needs for bandwidth.

281 Clients at Lake Buchanan, Llano, and Burnet are giving a big shout to Juice@281 and Jim@281 for their work to add 5G mmWave technology between our Burnet and Fairland towers to increase capacity at peak times and lower latency for everyone working and gaming from home.  Before this upgrade was complete, our 11 GHz backhaul was hitting 100% capacity mainly in the evening hours.  Now we have enough capacity to meet our clients voracious appetite for bandwidth in these remote communities!

Please send us a text or give us a call if you are in need of supperior Internet performance around the Highland Lakes!  830.798.9041

Don't wait until your kids can't go to virtual school or you loose your job online to experience how Internet was meant to be in the Texas Hill Country!

281 Communications brings 6 GHz to the Highland Lakes!

The FCC has granted 281 Communications Corporation Inc. on January 20th, 2022 a license to deploy 6 GHz frequency range 5.850GHz to 6.425GHz.

This new capability will allow 281 to upgrade clients to this frequency range where there is less noise, bringing faster speeds and lower latency across our networks.

We are excited to have another frequency to work with as the area continues to grow.  It is becoming more challenging to continue to add new clients in our crowded air space.  Having new frequencies and technologies allows 281 to continue to bring a better Internet experience everywhere around the Highland Lakes.

281 Internet rings in the New Year! Welcome 2022

 

Exciting new 281 Capabilities!

281 Communications Corporation Inc. has finally received it's 10 gigabit fiber!  Over the coming weeks 281 will be receiving it's own Autonomous System Number from ARIN, implementing BGP between it's two fiber upstreams, and implementing this new capability into the 281 Internet network.

Having two fiber upstreams coming into different points on our network gives 281 redundancy.  This is called being multihomed.  When there is a fiber outage with one our upstreams, they system will automatically reroute all 281 clients traffic through the other.  When both are working, the traffic will route through the best route, so it's even possible and likely that at times you may go out one fiber and receive your requested Internet resource back through the other fiber.

Having multiple paths to places on the Internet will lower latency across our entire network in addition to providing redundancy.  The entire 281 team is excited to get this new capability implemented!

281Internet increasing it's capacity by 1000% with new 10 Gbit Fiber Circuit

 

Tim@281 just completed a contract to receive a 10 Gbit link through FiberOne directly into one of the worlds well connected data centers in Dallas TX at 1950 N Stemmons Fwy.  We will receive the new circuit in 90-120 days and after testing and implementation, should be online for the 281 network and it's growing clientele by March 1st, 2021.

Not only will this new link increase 281's capacity by 1000%, latency to everywhere around the globe across the Internet will dramatically improve since this circuit is a direct fiber link to this major data center in Dallas with peering to most every major carrier.

This circuit is being delivered to one of 281's towers so that it will also give the network two geographically different circuits both in their location on 281's network, but also to which data centers in two different cities they are connected to.

281 learns to install and splice it's own fiber.

Exciting new 281 Capability!

281 Communications Corporation Inc. has received it's first spools of fiber!  Next week our entire staff is going to Dallas Texas to attend training with Inno to learn how to operate our new Inno View 1 splicer so we can now make our own fiber cables on towers and in our facilities.

We can now install fiber for clients through the Highland Lakes.

This is a complete game changer.  Now we can improve upon our 5G deployments by converting current copper connectivity with fiber on the tower to further increase capacity and lower latency across our entire network.

281 Internet emerges from Shelter in Place stronger and more resilient

281 Communications Corporation Inc.

Surviving Covid-19

Hi, and welcome to the new normal.  I just wanted to speak a few words to our customers and anyone who might stumble upon our blog about how our company survived and thrived during these trying times.

First I would say we were very lucky compared to many of my counterparts in our industry.  Doing business in the Highland Lakes region of Texas has been a great advantage throughout our history, and my personal career.  Like everywhere in the world, we have had our down years, but in general, our economy has thrived when others have struggled.  I am grateful I chose to live here as a young man.

These advantages were apparent again during these challenging times.  As I mentioned, 281 Internet was very lucky to have been near completion of a year long project to upgrade our network infrastructure to grow.  Less than 6 months prior to the outbreak and stay at home orders, 281 had been hitting dangerously high levels of utilization on it's network resources.  Upgrades completed then brought those levels down to 30% utilization.  This put us in a unique position of being able to handle the new load which jumped 300% between March 1st and April 15th as stay at home orders came into full force.  It also allowed us to take on new clients, many of which were getting home Internet for the first time to keep their kids in school through distance learning, or work from home.

Today, as orders to stay home are rescinded, and our clients look to get back out of the house, 281 is again looking to a future of growth.  I have already seen multiple home sites with full construction crews working again in our area.  With more funding available to businesses during the last couple of months, 281 secured funding and has six new links on order to upgrade and expand our network even further creating higher speeds, lower latency, and more redundancy.  281 Internet is now bringing Internet speeds of 50 Mbps and more download to over 60% of it's network.

281 Internet will be prepared for whatever challenge we face next.  We are doing all we can to insure our clients are also prepared to meet those challenges too.  Whether it be the need to watch TV through their Internet, conduct business, or interact with loved ones you are unable to visit in person, 281 is here to help.

Tim Moczygemba, President
281 Communications Corporation Inc.

281 Internet deploys 5G to help clients shelter in place

281 Internet deploys 5G mmWave Tech

Helping our clients Shelter in Place to stay connected!

Today, March 24, 2020 Alex, Adilson "Juice", and Tim brought our first 5G mmWave link online.  The results were immediate.  Our network traffic coming across the link increased more than 200% from the previous evening, and over 400% from just a week before.

281 Communications Corp. Inc. used the same technology as the National Park Service used last week to hook up Lady Liberty.

Siklu mmWave Wireless Helps Protect Lady Liberty

281 Clients, please show your appreciation to Alex and Adilson next time you speak with them.  They along with me, worked long hours on top of climbing over 1000 tower feet in the last 6 days pressing this new technology into place along with many hours of conversations with the Siklu support team, including Tim Murphy and Scott---Many thank to you guys!

281 now has the tools to bring even higher speeds out to where you want to live.  With Siklu long range mmWave capable of 10G links, and supplemental equipment from Ubiquiti, Mimosa, and Cambium, 281 can bring the Internet to just about anywhere you need it.  

In light of the new Covid-19 affects, we are seeing how even more people want to move away from it all.  We are seeing an influx of clients who have "Lake Homes" out around the Highland Lakes coming to Shelter in Place where social distancing is just a little bit easier.  

You don't have to climb 100' up a tower to get away, just hop on a boat to the middle of the lake!

Just to let our 281 clients know, we are not done with our work.  Friday morning Alex and Tim will be at it again to finalize a brace and grounding on the Fairland tower as well as the final (hopefully) adjustment to get these dishes perfectly aligned.  The model on this link is capable of 10G when aligned, right now it's just capable of a little over 1 G.  

Our work to make our network more robust just got a little brighter!  One of our clients (Carlton--you know who you are!) has agreed in concept to allow 281 to put a tower on his property near Tow.  We will be able to link one of our new Kingsland towers to here as well as our Lake Buchanan.  In this way, we will make a big circle so that should one tower link go down, traffic can continue through the other direction, making 281's network truly go "Around the Highland Lakes"!  Our combined enhanced higher capacity and lower latency wireless links from Lake Buchanan to Burnet to Fairland to Marble Falls combined with new fiber installed in Kingsland has made 281's network the most resilient and fastest by many metrics network in our area.

Please spread the word how 281 has helped you in your time of need!

Tim Moczygemba
281 Communications Corporation Inc.

Alex Bates thinking about our next challenge...

COVID-19 and 281 Internet Precautions

281 Communications Corporation Inc.

Health precautions for staff and clients

Hello, I wanted to just say a few words about policies implemented at 281 Internet over the last week and moving forward to both protect our teams health, your health, and your Internet; your lifeline to the world in this time of self quarantines and hunkering down.

281 team members will avoid direct contact with clients, and will only enter your home if you first clear the area they are to enter of your family and pets, and any personal items.  Please specify a path and talk with us from another room.  Please honor this request to help protect both you, our staff, and your fellow 281 client family during this difficult time.  It is important for us to keep a safe distance in order to maintain our health so we can continue to keep your Internet running.

As always 281 team members will continue to monitor our network and answer your texts, emails, and phone calls.  We are continuing to perform work on our equipment at towers and at your homes and businesses.  

I further ask that if you have Clorox wipes or similar product to wipe down any area or surfaces that we might touch working on your equipment before and after we come in.  We will also avoid touching your remotes, keyboards, mice, tablets, and phones.  While we want to insure you can access the Internet from everything in your home through 281's Internet, it is also prudent to limit contact with the surfaces you will touch before and after we are in your home to avoid spread of germs and viruses during the time of heightened precautions recommended by the CDC.

Please direct a 281 staff member that enters you home to a guest bathroom upon entering and leaving your home where they may wash their hands.

Please do not schedule a visit if you or someone in your home is experiencing the symptoms outlined by the CDC to potentially be coronavirus. It would be detrimental to all of 281 should our staff have to become quarantined!  Part of 281's ability to provide you with Internet is our ability to go to towers and your homes and businesses to repair or adjust equipment.

Thank you for you assistance.  I know I speak for everyone here at 281 Communications when I say we hope you stay well, and avoid contact with this new virus spreading across the country and our communities.  We are going to do everything in our power to help keep you safe while we also work to keep you connected.

Sincerely,

Tim Moczygemba, President
281 Communications Corporation Inc.

281's Busy 2019

281 Communications 2019 in review

New 281 Family members

• Alexander Bates came on board in Q4 of 2019, taking over most onsite and installation duties, and has also contributed to our new CRM implementation through finding and filling in information about client equipment missing from our database that was necessary to finish implementation of Sonar.  Alex has also completed certification to climb 281's towers.

New 281 Network

• Along with Sonar's new network monitoring is Preseem which gives 281 staff a deep view into traffic in between 281's infrastructure and clients to better help clients understand their Internet usage.
• 281 has started moving it's once flat bridged network to a routed one.
• Mikrotik routers have been installed and continue to be installed at all 281 network sites.
• Cambium Networks licensed backhaul was procured to increase capacity to Burnet and Lake Buchanan towers.
  
• Fiber point to point from Kingsland to Marble Falls was completed in early December to bring a 500% increase in capacity and 50+% lower latency to clients in Kingsland.
  

Free TV through the air == what can I get and how do I get it?

I'm constantly being asked by clients how to get local channels through streaming.  While there are options on streaming local channels, you can in many cases get them the old fashioned way.  While there are some places in our area around the Highland Lakes wedged between hills that do not get good signal, most of the area can get several digital channels free through the air.

Check out this article I ran across from this article from TechHive that not only explains all the different antenna options out there, but also has a video explaining how you can find out what channels you will be able to get!

281 Internet Launches 5G mmWave for 2020

January 2020 update.  This gear is finally getting deployed.  Technical difficulties delayed deployment in 2019.  Alex@281 is helping Tim get this new technology off the ground!

And

Equals

Tim has the new Siklu gear in and is working on installation of our first mmWave link between our fiber in Marble Falls and the tower near Fairland through which towers at Lake Buchanan, Burnet, Smithwick, and Bertram/Oatmeal flow through.