Internet Access
Eskimo North offers three forms of Internet access. These are DSL, digital ISDN service, and analog 56k dial access services. All of these include a shell account which provides all of the host related features including e-mail, web hosting, shell, and remote desktop access.
- DSL Internet Access
- DSL works by using frequencies above the normal voice frequency range, from about 25khz up to 1.1Mhz for ADSL2, 2.2Mhz for ADSL2+, and up to 30Mhz for VDSL to transmit a broadband signal. Because higher frequencies are attenuated more rapidly than lower frequencies, the maximum speed available is a function of cable length distance from the central office. It is necessary to prequalify your localation prior to ordering in order to determine the services available at your location. DSL does not work over pair gain devices or cable lengths greater than about 25,000 feet so it is possible that no DSL service may be available in some areas. DSL is available in ATT / SBC, CenturyLink, Frontier, and Verizon territories. In some areas DSL is available as a stand alone service, in others it is only available as an add-on to existing land line telephone service from the same carrier. DSL is a hard wired full-time connection. Although it rides on telephone lines, it is not switched through the normal telephone network.
- ISDN Internet Access
- ISDN stands for Integrated Switched Digital Network or alternatively for It Still Doesn’t Network. Unlike DSL which is hard wired, ISDN is a dial service similar to analog 56k dial-up except that the loop is digital and two 64k channels are supported. In some areas without the right type of trunking, only 56k per channel is supported. ISDN service requires that you have an ISDN line to utilize it. Because ISDN can reach further than DSL, out to as much as 35,000 cable feet, and with no loss in speed, it can be a good choice if other wired broadband options are unavailable. It does not provide full time connectivity however. Although only a little over twice as fast as a 56k modem, the latency is far lower so it feels a lot faster than 56k dial-up.
- 56k Dial Internet Access
- Analog 56k dial access is the fastest dial-up connection available. In reality you will never get a 56k connection even if you are next door to the central office with a perfect line because the F.C.C. restricted the levels that can be put on a phone line such that the maximum achievable rate is 51.2k, assuming the modem complies with F.C.C. regulations. 56k dial access is rate adaptive and modems will step down to the highest speed that your telephone line is capable of supporting. If your telephone lines are on pair gain devices, this may be as little as 26.4k.
- 56K Dial-Backup
- 56k dial backup service is a low cost dial-up plan not intended for primary access but as a backup to broadband connectivity during a broadband failure. It is typically used for things like credit card processing terminals or cash machines to provide an alternate form of connectivity during a broadband outage. In order to keep the costs low, and because it is intended for backup purposes only, dial backup service is limited to 40 hours per month maximum usage.
- UUCP
- UUCP or Unix-to-Unix copy program is an old protocol used for store and forward networking such as e-mail and Usenet News delivery. In modern days most network nodes are connected full time but there are still a few that are not and for those, we have this service available.