HIGH-SPEED FIXED WIRELESS SIGNAL GOING ONLINE

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum Editor

A fixed wireless broadband signal went online Friday May 2 from a hill located near Forks.
Thomas Thomas (left) of Strait Broadband designed and installed the wireless equipment. Bob Pensworth (right), owner of CresComm Services, Inc., is providing broadband Internet connections through the system. Tim Fletcher (center) is the local representative for Pensworth’s company.

The Internet signal is expected to be ready for user hookups sometime this week.
Fixed wireless is an alternative to wired Internet connections available through a telephone line or cable TV connection for high-speed broadband wireless Internet access.

The system installed by Thomas and Pensworth uses microwave signals to transmit voice, video and data across radio frequencies from the stationary transmitter pictured. The signal is wirelessly sent to an antenna located at a home or business to complete the connection.

“Part of my goal, when I started this effort four years ago, was to help communities help themselves in getting wired,” Thomas said. “This will bring effective services for our local businesses and also serve our long distance learning community.”

Pensworth said the benefit his company provides is a lower cost per month than existing DSL or cable TV internet connection service in Forks, and faster upload and download speed compared to comparably-priced services.

At a recent Forks Chamber of Commerce meeting, CenturyTel announced a faster, business-class DSL connection coming to Forks.

Pensworth said his wireless signal will also allow homeowners and businesses in some remote rural areas in Forks to make a high-speed Internet connection in places without phone lines, and in areas that would require expensive phone line installation, and places too far away from phone company switching boxes for DSL installation.

His system is the first line to be hooked up directly to the Clallam County PUD fiber-optic line in Forks, he said.

A tower in Forks takes the signal from the fiber-optic line in downtown Forks, beams it up to the new hillside installation and the signal is then broadcast wirelessly to users connected to the CresComm system located in an area stretching about 180 degrees below the hilltop installation.

Pensworth’s company provides fixed wireless broadband service in Forks, Ilwaco, Joyce, Long Beach, Naselle, Port Angeles and Raymond.

On the Web: www.crescommbroadband.com.