Blog / Two Dixie Cups and a String – Enhanced, Reliable Internet Access is Essential

I can remember my dad introducing me to the wonders of remote communications when I was about five- or six-years old. It sounds more glorious than it really was, as it consisted of a piece of string and two Dixie cups. For younger readers, you might have to Google “Dixie cups”. They’re little paper cups that held small servings of ice cream back-in-the-day, usually dispensed at a carnival or local fair. Today they’re used for expressos and lattes.

By poking a small hole in the bottom of both cups and attaching the ends of a three-to-five metre string to each, you could make a primitive one-way telephone. Each person stood apart and carefully stretched the string so it had a small amount of tension. One person spoke into their cup while the other person listened by holding the cup to their ear. If the string tension was just right and the surrounding noise wasn’t excessive, you could hear your companion’s voice. Too loose, and the string would fail to pass the sound vibrations.  Too tight and the string would pop out of the end of the cup. Crude, finicky—and a lot of fun.

Fast forward 50-plus years and Dixie cups have been replaced with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The string has been supplanted with network cabling, WiFi, and cellular service. It’s now commonplace for five- and six-year-olds to have specially-designed tablets.

Our modern-day Dixie cups are easy to use and reliable. The problem is still the string. Why?

The issue stems from the way internet connectivity has evolved. Wired internet access started as an afterthought of the phone and cable TV providers. Cell phone providers then discovered you could exchange data through their networks. Then WiFi companies started extending the range and speed of their systems. Today, it’s a confusing mess of competing providers touting the best speed and reliability. While I’m a strong believer in heathy competition, it might be time to approach internet connectivity from a different perspective.

And this applies to all users, businesses, and government agencies.

To invoke a different analogy, we universally consider our water and waste-water systems as essential services for everyday life. With rare exception, they are robust and reliable. They have high safety standards and normally a single provider is responsible for delivery. However, if we approached our water system in the same way we approach our internet access, we might see one person using a well, their neighbour with a holding tank and periodic truck delivery, and another with a large pay-for-service pipe plumbed directly into their house or business. Hardly equitable or reliable.

Is internet access now becoming an essential utility like water and power? From paying utility bills to checking your bank balance and ordering groceries, it’s almost impossible to perform some common daily tasks without internet access.

For businesses, internet access is already an essential requirement. Contacting clients and vendors, ordering products and supplies, or paying wages and taxes all require stable, fast, and predictable internet. Yet many communities and business parks lack this level of service, which in turn places these organizations at a disadvantage; they’re living with the internet equivalent of digging a well or using a bucket in our waterworks analogy.

If internet access is to become a utility, who should provide it and what technology should be used? The issue is complex but worthy of discussion, especially with 5G technology on the horizon. 

In the meantime, what’s the best alternative? After speaking to businesses and government agencies, the most likely alternative for now is to use multiple providers and combine different internet “strings” together to increase speed and reliability. Trinus already has several clients using this technique with success. In fact, we use it ourselves to enhance the reliability, speed, and redundancy of our in-house data centre for cloud hosting service to our clients.

Redundant internet usually involves specialized hardware and careful configuration, but the results in enhanced productivity for your staff and increased access to your services for your clients and customers is well worth the effort and cost.

And don’t forget that two Dixie cups and a piece of string can provide a few minutes of fun for you and your children when the snow melts this spring! Just remember to keep the string tight, but not too tight.

If you’d like more information about enhancing Internet access for your firm or want to book an appointment to chat about it, please contact me or your TRINUS Account Manager.

Thanks.

Dave White

TRINUS

stress-free IT