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Why so slow?
September 8, 2010 10:20 AM	Like

Editor, Sir;
I realized today that I am NOT getting the high speed internet that I had even just a month ago!
I looked back on old news releases and on the 28th of November, 2006, the (quote from the news release). "Gwaii Trust Society formed GwaiiTel earlier this year, partnering with the Province of British Columbia and TELUS to connect Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, to high-speed Internet via North America's longest over-water radio Internet transmission. GwaiiTel partnered with Alcatel and Navigata to translate that wholesale connection into service for individual homes and businesses. GwaiiTel invested more than $1 million to build infrastructure connecting the Islands communities, under the leadership of the Gwaii Trust Society and using capital from their fund with a $500,000 grant from Industry Canada's Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program (BRAND)."
Currently I am paying $89.95 which includes cable TV plus taxes. Our internet provider advertises the following:
- Download at speeds many times faster than a 28.8 kbps modem.
- Use lightning fast e-mail.
- Experience full-motion video, CD quality audio and interactive gaming.
- Download graphic-intense web sites in a snap.
- Save time by doing more in less time on the Internet.
- Receive expert customer service and technical support toll-free 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
- Count on system monitoring 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to provide a reliable connection all the time.
Regardless of what is being advertised, I AM NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER! I have sent a couple of text messages to the tech support, asking why the internet is so slow... and the answer is "it is being worked on this week".
My fellow co-worker has inquired on occasion about the same problem... slow internet... and the answer is "it is QCI.net's issue".
So my question to those who be... is... WHERE THE HECK IS MY HIGH SPEED INTERNET THAT I AM PAYING DOUBLE WHAT PROVIDERS OFF ISLAND CHARGE FOR? AND WHY SO MUCH SPAM?
Yours truly... a un-happy web surfer...
Marlene Liddle
Masset

Scary ferry
September 8, 2010 10:21 AM	Like

Editor, Sir;
Just a quick note about riding our ferries and tourism.
In the past couple of weeks some people had another nasty ride. I understand that many people were ill, the water was splashing up over the front, and the seas were high.
Seems to me that this has to do with the new, more appropriate ferry not being on this route in the summer, and that there may need to be more care with regards to weather.
People who do not live here and come to visit as tourists or family get a bad impression, and that goes a long way through word of mouth. I would not want my friends or family on that boat with even a metre of sea, because it's just such a rolling and sickening ride if there is any weather out there. It can take a while, sometimes days, for people to get over that experience, both physically and in terms of mental stress.
Apparently there was a bus full of elders on that nasty trip from Skidegate to Prince Rupert in late August.
If we are to improve tourism to the islands there needs to be a better impression made by the ferry ride over and back. Thank-you.
Karen Lovisa Church
Saangan, North Beach

More on hotel tax
September 8, 2010 10:21 AM	Like

Editor, Sir;
I see MIEDS is continuing to drop their cigarette ash into the collective coffee cups of the accommodation providers in Charlotte.
They are unwilling to re-canvass Sandspit hoteliers after giving misleading information, no suggestion of self-evaluation, no follow-up with participant feedback of Haida Gwaii House at the Olympics.
Support looks tenuous, even from editorials concerned with maintaining the effectiveness of local media advertising.
Support looks hesitant from Port council after being asked to endorse a grant application to Gwaii Trust.
Did MIEDS dare approach Charlotte council for a similar endorsement? I doubt it, not with 100 percent of the eligible voters (re hotel tax) voicing their opinion in the negative.
Will Gwaii Trust support MIEDS with their video promotion grant request? I doubt it.
Are you watching, Masset? Are you willing to extort moneys from your guests to support this shakedown? There's a lot of people in Charlotte and Sandspit who hope not.
Geoff Ray
Queen Charlotte