Gigabit Info Session at National Gypsum

We were recently invited to speak to the IT team at National Gypsum, providing an update on the Gigabit Internet deployment in Charlotte. National Gypsum is a company based in Charlotte, and well known for drywall gypsum boards. It has 21 gypsum board plants in the US.

The Gigabit presentation described the faster Internet speeds being deployed by Google Fiber, AT&T, and TWC, along with timelines and experiences observed in Charlotte thus far. (Here is one Charlotte user's experience with AT&T GigaPower.) The new ISP infrastructure removes the bottleneck from the local connection, and the user now has to consider if their premise equipment (modem, router, device) is prepared for the speed.

Faster Internet connections allow for a new generation of software applications. It is anticipated that Online Education, Tele-medicine, Video collaboration, and Online Gaming are going to be some of the early apps taking advantage of the bandwidth. We don't really know all the potential applications that will result from having faster Internet, but based on other cities with Gigabit infrastructure we anticipate that Charlotte will have an uptick in economic development, foster more entrepreneurship, and increase our ability to attract talent to the area (particularly developer, UI/UX, web design, and video talent). * Note: In order to achieve gigabit internet speeds you need to have a computer, modem, and AC wi-fi router that support the speed. We recently purchased a gigabit wif-fi router for less than $100 (TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router) and have been pleased with the results.

We also discussed the city's focus on Digital Inclusion, including a steering committee which meets bi-weekly, and a quarterly meeting which brings together 50+ community organizations across the city. Charlotte is fortunate to have a full-time Project Manger position, Bruce Clark, funded by the Knight Foundation and based at Queens University. Charlotte also has two full-time Fellow positions funded by Google and NTEN, Announced in the Charlotte Observer July 14, Jessica Washington will collaborate with the Urban League of Central Carolinas, and Ruben Campillo will work with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to help people who have limited digital access.

We concluded the session by letting the team know how to stay informed. A simple method is to sign up for our monthly newsletter (link below). We also encourage Twitter users to follow @CltHeartsGb for regular posts on upcoming events and articles of interest.

If you would like someone from Charlotte Hearts Gigabit to speak to your group, contact us via email: info@charlotteheartsgigabit.com.

Partner Profile - Zeffective

Zeffective was an early partner to Charlotte Hearts Gigabit, immediately seeing the value of having a Gigabit Internet infrastructure in Charlotte. We recently caught up with founder and CEO Zach Cardais and asked him a few questions about his business, and why he supports Gigabit Internet and Entrepreneurship in Charlotte:

Tell us a little about Zeffective and what your company does.
Zeffective helps businesses make sense of their data. We like to say that we bridge the gap between data and decisions.

What are the most popular services or solutions that you offer?
There are two:

First, we bring our analytics services in-house to you. For example, It’s not unusual for a company to have a lot of data but struggle to glean insights from all the numbers. Zeffective works closely with you and your team to create a process for analyzing the data and then uncovering insights from the analysis so you can make better, more informed decisions.

And second, Google Analytics training. We do a two-day Google Analytics Immersion Workshop each month. The next workshop is September 26 and 27 in Charlotte. Visit this link for more information and to register: http://techtalentsouth.com/google-analytics-workshop.html. Also very popular is our in-house Google Analytics training where we come to you and provide a hands-on, highly customized training session with your marketing department, for example, on how to use Google Analytics to help you reach your business objectives.

Can you tell us about one of your clients and the work you did for them?
One of our more recent clients needed help growing their email subscriber list. They were writing original, in-depth articles on their site and bringing users to their site but their conversion rate was low. Zeffective came in and did a bunch of testing and experimentation. What we found was that there was nothing wrong with the articles—the issue lied in how the content was presented to the user. We were able to help this specific client increase their conversion rate significantly and reduce their cost per email by a factor of 10.

Zach in foreground (white shirt)

Zeffective supports the tech community in Charlotte not only through Charlotte Hearts Gigabit, but also with your work with Tech Talent South. Can you share your philosophy about supporting entrepreneurs and the tech ecosystem in the community?
Two things that I’m passionate about are Charlotte and entrepreneurship. First, I’m a native of Charlotte and I love it here—it’s home. Second, both of my parents are and always have been entrepreneurs. And now, I’m an entrepreneur. So, given my passion for Charlotte and entrepreneurship, I’m all about supporting Charlotte’s entrepreneurs and tech ecosystem. I want to do my part in growing our tech community and make Charlotte a place an attraction for entrepreneurs everywhere.

How do you think having a Gigabit Internet infrastructure will benefit Charlotte?
I’m very, very excited for Google Fiber in Charlotte. I think Gigabit Internet will make Charlotte a better place to live and a better place to do business in. I have friends and colleagues outside of Charlotte that have made statements like “I wish Google Fiber was coming to me.” Think about it: when has faster Internet speed been a bad thing? Answer: never.

And then there’s the exclusivity of Google Fiber. We were, after all, chosen for this. We had to compete for it and we won. I think that’s fantastic—to have Charlotte’s name linked with a Google innovation is special.

We appreciate your support of Charlotte Hearts Gigabit and our events. If readers have questions about Zeffective how should they contact you?
w: http://www.zeffective.com/
e: zach@zeffective.com
p: 704-996-5783
t: @zeffective

If you want to meet Zach in person you can also find him at many of our events, including the GigWOW Experience on Sept. 17. Please introduce yourself when you see him!

If your company is passionate about Gigabit Internet in Charlotte and wants to join us as a partner, contact us at info@charlotteheartsgigabit.com.

Gastonia has Gigabit Speed

On Friday August 28, 2015 AT&T announced that their Gigabit Internet service, GigaPower, is available to residential and small business customers in select areas of Gastonia, NC. This is a major win for the Gaston Gigabit committee, county, city, and economic development leaders, and most importantly the consumers and businesses which can access Gigabit speed.

County Commission Chairman Tracy Philbeck said “AT&T’s new fiber-optic network, delivering gigabit speeds, is going to be a game-changer for residents and businesses as we grow our economy and strengthen our community.”

Gastonia Mayor John Bridgeman said “The announcement that AT&T is launching its AT&T GigaPower network in Gastonia is good news for our community.” He added “When our business community has access to the latest technology available, especially in the data and communication fields, they can be more competitive in their industries and more likely to succeed.”

An excited group of community and business leaders attended the announcement at the AT&T store on Cox. Rd. Several members of the Gaston Gigabit committee, including our leader Dr. Stephen Hannon, were in attendance.

Pricing for the GigaPower service in Gastonia is similar to most other AT&T markets, with Internet speeds up to 1Gbps starting as a low as $70/month. As you recall from our previous blog post on GigaPower in Charlotte, to get this price you have to accept the AT&T 'Internet Preferences' (Click here for the details on AT&T GigaPower Internet Preferences.) If you do not accept these terms the price is $29 more per month.

((* Note: In order to achieve gigabit internet speeds you need to have a computer, modem, and AC wi-fi router that support the speed. We recently purchased a gigabit wif-fi router for less than $100 (TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router) and have been pleased with the results.))

An AT&T official had previous told us that a market is declared live when ~20 of the addresses are eligible. Network upgrades continue to roll out, so if you are not eligible today you may be in the near future. Gastonia residents can check GigaPower availability here.

We are excited that our committee efforts paid off by attracting AT&T to Gastonia. Now the challenge is expanding service availability, and educating the community on what they can do with Gigabit speeds.

To learn more about leveraging the new Gigabit infrastructure Gaston County residents are encouraged to attend the GigWOW Experience Event on Sept 17 – click here for details.

A user experience activating AT&T GigaPower

Charlotte is fortunate to have several ISPs launching ultra-high speed consumer Internet service. AT&T is the first of the major carriers in our area to provide Gigabit speed to residential users, announcing GigaPower live in Charlotte on June 15, 2015 (read announcement).

We were informed by a senior AT&T official that “live” means ~20% of houses are eligible. This percentage goes up over time as AT&T continues to invest in equipment to upgrade the network. Charlotteans can check GigaPower availability here. We heard from many of our readers that they were not eligible right now, and they will have to check back periodically.

((* Note: In order to achieve gigabit internet speeds you need to have a computer, modem, and AC wi-fi router that support the speed. We recently purchased a gigabit wif-fi router for less than $100 (TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router) and have been pleased with the results.))

A member of the Charlotte Hearts Gigabit community was eligible, and immediately signed up for AT&T GigaPower service. They provided this summary of their experience:

• Signing up was a bit of an ordeal as the online portal wasn’t accepting our order. Through a series of emails and phone calls we were able to confirm availability and complete the order. If we hadn’t really wanted Gigabit, we may have given up.
• The installation process was bleeding edge. There were 4 different trips made to the house to get it installed and working. It was very helpful to be patient and persistent. There were some initial issues with the service - internet going down periodically and TV cut off (during the best part of the British Open- most annoying) but the Internet speed is great! And, their customer service was very good. Everyone who we dealt with AT&T was very pleasant and seemed to be doing their best to make things work.
• You will be getting a new line and a new box on the outside of the house.  The new line will be on top of the ground and then buried.  Be careful of it while it is on top of the ground (like it is made of glass) and understand that someone will come back and put it under the ground.
• The new box, unlike the old ones, will need power.  That will require another box put inside with access to a grounded power outlet.  If you don’t want to see this, a basement or closet is best but it will need to be as close as possible to the box on the outside and have an outlet, so plan for that.
• The new wireless modem is about the same size as the old one and can go in pretty much the same place.  Apparently, it is best to run Cat-5 to this but they can also use the old co-ax.
• The tech can set up your network with the same name and password as the old one so you don’t have to change for all your devices.
• The DVR will have to be replaced.  YOU WILL LOSE ALL YOUR RECORDED STUFF, so watch the good stuff.  The recording preferences for series and such will carry over.
• Most wireless networks are going to be slower than the potential for gigabit and older computers may not be able to take full advantage.  If you can, use an Ethernet connection for fastest speeds.  Also some devices besides older ones are simply slower (iPhones, iPads, etc.).  You may be able to upgrade your wireless equipment for faster speeds but in doing so may have problems with older stuff, using slower wireless standards connecting.
• Also, if you experience latency, it can often be the websites themselves, as many are not set up to deliver content with gigabit speed.
• You will get emails saying you have to return the old stuff when likely the tech took it with them.  You may want to document this in some way.
• A very pleasant surprise – we have an older Mac that had always seemed slow and at end-of-life. Now that we turned up GigaPower, the Mac is super-fast.

In summary it appears AT&T is going through a few growing pains with the GigaPower service. It took patience to get the service ordered and activated, but the Internet speed is noticeably faster and the support and personal involvement of local AT&T management was terrific. The TV image quality is enhanced as well.

The $70/month pricing for GigaPower service seems like an easy upgrade decision for current U-verse customers. When launched, you had to accept the AT&T 'Internet Preferences' (Click here for the details on AT&T GigaPower Internet Preferences.) If you did not accept these terms the price was $29 more per month. In September 2016 AT&T discontinued this controversial policy and just used one price point.

AT&T says Gigabit sales nationally have 'Exceeded Expectations'.

Have you signed up for AT&T GigaPower service? Email a description of your experience to info@charlotteheartsgigabit.com.

Gigabit Lunch and Learn at Technekes

Charlotte Hearts Gigabit recently conducted a Lunch and Learn at the Technekes office in Charlotte. Employees of the company spent their lunch hour eating pizza and learning what Gigabit Internet is, why it’s important, and how the new Internet infrastructure will help Charlotte. Fostering economic development, entrepreneurship, and attracting talent are three key benefits.

Technekes is a technology-driven B2B marketing company with an amazing rooftop view of uptown Charlotte. One of their employees works remotely from Chattanooga, and uses a Gigabit connection from EPB Fiber Optics. The employee refuses to move to another apartment that doesn’t have high speed Internet! Fortunately with AT&T GigaPower having launched, Google Fiber under construction, and TWC Maxx being deployed, their employee can now ‘safely’ move to Charlotte. ((* Note: In order to achieve gigabit internet speeds you need to have a computer, modem, and AC wi-fi router that support the speed. We recently purchased a gigabit wif-fi router for less than $100 (TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router) and have been pleased with the results.))

The Lunch and Learn presentation included updates on the ISP activities in Charlotte, including pricing and availability. An overview was provided of the Google Fiber construction in other cities and what we can expect to see in Charlotte. We also discussed a range of issues spanning from improving Digital Inclusion efforts in Charlotte, to potential future apps that may be created to leverage such high Internet speed. Did you know that we have 2 Digital Inclusion Fellows in Charlotte, and Queens University is hiring a Project Manager for the effort?

To view the Lunch and Learn presentation click here.

If you would like to schedule a presentation to your company or meetup group, please email us at info@charlotteheartsgigabit.com