Report from the island

We're back from a surprisingly eventful week. The weather the first few days wasn't great, but it became glorious the past few days. Although we hadn't planned it, we were able to have dinner with Annika and Olle, Peter and Jeanette (with Niklas and Noelle), and drinks with Tony and Ann-Catrin. So a much more social time than we had planned, which was great!

The house was in great shape, save one little issue I'll blog about in an upcoming post. We did our usual tree-trimming and brush clearing. I helped Bo's boat get into the water; we're going to wait a bit to float ours, though.

One bit of excitement (for me at least) was that the fibre-optic cable has made landfall on Aspö! The plan is for it to be installed around the island in the second part of next year. Vattenfall are going to be replacing the old poles and overhead wires with underground cables, which I think is a great idea. Those old poles are unsightly and require a lot of maintenance. The fibre will be laid along the power cables, so I may soon, at long last, have broadband at our little home. There's a picture of the cable (with lots else) on my photo page.

On our last day, we went into town early and finally I got to visit the ABBA Museum. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement! We had dinner that evening with Janne and Margaret, who were in good form. They are planning to visit us on Aspö when we're back in July.

Before that July trip, we are making another visit late in May for the bank holiday. One of Sooz's girlfriends from the US will be joining us. We always love to introduce new friends to the island.

Great news on fiber broadband!

I received great news from Nilla at the Nämdö Fiber association last week. The news recently hasn't been great. My last post of many on the subject was not hopeful for the association's efforts to get further grant money.

However, Nilla's news was excellent. Thanks to everyone's diligent work, our association has received a 57.5 million kronor grant to wire up the remainder of our archipelago by 2020.

Looking back at my posts, there have been many ups and downs over the years. There's no question, though, that this news is a 'up'. I'm very thankful for the Nämdö Fiber association's work on our behalf. 

Who knows? Perhaps we'll have broadband in time for us to retire out to our little hus...

Internet Update

I received an update about the archipelago's internet access plans over the past few weeks, and it's not good news, I'm afraid.

When we were visiting the farm shop on Östanvik, one of the owners, Stina, told us new installations were going to focus on the numbers of permanent residents.  Given that Aspö has only a handful, that would put us low on the list.

This was confirmed in a letter I just received from the Nämdö fibre association. Not only will priority be given to permanent residents, but any grant monies will be given in an "all or nothing" format. Previously, applicants could receive a portion of their submittal, so money was spread around. Now, it's going to be only an island or two a year being wired. This puts Aspö even further down the list.

As I said recently, this bothers me less than it used to. My wireless broadband is pretty good these days. In fact, I've just signed a yearly contract so I can keep it on year-around. This will allow me (and you) to access my weather station every day. I'll also be able to use my webcam to have a peek at the conditions, although I'm not sure I have enough bandwidth to keep it on all the time! We will see.

PS. If you're wondering about the photo, it's Tim Berner-Lee's first web server.

Internet access

I've written many times in the past about broadband internet access in the archipelago. Looking back, my hopes were high (perhaps too high) that I'd have a 100mb fiber connection by now!

Obviously, that hasn't worked out. A reduction in EU grant money has slowed the rollout. Nämdö, the biggest island in our archipelago, has been installed and is working well. However, there's competition among the smaller islands in the area. We will get there eventually; one year it will be Aspö's turn! 

However, I'm less worried about it than I was, for a couple of reasons. First is the news that Vattenfall, our electric company, is planning to take down the phone poles around the island and instead put the cables on the ground. It makes sense, as a lot of time and energy is spent each year looking for fallen branches. Many of the poles are over 40 years old and will need to be replaced eventually. Putting the cables on the ground will solve both problems. I think it will look nicer too.

Why am I mentioning the power company in a post about broadband, you may ask? The answer is that when the power cables are re-laid, it will be simple (and much cheaper) to add the internet fiber cable to each of these runs. Piggy-backing on the Vattenfall work should relieve me from having to run the fiber to my house myself.

The second reason is my current internet setup with Tre.se is pretty darned good these days. I had my router on all winter, and I was able to peek into the house reliably. The speed is good enough to FaceTime back home, which fits my needs.

Once the fiber is available, I plan to get it for sure. But in the meantime, I'm connected to the internet just fine.

Searching in Swedish / Söka på Svenska

Not to get too technical here, but I've come across something interesting that may be of use to my multi-national readers. I mentioned recently that my friend Anette sent me a great link to a Swedish distributor of party lights.

I had been searching quite extensively (or so I thought), but the website she forwarded was new to me. Why might that be? One advantage was that Anette was searching in Swedish, and although I try to use Swedish words, she, as a native, is obviously a lot better at it. Another trick is to use google.se instead of google.com as a starting point. Starting a search from a .se domain, and using Swedish words in the search, is the best way to find Swedish results. Makes sense, doesn't it?

One other way to improve the results of web searching is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. VPNs can be used to make you appear as if it you're in a different country.

When accessing a website, one's location is identified to a degree. If I'm in Chicago and type "Bears" into google, I'm going to first get results for the NFL football team, and not information about the kinds of bears that live in the woods. If I'm in the US, and searching for party lights, I'm going to see local providers, not ones in Europe.

A VPN can get around that location information and allow the user to 'pretend' they are in a different country. Such an ability can be useful for many reasons. Turkey, for example, has banned Twitter for political reasons, and a Turkish citizen can't access twitter from their country. If, however, that citizen used a VPN to pretend they were in a different country, they can get around their government's restrictions and tweet away.

More prosaically, some entertainment is restricted to the country of origin for rights purposes. I can watch "Saturday Night Live" on Hulu here in Texas, but I can't when I am in Sweden. A VPN would allow me to appear to the Hulu folks like I'm in the USA, so I can watch shows just as if I'm on my couch at home, even though I am very far away.

A VPN helps a lot if I am looking for Swedish content when I'm not in Sweden. I just set my VPN to make me look like I'm in Stockholm, and voila! I have the best of both worlds.

There are dozens of VPNs available, most are free, or very low cost. I use one called Tunnelbear, as it works simply on all my my Apple devices. It's worth giving it a try to see what the internet looks like from a different country!

Internet pricing

I received an email recently from Nilla, of the Nämdö broadband project.

Things are moving along nicely, although I think it won't be until the summer of 2016 that we see cabling on Aspö.

The most interesting new information was the first indication of pricing.

Connectivity is provided by a company called "IP Only", which does just what it says on the tin. The cable needs to be attached to a broadband provider, and Nilla provided a listing of potential companies.

Given the sad state of broadband internet in the US, the list of Swedish options is mouth-watering. An insanely fast 1 Gigabit download and upload speed is available for 795 kronor a month (about $110 at today's rates). A more realistic speed (yet still far faster than I have in Texas) of 100 megabits is available for as little as 238 kr ($33) a month.

Some companies provide bundles to provide TV and telephone service as well. These run around 450 kr ($65) monthly. Still a heck of a good deal.

Lastly, it is possible to not have a contract, and just pay for time spent at the house, as I do today with my wireless connection. The prices are also similar to what I'm paying today, about 350 kr ($50) for a month.

All this happens, of course, after the fiber is run all the way to my house, which will cost me roughly 25,000 kronor (about $3500). So there is a significant up-front cost. However, I consider it an investment in the value of our property, not to mention the fact that I love being online.

There are still lots of steps to take until it all happens, but Nilla and the Nämdö Fiber team are doing great work so far.

UPDATE: As I as just about to hit 'send' on this post, I found an article in the local newspaper, skargarden.se. The headline? "Sharply Higher Costs for Broadband Expansion". The upshot is that government subsidies are being removed. The article states: "A connection that previously cost households between 15,000 to 25,000 crowns, could now cost between 50,000 to 100,000 crowns, or not be possible to do at all. A deathblow in other words, for the broadband compounds in the Nämdö archipelago." 

That's very disappointing news, especially since I was just teased with the prospects of such fast and cheap connectivity! I could justify a 25,000 kronor expense, but not double or quadruple that.

But all may be not yet lost. The Nämdö Fiber facebook page has a post regarding the newspaper article. Their reply? Vi kastar INTE in handduken ännu! 

In English: We do NOT throw in the towel yet!

The Wild Kingdom

I've been playing with a Dropcam at my home in Texas. It is a teriffic little webcam; easy to setup, simple to access over the internet, and it has great picture and sound quality as well.

I took it to the stuga on my last trip and set it up on the deck when we left. I had paid for a month of mobile broadband, so I've been able to watch its view from Texas over the past few days. One of Dropcam's best features is its recording service. I'm able to go back and watch the past week's worth of activity to find any action the camera might pick up.

Most days, I just see passing clouds and swaying trees. We do like listening to the birdsongs, though. It is fun to turn up the volume on my iMac and hear the Aspö birdies chirping away.

What I really want to do is catch the moose on my camera, but I don't think the moose are in the neighborhood. I have, however, seen a few of the little red deer walking around most mornings. I've shared a clip of our visitors from this morning.

I don't know if I will leave the camera out while we're away for the winter. Once I have permanent broadband connectivity, I certainly will have a camera (or two). But for now, at least, it is fun to have a real-time glimpse, even if it is just on a screen.

A local news story on broadband internet

I made an inquiry of the progress of the laying of the broadband fiber cables in the archipelago. My faithful correspondent, Nilla on Nämdö, sent me a copy of a local news article about the ongoing work.

It's from a local Skärgården newspaper; the article is here in Swedish and auto-translated into English. I thought it was an fun read (in either language) as it shows the work involved to lay so much cable among many islands. The one disappointing thing was the news that phase 1 won't be complete until later this year. Aspö is in phase 2, so my hopes of broadband this summer are dimming.

This was the first I'd heard of the Skärgården.se website. I plan to look it it a lot more frequently. There's a bunch of good local information there, and I can practice my Swedish a bit, too.

Internet redux

There has been a good deal of movement on the quest for better internet service out on Aspö. My connection now is OK, but it is slow and a bit fiddly. I've been yearning to improve my connectivity.

During our last visit, we talked with Tony, who told me that Thomas, a fellow resident, and the man who manages the Aspö website, has been using a 4G wireless setup from Telia which he's been happy with. Tony also told me about a similar system from 3, who I have today as a pay-as-you go provider.

The Telia setup is interesting. It's only 99 kronor a month for existing customers. I'm not an existing customer, but Rutger is. Perhaps I could have him get a unit on my behalf and then I pay him back the 99 monthly? Advantages: I could have a constant connection so I could set up that webcam I've been dreaming about. Disadvantages: I'd have to hassle Rutger and I'm sure there would be some billing or provisioning complication or two.

I emailed the nice people at 3 and they responded quickly and in perfect English. Essentially I can buy their 4G unit for 1500 kronor (about $230), use my current account and get nice fast 4G at a lower price. Advantages: I can use my current account and not involve Rutger and his billing. Disadvantages: not as cheap as the 99:- monthly through Telia. There's a potential curveball, though. The router they use is available on the internet for something less than 3 wants for it. Perhaps I could attach a bootleg router to their network? After all, I'm doing it already with the 3G USB dongle.

One other possibility is xcomglobal. For Americans leaving their shores for points beyond, they'll provide a wireless router for use on their travels for $15 per day. This isn't as cheap as any of the other options above for us as Swedish 'residents', but it would be good for traveling or occasional use.

All this is potentially trumped by the latest news from Stefan on Ladholmen, who has been a champion of the Nämdö fiber project. He emailed me earlier this week: "Hi Don! We have just awarded contractor for fiber in stage 1, the southern Nämdö and surrounding islands. Our three islands and northern Nämdö will probably be included in stage 2, which is currently projected, the probable procurement in the beginning of 2014."

So it looks possible, at least, that we could have that super-fast Swedish connection as soon as next year. I would just love that!

UPDATE November 8: I received an email from Nilla on Nämdö, informing me of a December 8 board meeting. She also told me she expected the submarine cable for stage one should be laid before then. So there is lots of progress, indeed!

Internet progress

My second mail was from Nilla Söderkvist, our secretary for the Nämdö fiber association. I have been posting about the project to bring very fast broadband out to every home in the Nämdö archipelago.

We have crossed a significant milestone this week; the Nämdö Fiber association has been officially incorporated, and each interested citizen has been asked to pay in a stake of 2000 kronor to become legal members of the association. I've paid mine already!

The first installations will take place on the big island of Nämdö itself, hopefully this summer. It seems to me that Aspö would likely be next, given its size, and the number of interested parties. But I'm just speculating. It does seem likely we will have broadband within the next summer or two, and I am looking forward to it a great deal!

Internet service update

I received an update from Nilla, our representative of the broadband club on Nämdö. There was a lot of Swedish to get through, but this is what I understand so far:

• The cost to wire the Nämdö archipelago for 600 residents is about 48 million kronor- or about 80,000kr ($12,000) per household.
• The Swedish government has said that all households will have access for roughly the same price, 20-25,000kr.
• This gap will be met by funds paid by the government (with matching funds from the EU), but the demand for this money is very high. The 2012 funds were exhausted some time ago.
• A new, more formal broadband association will be formed by the end of this year. A stake of 2,000kr is being proposed for membership in this association.
• This group will take up negotiations to get started with the first phase of the work next year.

There's more detail, but that's the gist of it. We probably will have to deal with our little wireless connection for one more summer!!!

Broadband Internet

I've been corresponding with the people on Aspö and Nämdö about the progress of our broadband internet project. Since my last update in April, we have made our application, and I am officially part of it.

We will know more after a meeting this fall, but it appears our island neighborhood is one of six that is being discussed for wiring. The key question is when, and we'll know more after that meeting. Realistically, it will be 2 or 3 years I think.

The cost still looks like 20,000kr delivered to the house. Frankly, I'm up for that; 100mps broadband is very appealing, especially out in my favourite place!!!

Sooz, on the other hand, is not so keen. She's plenty happy with our little wifi hotspot today, which, to be fair, although a little slow and fiddly, is plenty good enough for email, Facebooking and iPhone games. She also believes, quite rightly, that the wireless technology should improve, making our current solution better in the coming years.

My biggest fear is not being part of the initial broadband club, and then having a much more expensive installation in the future. I also think Grant would be more likely to visit if I had super-fast internet access. It also may be easier for me to spend time away if I have a strong connection back to the office.  (How's that for rationalization!)

Either way, there's no need to decide just yet. We'll wait for more news later this year.

UPDATE: Apparently Sweden wins at the internet!

Broadband Internet in the Archipelago

I've been using a 3G wireless connection out at our house for a few years now. A little wi-fi hotspot above the fridge rebroadcasts the signal through the house so we can enjoy the internet on our iDevices. It works pretty well, although it's not that fast and is a bit fiddly. If I want to rent a movie on iTunes, for example, we have to decide in the morning, as the downloading takes all day! But it does work well enough, and it is pretty cool to have wi-fi out in the middle of an island. In fact, let's face it, it's not just cool. Internet access is pretty much a necessity if one is away for a number of weeks.

I recently received info about a plan to bring fibre-optic internet out to our archipelago. The Swedish government wants to have super-fast (100mps!) access to 90% of the country by 2020. There is money available for rural communities to apply for assistance in providing such service. As best as I can read, we in the Nämdö archipelago are being asked to join a broadband 'club' which will then apply to the government for assistance in providing access to our island.

The good news: internet that fast could open up a whole bunch of possibilities for living out on Aspö. I could easily have a few webcams set up to check on the house, the weather, and the moose. Heck, I could have a little weather station giving info on the conditions in real-time (I will admit I've already checked into that.) And a stable internet connection that fast would being all sorts of entertainment and even work opportunities out to our house.

The bad news: cost. It looks like being a member of the broadband club would cost about 15,000-20,000 kronor ($2000-3000), plus about 3000kr ($500) for the wiring and who knows how much for the monthly fees. And of course, there is the encroachment of the outside world into our little idyll that such technology would bring.

I've registered my interest formally with the club, and already received a charming reply from the organizing group on Nämdö. There's no commitment to do so, for now at least, and it seems from the documents that joining now would guarantee us access at a much lower price than adding it later. I would think that having it might increase the value of our property, too.

More news as this progresses.