INDEX — Douglas and Jessica Rupp moved to a two-story house several miles northeast of Index to enjoy a quiet lifestyle in 1998.
They also wanted to make their lives in the boonies as convenient as possible. Douglas Rupp, who works from home for a computer software company in New York City, expected he’d be able to get phone service.
He’s spent several years trying to get phone service and he said he’s spent about $50,000 for the effort. And about a month ago, Rupp said he finally found a solution: Internet-based phone service.
Rupp said he pays 2.1 cents per minute for the service as well as $6 per month for having his phone number.
“It seems like a promising technology,” he said.
Rupp answered some questions about his pursuit of getting service.
In a phone interview.
Question: When did you start trying to get phone service?
Answer: Shortly after moving to the two-story house. I had to take a tram across the North Fork Skykomish River to drive into the town to make a phone call.
Q: What options did you try to get a dial tone at your place?
A: I tried several things, costing me about $50,000 to date. For example, I built a 50-foot-tall antenna on the roof to boost the cell phone signal. It wasn’t tall enough. I pounded rungs into a 120-foot-tall Douglas fir, climbed the tree and attached an antenna to it. It wasn’t tall enough, either. I tried a satellite phone. The sound quality was poor, and it cost too much, $2 a minute.
Q: You also tried to make Verizon Communications extend phone service to you and your neighbors. What happened on that effort?
A: It didn’t work out. Even though I have phone service now, some of my neighbors still don’t.
Q: How did you find a solution?
A: Technology has advanced over the last several years. I signed up for Skype, an online phone service, in November.
Q: How does it work?
A: I make calls through my laptop computer with satellite Internet access. When people call me, a window pops on the laptop’s screen and makes a sound.
Q: How many calls have you made so far?
A: About 30 calls. I got used to doing everything by e-mail and online chat. I don’t call people unless I have to.
Q: Any downsides with the service?
A: It doesn’t let me call 911. I have to be at the computer to talk to people. Sometimes, I miss calls because the computer doesn’t have big speakers, letting calls go unnoticed.
Q: What’s next?
A: I’m trying to buy a handheld phone set that works with a wireless Internet connection. That way, I can walk around, talking to people by phone.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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