Why did it take our area so long and have their been other issues? Good question and deserving of some answers. Over the last few days we've had a pile of information thrown at us and a few decisions to make. The picture above is the net outcome of it all but what a ride!
During our Yearly Management Review, some time was spent on site reviewing the property and how far along the running of new cable had progressed. Prior to arrival, Nova Scotia Power had cut trees along the roadside to allow the installation of a new Power Line. During August, they did manage to place the poles in the ground. Soon after leaving Shelburne Nova Scotia, we were informed that the Fibre Crew were stringing of cable along the road.
Our part was to have a Fibre Optic strung from the outside of the property, through the Attic and into a utility room. The hand off was to provide the line to the destination point, Bell Aliant was to then connect the ends to the outside line; as well as, some equipment within our utility room. Nothing could go wrong, right? (LOL).
The first install date was to be last Monday. For some reason it just did not happen. The next window of opportunity looked to be Friday of last week. Now, soon after the scheduling of this, an automated phone call was received from Nova Scotia Power identifying that a 3 hour outage was to occur on Friday between 9 AM and Noon. Yep, right atop the Bell Aliant install time. Frantically e-mails were sent off to all parties. The install was still a go for Friday; however, to start closer to Noon.
Working from our corporate head office, we communicated through Cell Phone and Messaging with our Property Manager and on site technician. The simple install moved forward; however, it was not a slam dunk as one might have hoped. The line from the pole to the house apparently had some problems leading to the restringing of it; as well as, some technical difficulties in our Utility Room. Making a Cat-5 Patch Cable is relatively simple; however, making the ends of a Fibre Optic cable ready to be plugged into a device is a bit more complicated. Some proverbial lines had been crossed and the required tools to take into the house had not been brought.
Now, through this Friday interaction, it was learned that our existing Internet setup was not working properly. The Cellular Data Hub was failing or both the small router and Magic Jack, were not working? How would one attempt to figure this one out? For either of the router or Magic Jack to have failed, one could validate the functionality of the Cellular Data Hub; however, given both were down, the weighting shifts to the Data Hub. As a casual observer, all the lights were on.
Using the "My Bell" application a chat was initiated with technical support. The request to ping the Data Hub in turn was passed to Level 2 support and things shifted from a chat screen to a phone call with a technician in Montreal. Low and behold, the question of the Data Hub being in working order could not be confirmed. We were able to validate that over the last few hours, through one of our Property Managers attempts to reboot / factory reset the box, the Cell Tower did register a ping but nothing more. Questioning Level 2 support regarding the scope of diagnostics being provided, we were made aware that Bell Aliant had an outstanding service request to "Find" the local Cell Tower. Apparently, it has been having intermittent problems that started back Mid August.
Well, this was an interesting tidbit of information! I question the use of vocabulary "Find" and I would like to believe that they know were the Cell Tower is; however, I question it. The other main thing here is, the Cell Tower has been and still is experiencing technical difficulties. With this, I check the usage logs and found zero usage from October 1st through to current. Oh, what a hornets nest!
So, you the reader can only imagine the e-mail being sent out to all parties, during business hours on a Friday afternoon prior to a long weekend. Yes, we can be the user / client from some unspeakable place.
Tuesday Morning, our property manager contacts us that a Bell Aliant Technician was arriving to complete the task started Friday. Once the Technician was on site and had an opportunity to assess what had been left to complete the job, I spoke with them. In short order, our expectations of the install were conveyed and the call ended.
A sign of completion would be the Magic Jack, up and running. The call was made, the Magic Jack installed within the house feed the call through to the phone line and our Property Manger picked up. The Technician had just finished and was cleaning up.
So, that All Season, Weekly Rental Vacation House now has (hopefully) a reliable and cost effective (Unlimited Up/Down) Internet Connection through a Fibre Optic Hookup. We validated last Friday that the Satellite TV (provided by Bell as well) was still operational. The phone provided to our guests up and running and the added bonus of 105 TV Channels through the Fibre Optic.
For now, we'll keep the Satellite TV working. The chances of a tree falling and snapping the line exists. Yes, that would possibly be a power outage as well; however, Nova Scotia Power are quick with Power Outages, not sure on how responsive Bell would be with the Fibre Optic Line.
As for that Cellular Data Hub, it is a toss up. Keep the service or toss the box? Apparently, the box is ours. Back 6 months ago we'd had problems with it and Bell Support told us to perform a "Factory Reset"; however, if that did not work, they would not "Replace" the box due to it not being under warranty and it was not their equipment. Is anyone else using a Data Hub for Internet Use in the area and now have Fibre Optic? What are you doing.... What options should we be considering?
The Central Vacuum has not been installed yet so, I guess, we'll be bragging about that in the weeks / months to follow. Our current guests look to be sticking around for a bit more and we'd like to thank them for their extended stay and keeping the place as well as they have. As for the attempts at revitalizing that Apple Tree, all looks good as well. The sawdust looks to have been spread thin enough to allow the grass to grow through it. It should biodegrade over the next couple years, adding nutrients to the soil as it does. With luck, humans will get a crack at the lovely apples it produces. The apples ripen mid to late August. This year, the porcupines had stripped every single apple prior to August 1st! Yes, they are good apples and yes, that tree is worth saving.
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Welshtown Haven is an All Season,
Weekly Rental Vacation House,
located in South Shore Nova Scotia.
Minutes away from the
Historic Town of Shelburne.
10189 Upper Clyde Rd
Shelburne, NS
Canada
B0T 1W0.
Property Manager:
Phone: (902) 982-2346
Contact Management:
E-Mail: Admin@WelshtownHaven.ca
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