For Lisle resident Ed Paulson, waiting for large data files to download from the Internet is about as much fun as watching water boil.
Even more frustrating for the self-employed business consultant is that he must tell clients not to bother e-mailing large files or graphics because it simply takes too long to access the documents.
Paulson shares his grief with all Lisle residents and small business owners who lag on dial-up access because the village has no high-speed Internet provider.
“It’s very frustrating in part when you realize the communities around us have it,” said Paulson, who sometimes travels to friends’ homes in other towns to use the Internet.
But, Paulson, chairman of the village’s Technology Commission, hopes to find a solution fast.
Village trustees on Monday gave the commission the go-ahead to assemble a survey asking residents if they want high-speed Internet access and how much they would be willing to pay for it.
The commission spent the last year looking for obvious solutions to slow Internet access, including approaching SBC Ameritech and AT&T Broadband and learning that neither will provide service to the village for at least three years.
Ameritech officials told Paulson the village is located too far from existing Ameritech central offices. And AT&T Broadband’s system would need to be updated to connect the village, according to Paulson.
The survey, which will cost the village $4,000, would be mailed to more than 5,000 households by the end of the month. The commission is hoping for 1,000 to 1,200 responses by mid-July. Without adequate feedback, the village may remain without high-speed Internet access for years, Paulson said.
“We need to entice somebody to provide the service,” Paulson saidTrustee Tom Frey supported the effort, saying the Internet would eventually become a utility.
“We need to keep pace,” Frey said.
