Internet Fairshare Policy

Smarter Internet Service for a New Internet Age

An Introduction to Fairshare

The way we use the internet has changed dramatically in the 10 years since Webformix began delivering wireless service across Central Oregon. Back in 2004, users typically accessed the web through one PC at a time, browsing web pages and transferring files of a fixed size, and as a result, our top priority at Webformix was improving the user experience by making sure they could download as many megabits per second as possible.

Flash forward to the present, and the vast majority of Webformix users consume a wide array of services online, connecting through multiple computers, televisions, tablets, smart phones and appliances – all competing for bandwidth on the same network. Streaming video is replacing television, internet telephone is replacing landline service, and multiplayer gaming now dominates our living rooms. Today’s internet users no longer think of the internet in terms of megabits, but rather in terms of the killer apps that make the modern internet such a vital part of our lives: Netflix, X-Box Live, Craigslist, Skype, Facebook and others.

Success for Webformix as an internet provider no longer means pushing fixed-sized files down the digital pipes, but rather orchestrating network traffic to make sure that the services you love are working flawlessly when you want them. That means understanding that each type of service has different requirements. For example, YouTube requires bandwidth but not low latency. Gaming does require low latency but not bandwidth. Real-time audio and gaming use very little bandwidth, but cannot function properly when battling for bandwidth with other applications like streaming video.

Thankfully, Webformix invested in new technology to help us prioritize network traffic and deliver an even better user experience across thousands of square miles of the high desert.

Read on to learn how our new FairShare Network Management system will help us evolve to meet the needs of our users.

Prioritizing Web Traffic for the Best User Experience

Webformix is the smallest internet service provider in the country to utilize the latest Sandvine network traffic management technology – powerful hardware that will help us improve internet performance for our users.

On a network without prioritization, apps like Windows Update, Netflix, web browsers, Skype and gaming updates all fight each other for resources on a first come first serve basis. If no effort is made to prioritize, traffic on the network essentially fights to get through first, whether it needs it or not, making it difficult for internet services and apps to coordinate with each other. Whether it’s searching on Craigslist, watching a movie, playing games, downloading files or any other activity, it quickly becomes apparent when the service isn’t working properly.

With our new Sandvine technology, our network is able to give priority to the app that needs it most at any given moment in time – a level of traffic control that will help us deliver the services you want, when you want them.

Our Solution: Fairshare Network Management Plans

To make sure that our customers have internet service plans based on their actual needs, we are leaving behind our old “megabit” based services in favor of our new Fairshare Network Management plans.

Our new service levels provide each customer with a dedicated bandwidth channel based on the internet apps and services they use most – with pricing plans based on the size of that dedicated channel.

Here are our new service offerings:

BASIC

No Longer Available

Designed for everyday web browsing and email, our basic plan offers a steady, dedicated channel for low-intensity services like Facebook, internet telephone and gaming. With a dedicated channel customized for these services, users can count on plenty of bandwidth for these friendlier applications to zip data freely across the network. This works great for people on a budget, those who get their video entertainment through traditional means, and users whose radio signal is just too unreliable to be able to guarantee high-intensity services like streaming video.

VALUE STREAMING

Our streaming level of service is designed to give users enough bandwidth to support one round of standard definition television at a time, indefinitely. Users can turn on Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, or any streaming video service all day long at good (480) quality. At the same time, members of your household can comfortably browse the web, use internet telephone or multiplayer gaming without causing congestion or delays to the video stream. Note that customers on the “Streaming” plan will find that they cannot reliably get two video streams to work at the same time, and that peer to peer file sharing will compete for this same dedicated channel, so customers may choose to leave the file sharing to late nights when streaming video is not in use. This plan is great for users who typically watch one source of streaming video at a time.

PREMIUM STREAMING

This plan builds on the streaming option by supporting up to two standard definition television streams at the same time,or one high quality (720p) stream – perfect to meet the needs of households watching two sources of video at once.

POWER

Tailor-made for users with the most intense data needs, our Power plan is designed to support the much more bandwidth-intensive applications such as a single High Definition (1080p) or several standard definition on-demand video feeds. It will only be supported in conjunction with our best radio technologies and the strongest possible signals to guarantee there will always be enough bandwidth to go around.

SUPER POWER

Clocking in at up to a smoking 30Mbps download and 5Mbps upload, this tier will provide a data stream powerful enough to feed the beast that is 4k video. Games will download faster. Zoom meetings will zip along. You can brag to your neighbors harder. And you can still pay $0 in overage fees, as we don’t mess around with data caps.

At the moment, the Super Power User Plan is only available on select transmitters where the technology, capacity, and signal strength to your home allows it. We will be rolling it out to more sites as we continue to tirelessly improve our network.

A Simpler, Smarter Internet

To meet the needs of the evolving internet user, Webformix is now offering smarter, simpler price plans that ditch the old “megabits” pricing method in favor of pricing plans based on the services you actually use. Reliable bandwidth is the most precious resource we can deliver to our users, and our new FairShare Network Management policies will ensure the services you love work when you want them. As always, Webformix offers you all this with no contracts, no misleading introductory pricing, and no data usage caps of any kind.

Give us a call today to learn more about our new FairShare policies and pricing plans.

FairShare FAQ

So at the end of the day, what’s changing?

We’re using powerful new technology to prioritize our network traffic and make sure you have the bandwidth to accommodate the services you use the most. Looking ahead, you can expect a new pricing plan based on the internet apps and services you use every day, replacing our old method of counting “megabits,” which is no longer the best way to measure what users do online.

What’s Staying the Same?

As always, you can count on reliable, wireless internet service across the high desert with friendly, local customer service just a phone call away. And although our pricing plans have changed, we still guarantee no contracts, no misleading introductory pricing, and no data usage caps.

What About Privacy?

More than anything our ability to make the network more efficient is an exercise in logistics. Much like a shipping company, we move internet data like cardboard boxes. Our Sandvine prioritization technology gives us a very broad look at traffic to help us understand our customer’s usage patterns and how to improve service. We study weight, type, size, and when the package needs to get there. The actual traffic itself is anonymous and protected. We cannot see what is inside the box, but the information we do see lets us make the best use of the resources we have. If you have any concerns whatsoever about privacy, please get us on the phone so that we give you all the details to put your mind at ease.

Internet Fairshare Network Management Policy