About

– WHAT IS IT?

Sister Lakes Cable brings the full power of the Internet to your computer using an always-on cable connection or fiber optic connection. With Sister Lakes Cable High Speed Internet, you get the Internet at speeds much faster than using other means of internet access.
The Sister Lakes Cable High Speed Internet service provides all the features your family needs to enjoy the web, including: Managed Wi-Fi
Multiple e-mail addresses
24/7/365 Technical Support via telephone and email
Access to newsgroups
Space for your own web site
All of this speed will deliver the Internet as it should be. It will give you a whole new realm of content and experiences. Watch video on demand, listen to CD quality content or play all the latest games on-line in real time!

– WHAT DO I NEED?

Cable Modem 

A cable modem is needed as the link between the cable coming out of your wall and the connection to your computer. A cable modem allows high-speed access to the Internet via a cable TV (CATV) network. Cable modem must be DOCSIS certified. Cable modems are conveniently available through your local electronics retailer.
Cable modems are available from your local cable company.

Fiber ONT ( Optical Node Terminal)  

A ONT is similar to a cable modem but is designed to use light versus a radio frequency. This a allows high-speed access to the Internet via a fiber optic link to the Internet. ONT’s are conveniently available for rent from Sister Lakes Cable, by renting your ONT you have the peace of mind that you have the newest hardware and latest software to take advantage of your fiber connection.

Minimum System Requirements

Your computer must have certain components. These are as follows:
Operating System: Window 7+ , MacOS 9.0+
Internet Browser: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari
Network Interface Card (NIC): Wireless Adapter

Network Interface Card
You will need to have a NIC (network interface card) or Ethernet interface in your computer. Cards can be purchased and installed at most local computer stores. Costs should range from $15 and up.

– WHAT DO I GET?

Along with blazing speeds and an always-on connection to the Internet, Sister Lakes Cable High Speed Internet will provide you with…
Internet E-mail
E-mail is the main method of communication over the Internet. In order for e-mail to work, you need to have an e-mail address and know the e-mail address of the person that you wish to correspond with. Typically an e-mail address will appear in the form of someone@an-internet-service-provider.com. For example, if your name was John Smith your email address could be john_smith@www.sisterlakescable.com.
Internet News
Internet newsgroups are forums for public discussion. It is usually easiest to think of them as a collection of bulletin boards each hosting a different topic of discussion. There are literally thousands of news groups and they cover an extremely wide range of topics, such as professional sports, technology, automobiles, gardening, and cooking.
Personal Webspace

You will receive twenty megabytes of space for your personal web page. For instructions on how to set it up, click here.
Support
Sister Lakes Cable has a dedicated 24/7/365 Technical Support Call Center and online support available at no extra cost to you. (Help contacts)

– HOW CAN I GET IT?
Contact Customer Service to arrange an installation appointment or for further information on any of our service packages.
Customer Service Contact Information:
Phone: 269-424-5737
Email: cs@sisterlakescable.com

SPEED COMPARISON
With Sister Lakes Cable Broadband Internet you will quickly learn why it is actually called the World Wide Web as you discover that the world of information is immediately at your fingertips.
Cable and Fiber Internet access vastly outperforms most other common means of connecting to the Internet and will enable you to experience the best of what the web has to offer at the speeds it is designed to utilize.
Modem speeds are measured in megabits per second (Mbps). To convert to megabytes per second (MB/sec.), divide by eight – note the spelling “bits” vs “bytes”. In the table below, each modem speed is shown along with the theoretical time required to download a 1 MB file, assuming the full transfer speed was achieved. Please keep in mind that these speeds are the theoretical possible speeds. Regardless of your Internet Service Provider, overhead and other natural inefficiencies of the Internet (such as web site server lag and general Internet congestion) often reduce actual performance by 5 percent to 20 percent for all users.

Water and Hose Analogy

The easiest way to understand bandwidth (and Mbps) is to think about water and a hose. Imagine you need to fill up a swimming pool with water. A larger hose that puts out more water per minute will fill the pool much faster than a small hose, right? The same can be said of bandwidths.

A greater bandwidth will enable data from the internet to download faster to your device. This means that websites will open faster, Netflix movies will stream better (with no buffering), and your files will download faster. Basically, a higher Mbps internet speed will give you a greater overall experience.

By the way, bandwidth works with uploads as well. A higher Mbps will ensure faster uploads. This is most visible when you need to upload relatively large files like video files. A higher Mbps will upload files faster than a lower Mbps. Again, not all Internet service is the same so it is important to consult with a provider on differences. Even though you may see a speed referenced, don’t be fooled. Oftentimes, this is only a download speed. Upload speeds may be different and for cheaper services, it is much less than download. Some providers offer “symmetrical” speed service which delivers the same speed for both upload and download data transfer.

What Does Mbps Really Mean?

We have been speaking in terms of “higher” Mbps and “lower” Mbps. Let’s bring numbers into the mix. Internet service providers usually attach figures to their data plans. One service provider might speak of speeds of up to 7Mbps and another will promise 10Mbps (or 50Mbps). What do these figures mean?

Data transfer across the internet occurs in electrical or light pulses. The smallest unit of data is called a bit. The rate of data transfer is measured in seconds. Therefore, the slowest speed of data transfer possible is one bit per second (1 bps).

To simplify the categorization, bits are chunked in groups of a thousand. 1,000 bits are called a kilobit (Kb). The rate of transfer of 1,000 bits per second is 1 kilobit per second (1Kbps). 1,000 kilobits are called 1 megabit (Mb). Essentially, 1 megabit consists of 1,000,000 bits. So, 1Mbps is the rate of transfer of one million bits per second. If we take this one step higher, a thousand Megabits are called a Gigabit (Gb). This equals 1 billion bits.

In a nutshell, the Mbps meaning is “the rate of transfer of 1 million bits per second.” If your internet service provider promises download speeds of 7Mbps, they are promising that they’ll be able to transfer 7 million bits per second to your device. The obvious question is: what does this have to do with your data?

Mbps and Your Internet Data Plan

When choosing the perfect internet bandwidth package for your business, there are two things you need to consider when determining what speed is adequate: (1) the nature of internet usage, and (2) the number of users. As mentioned previously, this is simply addressing speed. The quality of the connection, reliability, and other factors besides speed also should be considered when determining which service is best for our business. To simplify things for you, here are the recommended bandwidth sizes for different usage scenarios by a single user:

  • Social Media and surfing the web (1– 3 Mbps)
  • Video conferencing (2 – 4 Mbps)
  • Online video streaming e.g. via Netflix (3 – 5 Mbps)
  • Streaming videos in HD (5 – 7 Mbps)