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1) Hey, Wisconsin folks, if you’ve ever wondered why big tech companies don’t come here to set up shop, the following (slightly edited) online conversation between two of my geek/nerd/tech friends might explain it to you....
1) Hey, Wisconsin folks, if you’ve ever wondered why big tech companies don’t come here to set up shop, the following (slightly edited) online conversation between two of my geek/nerd/tech friends might explain it to you....
2) ‘A’ is a friend who does need/geek/tech stuff for fun. ‘B’ used to do it professionally, but got out of the business due to lack of local opportunity. ‘Oof’ is A’s term for ‘clusterf***’.
3)
A: We have even up/down on fiber.
B: Man, I’d kill for that, but we’ll never have that in Wisconsin.
A: The local community paid for it to be put in, here. A bunch of new blood came in in the last 2 years and they pushed for better internet.
A: We have even up/down on fiber.
B: Man, I’d kill for that, but we’ll never have that in Wisconsin.
A: The local community paid for it to be put in, here. A bunch of new blood came in in the last 2 years and they pushed for better internet.
4)
B: Yeah, communities within the state hierarchy aren’t allowed to do that here, by state law. As long as at least one broadband option exists in the area, townships/cities aren’t allowed to chip in a dime toward further options....
B: Yeah, communities within the state hierarchy aren’t allowed to do that here, by state law. As long as at least one broadband option exists in the area, townships/cities aren’t allowed to chip in a dime toward further options....
5)
And they define ‘broadband’ *very* loosely, like, by state law, old-school satellite with 56k upchannel is considered ‘broadband.’
A: Ouch. That sucks.
B: Yah. And because the cities can’t match, they haven’t laid much to Milwaukee/Madison beyond the original OC3 lines.
And they define ‘broadband’ *very* loosely, like, by state law, old-school satellite with 56k upchannel is considered ‘broadband.’
A: Ouch. That sucks.
B: Yah. And because the cities can’t match, they haven’t laid much to Milwaukee/Madison beyond the original OC3 lines.
6)
A: Oof.
B: It WAS the only thing we had going for us up here.
A: Key word: WAS
B: Since Milwaukee / Green Bay were at least on OC3 lines and just one hop away from Chicago and the main OC12 loop. But now the main loop is fiber, so a lot of business ends up going right...
A: Oof.
B: It WAS the only thing we had going for us up here.
A: Key word: WAS
B: Since Milwaukee / Green Bay were at least on OC3 lines and just one hop away from Chicago and the main OC12 loop. But now the main loop is fiber, so a lot of business ends up going right...
7)
on the edge of Illinois or just over the border so they can jump right on Chicago’s backbone.
A: Yeah, that’s…. Oof.
B: Yah, I think last time I checked, even with multiple OC3 trunk lines from Milwaukee to Chicago, the manageable bandwidth is something like 1/300th...
on the edge of Illinois or just over the border so they can jump right on Chicago’s backbone.
A: Yeah, that’s…. Oof.
B: Yah, I think last time I checked, even with multiple OC3 trunk lines from Milwaukee to Chicago, the manageable bandwidth is something like 1/300th...
8)
of what goes in/out of Chicago in other directions. And because it’s still the closest city for it, all of Madison linked in through Milwaukee as well, further congesting it.
A: Yeah, that’s a whole bunch of oof.
of what goes in/out of Chicago in other directions. And because it’s still the closest city for it, all of Madison linked in through Milwaukee as well, further congesting it.
A: Yeah, that’s a whole bunch of oof.
9)
B: Yeah, basically, and it’s also the reason why the nerds up here call the area north of Milwuakee ‘the Bermuda Triangle of Tech.’ I mean, when I worked for local internet providers a while back, most of the staff were ignorant AF, yet we still got business as the only...
B: Yeah, basically, and it’s also the reason why the nerds up here call the area north of Milwuakee ‘the Bermuda Triangle of Tech.’ I mean, when I worked for local internet providers a while back, most of the staff were ignorant AF, yet we still got business as the only...
10)
place in the area to do ANY techwork. One place had a guy with a college degree who was cited as the ‘chief network engineer’ but didn’t even know how to open/work with a DOS shell, or how routing tables worked, let alone how to configure them.
place in the area to do ANY techwork. One place had a guy with a college degree who was cited as the ‘chief network engineer’ but didn’t even know how to open/work with a DOS shell, or how routing tables worked, let alone how to configure them.
11)
A: So, they basically hired anybody who knew like bare minimum tech and called them geniuses, that’s what I’m getting from this.
A: So, they basically hired anybody who knew like bare minimum tech and called them geniuses, that’s what I’m getting from this.
12)
B: Well, I mean, if you’re going to be a network engineer, or even a technician, knowing routing tables is kinda PART of the bare minimum. LOL
A: So, not EVEN the bare minimum, then. And, we’re back to OOF.
B: Well, I mean, if you’re going to be a network engineer, or even a technician, knowing routing tables is kinda PART of the bare minimum. LOL
A: So, not EVEN the bare minimum, then. And, we’re back to OOF.
13)
When state law limits the ability of localities to improve services, businesses stay away. The state legislature should move to fix this problem. Call your state and local reps and candidates and ask what they'll do about this!
When state law limits the ability of localities to improve services, businesses stay away. The state legislature should move to fix this problem. Call your state and local reps and candidates and ask what they'll do about this!
