Need your opinion

   / Need your opinion #1  

GarthH

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
187
Location
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
I'm working with an wireless Internet Service Provider most in the rurual area. We would likely to broaden our scope and looking a some new products. One thing we are considering IP based monitoring equipment - smoke, water, temperature, motion sensitive video and others(?). All of these devices can connect directly to the net so the owner can remotely see the readings and / or be notified via email based on presets. For example we could monitor a grain bin temperature, house temperature or any thing - we are trying to do this all with wireless hot zones.

If your ISP offered this would you have any interest?

What cool IP technology might you be interested. A couple that interest me lately was the IP radio / music, IP television or a door lock that can be monitored or activated remotely ( apparently some of these were showed off at the Vegas electronics show).

Garth
 
   / Need your opinion #2  
Just to be able to use the internet without droping out every time a cloud goes by would be good . It is pathetic , if the government did'nt provide the insallation for free i would demand my money back :mad: .
 
   / Need your opinion #3  
Security for sure. And deliver message to the cell phone. You could install moving detection devices to every room and every device would report by code the intrusion.

My friend actually had this done and when his house (summer cabin) got broken in, he could follow the progress of the thieve from room to room - while he called cops, of course.
 
   / Need your opinion #4  
Ditto, Security... Live view of the property would be nice... game cameras, too.
 
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   / Need your opinion #5  
If your ISP offered this would you have any interest?

Probably not me. All I want from my ISP is a good, dependable connection. Home monitoring systems for alarm, video, HVAC are already on the market. Might be a tough market to make a profit in. Don't know about anything for farm monitoring like you mentioned, though. May be a niche market for you to tap? Good luck. :)
 
   / Need your opinion #6  
Garth, I agree with MossRoad that this is going to be a tough market. People here are spoiled to cable and satellite services that offer free installation and free equipment (sometimes with rental fees) that are provided with a one or two year contract. If your company is capitalized well enough to handle this cashflow challenge and provide those services to rural areas, you might find a money making market. You don't have to look very far on TBN to find many threads where people want to enhance the security of their remote property and equipment. If you can provide that service at a reasonable rate, I don't know why you would not be successful. Good luck!
 
   / Need your opinion #8  
What cool IP technology might you be interested.
Garth

I think if it has not already been done , remote feeding and watering of livestock and pets . If you could see them on a sreen and be able to feed and water them from a remote location it would be great . Imagine being able to go on holidays etc without having to try and find someone reliable to look after them . Mains powered solenoids with Solar backup would be easy to activate food doors and water taps and even open gates to allow stock into different pastures .
 
   / Need your opinion #9  
Home monitoring systems for alarm, video, HVAC are already on the market.

The systems are not only monitoring, but they can interface with the equipment in question as well, so you can "control" the system when you're not home.
 
   / Need your opinion #10  
The systems are not only monitoring, but they can interface with the equipment in question as well, so you can "control" the system when you're not home.

I realize that and I already do that with some very cheap software that controls my home lighting, swimming pool pump and security cameras through my home computer. I can access that computer from just about any other computer in the world to monitor AND control those things, so I am good to go. I can use the telephone to change my alarm system if I choose. If I wanted to monitor and control my home HVAC I could do that from the computer, too, but I just use an automatic setback thermostat for that. With the addition of cheap modules and relays, I can monitor and control just about anything in my house or on my property already. That is why I think it will be a tough market to break in to.
 
   / Need your opinion #11  
Security and monitoring via the web soinds good but email alerts are not of much value. Messaging to a mobile device or phone would be required to give timely notice.
 
   / Need your opinion #12  
Don't send e-mail alerts... send text messages directly to your cell phone. ;)
 
   / Need your opinion
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Great replies everyone. We currently have 8,000 subscribers and we do are capitalized well. Most of our connections are through wireless radio's. Depending on the vegetation, etc we can normally cover up to 15 miles - we are in the prairies. I had the service before I started working for them.

Security cameras are on our list and we have actually done some installations.

Mossroad had some great ideas although you are more than at techie if you can get all of that stuff running. I personally have given up, it seems I need to learn many new things a day so when it comes to technology I think I spent too much time and money to get all that stuff working. I would rather just phone someone to make it work. You've done a lot congratulations.

I had not thought about the texting idea - a great one. At times I come home and notice tracks in the snow or other places and wonder who was driving though there? If we could create a camera that you could control remotely and have the images recorded, I would feel more confortable.

It is a tough haul to transfer an ISP to something more. We are getting some serious competition, our telco, so want to see what else we could do that the new competitor will not. The telco owns a security company but normally just focuses on the cities.

Interesting issues with the feeding. Not sure I would go there until the devices are proven and there was all kind of redunancy systems. It would be devistating to have a failure.

Has anyone seen the IP TV's?
Anyone setup a separate IP Radio of music system? This is one of my own wishes - our local stations are pretty limited catering to the 16 to 35 year olds.

Has anyone invested into a decent weather station. I see Oceanic gear around the area; it would be nice to have this in remote area giving you temperature, wind, rain and so on. If you are farming you could see how fertilizer does with a measured amount of water.

What about a hot zone in your yard? I was talking to some our staff and it is not that expensive. Some Linksys are fairly strong but their is one that can cover a large outside area. It would be nice to have a computer in the shop at times.

One of the things we are thinking about is to actually install a network in the house. If you have multiple computers a network is always helpful. Not hard if your a techie but for many it is just agrevating dealing with MS products that always change the setups.

Again thankyou for your ideas.
 
   / Need your opinion #14  
Garth,

Reading where you are and the weather, I'm surprised you can get the electrons and photons to flow.

Chuck
 
   / Need your opinion #15  
Mossroad had some great ideas although you are more than at techie if you can get all of that stuff running. I personally have given up, it seems I need to learn many new things a day so when it comes to technology I think I spent too much time and money to get all that stuff working. I would rather just phone someone to make it work. You've done a lot congratulations.

I had not thought about the texting idea - a great one. At times I come home and notice tracks in the snow or other places and wonder who was driving though there? If we could create a camera that you could control remotely and have the images recorded, I would feel more confortable.

It is a tough haul to transfer an ISP to something more. We are getting some serious competition, our telco, so want to see what else we could do that the new competitor will not. The telco owns a security company but normally just focuses on the cities.

Interesting issues with the feeding. Not sure I would go there until the devices are proven and there was all kind of redunancy systems. It would be devistating to have a failure.

Has anyone seen the IP TV's?
Anyone setup a separate IP Radio of music system? This is one of my own wishes - our local stations are pretty limited catering to the 16 to 35 year olds.

Has anyone invested into a decent weather station. I see Oceanic gear around the area; it would be nice to have this in remote area giving you temperature, wind, rain and so on. If you are farming you could see how fertilizer does with a measured amount of water.

What about a hot zone in your yard? I was talking to some our staff and it is not that expensive. Some Linksys are fairly strong but their is one that can cover a large outside area. It would be nice to have a computer in the shop at times.

One of the things we are thinking about is to actually install a network in the house. If you have multiple computers a network is always helpful. Not hard if your a techie but for many it is just agrevating dealing with MS products that always change the setups.

Again thankyou for your ideas.

Cheap web cams now come with free software that detects motion and sends you an e-mail. The software can also upload pictures or video or both to your personal website. You can send a text e-mail to just about any cell phone. All you have to do is then check your website and see what is going on at home. It is fairly easy to set up for most folks. Don't have to be a techie.

As for radio, satellite TV usually has multiple music channels that cater to just about any taste included in most packages. We listen to that most of the time, rather than radio. No commercials.

I installed two coax cables in each room of my house and ran them back to a HOME location and a series of splitters and combiners. Think of the two cables as an IN and an OUT. I can receive in any room and I can send FROM any room. So, I can turn on the Sat dish, set it to a music or video channel, go to any other room in the house, turn on a T.V. in that room and listen to the music or watch the show. I can also turn any T.V. in my house to a specific channel and watch the security cameras.

The automated stuff in my house is self controlled with no computer needing to be on, but as I mentioned, I can monitor it if I want to by turning on one specific computer in my house that is connected to the device and then connecting to that computer from any other computer in my house, or over the internet.

I would love to have a decent weather station that I could monitor on my PC in the house and from anywhere else in the world.

Our home computer network consists of a DSL modem going to a router. The router has 4 wired ports and a wireless network that can support 250 computers. I can access the wireless from anywhere on our 1 acre lot. Wireless is the way to go for existing construction. No wires to run. It was pretty easy to set up. If you are marketing such a service, you need to convince people that it is just hard enough that they will pay you to install it, but easy enough for them to use without having to call you all the time. ;)
 
   / Need your opinion #17  
I do this sort of thing for a living. Turning things on/off, looking at cameras, supervising utilities and consumables etc. by remote control are all useful. But probably the most useful and used remote function is the reporting of human events, especially monitoring arrival/departure times of latch key kids, maids, service personnel, employees in you business etc.
 

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