Odessa Office uses NoaNet

Local Internet service provider Odessa Office Equipment is the first to provide Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) high speed Internet to communities in Lincoln County. Marlon Schafer, owner of Odessa Office Equipment, has negotiated a contract with NoaNet to utilize their fiber for anchor institutions as well as businesses and residents in both Odessa and Wilbur. And he's working on more.

Schafer was already providing the two communities with wireless Internet options, but now he can provide the high speeds that NoaNet's fiber provides. Speeds of up to 80MB/s at the libraries and up to 17MB/s is now available to residents and businesses. (For pricing, contact Odessa Office Equipment, and for a coverage map please see http://www.accima. com)

As a community service, Odessa Office Equipment provides both the Odessa and Wilbur libraries with their Internet connections at no cost. They continue to do so through their new NoaNet connection. While the Davenport Library recently went live with their direct connection to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded fiber, the Odessa and Wilbur libraries were actually the first in the county to utilize NoaNet's high speeds. They went live in March of 2014.

Patrons are encouraged to come in and experience the new speeds, either on the library's public access computers or on their own wireless devices. The faster Internet connection at the libraries mean patrons can better enjoy some of the programs the libraries offer, such as eBooks and Microsoft's Internet Technology Academy. The Internet Technology Academy is a program that provides free online training in a variety of Microsoft software and training to become Microsoft certified. Washington residents are able to sign up at their library.