my month without bandwidth - the story so far

[chris raettig <chris@raettig.org>]

since the beginning of this month i have been living under the shadow
of imminent disconnectivity. i'm a network and communications geek.
i live online, in so many ways, and it forms a fundamental part of
what i do for entertainment, edification and employ. large sections of
my family have come to accept that chris lives 'in' the internet; if 
they want to make contact, they must do so by going 'into' the internet.
i have grown up as a true child of the network. 

for the last year, i've really been soaking in it. courtesy of a leased
line internet connection supplied to my flat. as dictated by the
terms of my contract with an ex-employer. its been a luxury; owning
a block of ip addresses, running servers, websites and cameras
from the end of my bed. having better and more reliable internet access 
than most small companies.

it also allowed me to bypass the painful rollout of digital subscriber
lines that has been taking place over the last twelve months.

now that i no longer work for that particular company this line is obviously 
being disconnected. at gbp500/month i didnt feel i could justify taking on 
the cost myself at this time. 

i have been spoilt, in terms of connectivity, a fact i readily acknowledge. 
when i can find the time i hope to write something about the nature of
constant connectivity. it had a very profound effect on the way i interact
with the network and the digital world. 

however i believe in the power of positivity; there are some genuinely
good things to come out of this severance. the line did act as 
an anchor, committing me to the flat i've lived in for the last year.
i'm now taking this opportunity to move away from my inconsiderate
and noisy neighbours. which has to be a healthy thing. 


since the beginning of february i've been living on borrowed time. the line
was supposed to be removed at the beginning of the month. so the three
weeks grace i've enjoyed has been appreciated. it was finally switched
off last night. 

i do not have a landline or cable access at my flat. (why bother, when you've
got a direct fiber connection to an isp?) and it would be impossible to
have one fitted in time to be useful, given that i move out on the 3rd.
so this leaves me completely devoid of bandwidth until that time. 

i cant even veg out in front of the tv all week; i had my aerials removed
early last year. (the moral equivalent of a prostate operation). 

fridays are traditionally my day off. but i'm here at the studio, hammering
out email messages before i disappear for the weekend.

i'm really not sure how i'll react to being offline. something like this
has the potential to be quite traumatic for me. this weekend will be the
worst - i'll be at the studio all next week, and in the process of moving
(my new flat has dsl) the following weekend. 

breathe in.  breathe out. repeat. 

i shall at least attempt to document this turbulent time (as best i can).

expect slower (and grumpier) responses to communication for a while. 

i'll catch you all on the flipside.

chrisr is now going offline.



...NO CARRIER#