We gratefully acknowledge the Coast Salish People's of Xe'Twey and Quality Foods for hosting our broadband antennae and system - without their generous support, the Lasqueti Wireless internet service would not be possible.
Please visit our Quality Foods page for more info.
Lasqueti Wireless - High-speed Internet Access
Lasqueti Wireless is one of the broadband offerings on Lasqueti. It was created in 2007 and is run and maintained by our local LIAS team.
LIAS provides two ways to access internet on Lasqueti:
1. Hotspots
Hotspot access is a public service offered by LIAS in certain areas of Lasqueti near the Free Store and Provisions. This is a limited service, intended as a convenience for Lasqueti residents and visitors, so that you can get online for short tasks, like checking e-mail or looking up a local business. Use is limited to ONE hour per day between 7am and 7pm.
2. Personal Home Use
To set up high speed internet at home, you will need a radio installed by our service technician to receive the wireless signal from our network. Basic installation includes all you need to get up and running including radio, connectors, radio installation labour, communications wire, etc. Cost for basic installation is approximately $300. This fee does not include extra costs associated with cleaning vegetation, climbing trees, or other preparations that may be required to get a good signal to your specific location.
In a nutshell the process is:
- A service technician (Larry most likely) will come to your place to do an assessment of whether or not there is a good straight signal possible, height, location, download speed tests etc. This may or may not include a bit of drone work.
- If it’s a go - then LIAS will do a basic equipment install and set-up. If extensive work is necessary - tree climbing etc. then there will likely be extra charges for technician time.
- You choose a plan that best fit your needs, see below, and you're online!
If you are unable to get a signal through Lasqueti Wireless, you can try one of the other broadband providers. You can still get a lasqueti.ca email address and access to our other services by just becoming a LIAS Member for $25 per year.
Contact us at info@lias.ca to find out if you can connect to Lasqueti Wireless.
Access Plans
All annual accounts include membership to LIAS. All accounts begin on March 1st and end on February 28th. New accounts will be pro-rated. Here are the Rates as of July 1, 2021.
| Plan | Term/GB | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hotspot | 1 hour / day | Free |
| Lite | 12 months / 300 GB | $525 / year |
Standard | 12 months / 1,200 GB | $725 / year |
| High | 12 months / 2,400 GB | $1,325 / year |
| Special plans | All plans larger than 2400GB, or with multiple abodes on one account, will be made individually with the account holder. | Based on membership ($400) plus 35c per GB based on data usage record from previous year. |
Payment can be made via E-transfer, PayPal or Cheque.
Acceptable Use Policy
Please read our Acceptable Use Policy.
Please Read This Fine Print!
Because we are a lean team of volunteers supported by some part-time staff hours, we have created annual data plans to create ease (i.e. one invoice / payment per year) and avoid extra billing/ payment transactions. If you are unable to pay for the annual plans in one lump sum payment, we can arrange to bill you on a half year cycle (but this is not preferred). Email: accounts@lias.ca to ask about this.
Usage rates for current annual plan members are monitored monthly, and based on your usage, we will recommend which plan you need. Due to technical limitations with our monitoring system, members are unable to check their actual usage themselves, so please send us an info request if you are worried about exceeding the limits of your plan to accounts@lias.ca.
FAQ
What happens when my data plan runs out?
- Connection shifts to reduced speed which still allows for basic internet browsing but not streaming etc. This allows members to access the network to arrange a service renewal.
- If a member has an unexpected peak usage and needs more data to complete the year, it can be purchased one time only at a rate of $100 per 100 GB
- Otherwise, they can switch to a new annual plan and pay the difference.
How do I renew my plan?
- We send out invoices at the beginning of February, a month before the account due date.
- We will send you at least one reminder.
- You will receive the invoice via PayPal.
- You can pay this via PayPal (preferred) or you can use Interac for e-transfer (to accounts@lias.ca) or mail us a cheque.
- If you do not pay your invoice by the due date, your account will be slowed and you will charged an additional $35 re-connection fee to cover the associated admin costs.
How do I determine if my location can get Lasqueti Wireless?
Contact service@lias.ca to arrange a visit and determination.
Where do I buy a radio antenna?
Contact service@lias.ca for possible retailers.
How do I hire an installer?
If you want an installer or the tech assistant or the network manager to come to your home then there is a $25.00 an hour charge with a $50.00 minimum. Contact service@lias.ca to make arrangements.
Internet not working?
- Turn your computer, router and aerial off.
- Then turn the aerial, router and computer back on, in that order. Wait for a count of 60 sec between turning each on.
- If still out of service contact a neighbour on the same access point, to see if others are having problems.
- If more than one member is without connection then one of them should call the tech help line and report the problem with pertinent details. 1.855.SOS.LIAS or 855.767.5427
- If the problem is at the member’s site then they will need to arrange to have it fixed themselves.
Something else?
- Look at the LIAS Contact Us section to see if there is somebody more applicable to contact.
Data Usage: Tips
Remember: you control your own usage. Smart phones and tablets use a huge amount of data, constantly: if you leave them on, they are talking to the world even when you are not using them. Uncontrolled Data use is not only a problem for your wallet but, as many of us have to share portals with others we degrade their connectivity with unnecessary use.
- Put your devices on airplane mode or turned off completely, or they will use up your data.
- When using programs such as YouTube or Facebook, make sure you've closed them properly or they will continue to run in the background.
- Remind your guests that they can use up your data at a very high rate and it will affect your costs!
- Consider having an on/off switch and only turn the radio on when wifi is needed.
- If you do a lot of downloading, try to do it in off peak times, such as before 6pm or after 11 pm. This will enable your neighbours to use their share of the bandwidth without problems and stoppages.