LaMonana Has New Satillite Internet,
LAN and Two way Radio System

Located in the cloud forests of Costa Rica, LaMontana has been, since its inception, isolated from the outside world, lacking both telephone and internet access at the camp. Messages from the outside world havehad to be carried by personnel traveling to the camp, or sent via “snail mail”. Through church efforts, LaMontana has gained access to the outside world through a satellite internet connection and wireless Local Area Network (LAN) network recently installed by personnel of the Oaks Bible Church of Santa Barbara, California. During the summer of 2007, eighteen people traveled to the camp, and installed a LAN along with a radio repeater to allow for superior communications throughout the camp by way of handheld radios.

Structures spread out over the camp lack telephone communication between each other. The new wireless LAN will not only supply telephone service to the buildings, but internet service and LAN service to a server as well, so that camp activities can be coordinated over the computer network. In the future, telephones with Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) will be installed on the LAN in order that telephone communication can be established between buildings at the camp. Through the satellite internet connection, a “local” telephone line will also be open to the United States capable of being accessed from any one of the telephones located in the buildings. Camp personnel will be able to originate calls to the US through the internet, while calls from the States will be able to be completed to the camp. The process will be similar to making a local telephone call, except that the person at the other end will be in Costa Rica.

Because the camp and buildings are located on very steep terrain, with as much as 1000 feet between structures, to communicate with someone, it was necessary to not only find the person, but, in some cases, hike up or down a hills to deliver the message. The terrain does not lend itself to installing telephone lines between the buildings because of the high costs involved in that undertaking.. The LAN telephone system, on the other hand, makes for far easier and efficient communications throughout the camp, supplying internet access, local area network access and telephone access to other local phones at the camp, as well as access to telephones in the United States. The two way radio system allows maintenance personnel and others to communicate with a lot more efficiency, particularly in areas that are currently inaccessible. This could be of vital importance in the event of an emergency or injury to a person currently at the camp.

Church personnel spent a week installing the equipment, which was checked in as baggage on the airline coming in from Santa Barbara. Insuring that all the necessary equipment and tools arrived on the plane was part of the challenge, because parts and supplies in the area are hard to come by. Overall, the trip was a success, as most tasks were completed, however a few items still need to be taken care of, possibly a a project for a future trip.

La Montaña Christian Camps want to thank Oaks Bible Church in Santa Barbara, California for not only funding this project, but for sending down a team of 17 dedicated people to completely install this high tech system. :-)