History and Turmoil of the Internet in Lincoln County as of September 12th, 2000
GOVERNMENT vs PRIVATE The Internet came to our area in kind of a strange way and since then has gotten a lot stranger.
THE HISTORY PART
The first ISP (Internet Service Provider), the "KooteNet" was formed 5 years ago by a few individuals who wanted the Internet in Libby, but could not find anyone with the money to venture the capital to start an ISP.
We find it rather curious that one of these individuals had already ventured his capital in starting an ISP in Kalispell, rather than his home town: Libby. So we surmise that this person had already used up all of his money on a business in the Flathead, which is really what they wanted to start in Libby in the first place.
These folks did not go very far in their search as they gave up and went to the Lincoln County Commissioners and put the pressure on them to 'loan' their group somewhere around $50,000 to start this new thing called the Internet. In the end they borrowed even more than this!
The plan presented went kind of like this:
If Lincoln County would supply the 'seed money', this group would form a 'non-profit organization' called Lincoln County Technology Group (LCTG) and use the proceeds from this new venture called 'KooteNet' to repay the loaned seed money back to the County.The Commissioners saw merit in the proposal, but attached some strings to the loan to make sure the entire County would benefit by requiring KooteNet to serve all communities in the County in addition to some "other" smaller things: like providing County Offices and selected employees with free Internet service.
So then the KooteNet was born. There was a rather massive effort to form user groups in each community and, as we all know, KooteNet became the only and still is the largest single group of Internet users in the County.
KOOTENET vs USERS
As with some groups of individuals, KooteNet's managing board of directors became quite the authoritarian body. Since they were the only game in town they became the traffic cops, and eventually the czar, of the local information super highway.
They started making rules, regulations and enforcement price schemes that absolutely hindered the growth of the County's local business presence on the web. For example:
their first rule was: 'No Commercial Email'. If you want an email account to 'sell something' or make a free enterprise proposition to someone else, you must pay for a more expensive account. This became the primary fatal error of the KooteNet, because the only way they enforced the rules to collect the higher fees was to "catch" those who refused to willingly pay the higher rates.But then again, there were those who innocently wrote someone an email trying to sell someone something. (We think) these folks are the ones the KooteNet's rules hurt the most. Why? Because in order to be caught, someone has to read their email! And this happened plenty of times.
We remember the story of a local attorney. He did not have an email account established, but used the email which belonged to another local attorney who had an account with the KooteNet. What happened was this: the one attorney, without an account, used the other attorney's email to send briefs to a firm out of state. A representative of the KooteNet visited the attorney and issued a stern warning that this 'unauthorized use' would not be tolerated; that both could loose their 'privilege' to have KooteNet accounts. What do think the attorney did? Ever seen a person who had his or her civil rights violated? Madder than a wet hornet.
This kind of snooping occurred quite regularly by the 'KooteNet volunteers'.... just folks who came into the organization and became involved with enforcing KooteNet's rules. This enforcement went on; next to be scrutinized were the user's private and commercial web pages. Volunteers went over each word in each page to see if the letter of the LCTG Law was being followed. People were called and asked 'what were you doing on the Internet at three in the morning?', whenever someone sent an email these rule enforcers did not like.
We were one of the KooteNet accounts which was picked on by these enforcers and we objected. I was an Eureka area KooteNet representative for a while and at each meeting I would try to get the other folks to see the folly in their restrictive rules and pricing structure. Long story short: I was asked to go somewhere else if I didn't like it. Even the founder of the Board, Randall Secrest, emailed everyone on the KooteNet, at that time (you old timers should remember), a copy of a scathing letter addressed to me, telling me to go start my own ISP! But it wasn't until the KooteNet became "arbitrary and vindictive" and turned my commercial web account off all of a sudden, which cost me about $5,000 in real hard cash, that I seriously considered it.
So I started my own ISP: Montana Sky Net.
And my 'own' ISP was built upon these principles:
fairness, untraced connections, private and unread email, and the idea that a business friendly atmosphere would cause more growth and wealth for our users than the restrictive ideas set forth by the LCTG. It's to bad it took over a year for me to get Montana Sky going because by this time those early users, who understood that the KooteNet's rules were crazy, had already taken their online commercial business' out of the area. They are still being hosted on servers either in the Flathead or out of state.TRUTH vs FICTION
KooteNet never became a 'non-profit organization'. KooteNet is owned lock, stock and barrel by Lincoln County, your government. Their promises were not kept and KooteNet's board has been operating things as if it was their own business ever since. Although advertising themselves as a 'non-profit and mostly volunteer organization', the fact is KooteNet is operated by four paid employees, on the County's payroll, receiving County Health and Welfare, and going to work for their pay everyday.
The only 'volunteers' are those on the board of directors, and they get free accounts in return for their time in making sure that the old "rules" are followed and new rules are created.
KOOTENET vs TAXPAYERS
Adding to the fact that other County offices are being used by the KooteNet without paying for their costs, there are "other" interesting details:
1) For instance, for five years not a dime has been paid to the three Libraries where KooteNet does its "business" from.
2) When KooteNet needs legal advice, wants to sue someone, or needs contracts drawn up, the Lincoln County Attorneys Office does the work.
3) When the KooteNet needs remodeling or labor, County employees are dispatched to do the work.
4) To get discounts on equipment, the KooteNet represents that they are partners with the school system. Then they do fancy under the table trades, where the schools buy the equipment the KooteNet needs, using their educational discounts and then trades the KooteNet this equipment in return for credit on the school's Internet service fees.
Do not be misled here either: the KooteNet charges and the schools pay some of the highest rates in the country for their Internet connections.
The County has admitted that KooteNet is a department of theirs, so we have to ask this:
Why is the KooteNet able to buy things for itself, like hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of equipment and services, without advertising for bids and getting the best price like "ALL" other County offices are supposed to? The road department advertises for bids for trucks, gravel and gasoline, yet the KooteNet buys $4,000 a month, in three year contracts without ever making one gesture that resembles the way the other County offices operate in obtaining goods and services.
KOOTENET vs BIG BUSINESS
June 2000 saw KooteNet entering into a contract with the First National Bank, a private business, to run expensive fiber optic cable from KooteNet's headquarters inside the Lincoln County Library in Libby to the bank's offices, all for the purpose of the bank creating a data link to its office in Helena. In this case the KooteNet is not only competing against local private ISPs, but now this County Department is competing against the local telephone company and the major telecommunications networks established in Montana like AT&T, US West, Touch America and others who provide this type of data transmission service. Who reaps the benefits? First National, of course. Who can blame them for wanting a lower cost service?
But why should County resources go to help the bank save money?
Why should the KooteNet spend $20,000 to set up this service only for the First National Bank?
How will this benefit the County residents in Troy, Eureka, Trego, Fortine or in the Yaak?
Simple... it doesn't!How much more do we have to sit back and watch KooteNet evolve before the residents of Lincoln County scream, 'ENOUGH!'?
We feel now that the Internet has grown and flourished with private enterprise, it is the time to get our County Government "out of this private sector business" and either: Quit, Sell or Privatize the KooteNet.
The problem with privatizing or selling the KooteNet is that it will have to be sold at auction to the highest bidder and all the money will have to go back into the County's General Fund. Will this mean that big out of the area corporations will come in and buy up the profitable KooteNet? Where will the returned money go after the sale? Could it be possible to divide the KooteNet up into the existing ISPs in the County?
HOW NOW COUNTY COMMISSIONERS?
By KooteNet's own admission, they pleaded "ignorance" when they admit they are advertising that KooteNet as a non-profit and "mostly" volunteer organization. The fact remains they are advertising themselves as "non-profit", which they are not. This is misleading and one of the basis' of my complaint for damages. Furthermore, the Commissioners should be insulted with KooteNet's explanation that the LCTG volunteers are not smart enough to know the difference between a non-profit and a government office.
The statement that the KooteNet is a mostly volunteer organization is also false. All the day to day operations are conducted by paid employees, and the majority of the administration who claim "volunteer" status are paid by the County as employees! Add to this that the County Attorney's office spends time working on KooteNet's ordered projects; all the library's personnel do the same.... all paid for by the County.
The Sheriff and the road department do not advertise themselves as non-profits.... so why should the Library and KooteNet?
In my view, the KooteNet started with PUBLIC funds for the sole purpose of "providing the public with low priced 'universal' (meaning County wide) Internet services", as touted by both the KooteNet and certain Commissioners, and this purpose is NOT as the founders and past volunteers remember the purpose of KooteNet to be:
TO WIT: Borrow seed money from the County to start a non-profit organization and then pay back those funds when they break even and in the mean time provide then unavailable Internet services for a fee to those who could afford it.Since the County created and purchased services back then worth over $50,000 for the purpose of providing the public with low priced Internet services, it is my opinion the Commission should have advertised for public bids for the service. It did not and they violated State law. Had the KooteNet repaid the money as a loan and then registered as a non-profit corporation, I could not argue with the above. It is plain to see that the former Commission was remiss, therefore the current Commission should sell the KooteNet and put the public's funds back.
Let me further the argument placed by KooteNet and especially by Commissioner Rita Windom: that the KooteNet is necessary because it can provide the lowest price service, and this supposed fact is what her constituents tell her of why KooteNet needs to stay within the County's control.
There are about 15,000 residents in this County. Only 3000 of them subscribe to Internet services and of those subscribers only 1850 use KooteNet.
Since the other ISPs charge more than KooteNet, it is obvious that "low price" is not the deciding factor for the 1200 "other" residents using other ISPs. Over a third of the market does not agree with the County's low price because they don't subscribe to KooteNet.
Over 1/3 of the County's Internet users don't use KooteNet. 12,000 residents don't subscribe to any Internet Service.
Of the 1850 KooteNet users, how many of them "could afford" to pay a dollar or 2 per/month more?
Examining this Statement: ...KooteNet is necessary because it can provide the lowest price service.
Let's just say for argument sake that there are at least 1000 of the 1850 people who could afford paying a higher rate. After all they all own computers, have phone lines and obviously have adequate shelter and income to live on or they would be too poor to pay for Internet, therefore they wouldn't have it in the first place. So that leaves 850 users to discuss.
Of the the remaining 850 that "must have" this low priced County provided Internet service, how many are on public assistance in other forms and if they were without the KooteNet, would not be able to afford any Internet? I would estimate on the high side that this number could be 300.
Now the questions:
1) Why should it be the business of the County to provide subsidized Internet service for 300 residents?
2) Why should the County Library's "INTERNET WELFARE DEPARTMENT" be allowing people, who CAN afford to pay more, this "low price" for County subsidized Internet? No one runs any other welfare program like this! Those who can pay should; those who can't pay should "qualify" for County assistance instead of letting the County just "grant" it to anyone who just walks through their door.
Please remember: KooteNet pays no rent, no legal, no insurance, no taxes, no licenses, and no wages out of it's proceeds to the employees of the Libraries in Eureka, Troy and some in Libby. And this is why there's a difference in price between ISPs.
The other argument was "If the KooteNet sells, (and if I buy it---- which may not happen) then the Southern County is in the hands of a monopoly.... me! Don't think for one minute that another ISP won't pop up before or after KooteNet is sold. In fact, I know that soon Radio Shack of Libby plans to enter into the ISP game... maybe next month.
MORE CONCERNS
The other concern is where to draw the line on the expansion of the KooteNet's services. The previous example of them running fiber optic cable from the public Library in Libby to the First National Bank and then to other interested Libby businesses is one example. This is a flagrant move which detracts from the "universal" service goal from the start. The KooteNet has just enough money to put a small portion of cable running to where it plans, but NEVER will have enough money to wire the rest of the County which will get zero benefit from KooteNet wiring fiber optic cable to a few businesses in downtown Libby proper.
A) I ask, "Who is going to draw the line?"
B) Is the KooteNet going to be allowed to compete at any "Internet" related service level they feel the urge to provide? For example, if dial-in access for under incomed residents was "really" the whole thrust of keeping it owned by the County, perhaps one could argue for their point.
But KooteNet sells web sites, provides hosting for any "out of County" client who wishes to buy web hosting services from them. KooteNet even offers to sell domain names.... and I bet they don't do it at their cost nor sell domains just to the County's residents!
These facts are indisputable. KooteNet should be sold or tailored back to a County sponsored low income ISP provider only.
NOW FOR THE REAL NON-PROFITS INTERBEL vs COMMUNITY
As rural co-operatives redefine themselves in a deregulated market, it's both appropriate and instructive to reflect on their beginnings.
THE HISTORICAL PART
Historically, co-operatives are a product of the welfare state. They exist for one reason only: To provide nonprofit service to sparsely populated rural areas that private enterprise could not service economically; that is, at a profit. So, community members banded together to form co-ops that, with the help of federal handouts, provided the same basic communication services which big city folks enjoy.
Historically, co-ops only exist through one vehicle. Their subsidized rural service became possible only because, we the people, as represented by the federal government, collectively agreed that an effective rural communications system was necessary for the good of the country. To that end, we the people, provided nearly unlimited funds for co-ops to complete their mission. And to their credit, co-ops have indeed completed that mission. But now that InterBel's mission is complete and our rural area has not only become effective, but "superior" phone services compared to the big city, our local co-op has decided to engage in an "empire building" plan to grow.
Since they have completed their basic mission, the current management of the co-op sees the end of their huge subsidies coming and they realize unless they run the co-op like any other business, the co-op will not have the income to pay for the huge excesses they have been accustomed to having in the past. So now we see the co-ops starting to compete against private businesses in areas outside of their goal: telephone service.
Besides this, they are invading another phone company's rights in their own home town. Such decisions run counter to the co-op's original mission.
INTERBEL vs LOCAL INTERNET COMMUNITY
InterBel is a latecomer to the Internet. Five years after the founding of Lincoln County's first ISP (Internet Service Provider), InterBel entered the market because "all the other phone co-ops were doing it". Just two or three years ago, InterBel had no intention of becoming an ISP. That's because its management was convinced that the Internet was a fad that would pass away from the American scene like the hoola-hoop and wing-tipped shoes.
In fact, just six months before InterBel launched its resale of out-of-state Internet services last July, InterBel's newly imported manager, Randy Wilson, went on public record in a meeting stating that InterBel was NOT interested in becoming an ISP. This was so noted in their minutes. Was he just misleading and deceiving everyone? Or is InterBel run by knee-jerk style or nervous management? Not only was Montana Sky Net caught in this deception, but at least half a dozen other businesses were, when it started offering Web services, Web page design and hosting, and e-commerce too.
Several local people had invested lots of money to start up local Internet services based on local market conditions when suddenly InterBel changed its mind!
What are some of the greatest expenses incurred by these local ISPs? INTERBEL for one! That's another reason InteBel's edge in the market is unfair. Who does InterBel pay for its phone services? Certainly it cannot pay itself and it surely doesn't pay any of its members who happen to be in the Internet or telephone business. Add to the fact that InterBel is taking co-op subsidies and twisting their use to cover their Internet related losses.... the majority of that money goes to pay their subcontractor in South Carolina.
Remember at the annual meeting when manager Wilson told the crowd, "We (InterBel) are willing to lose money for five years to get the competitive edge in the local Internet market"? After doing just that, to make sure Montana Sky and others lost their competitive edge, InterBel started challenging the rest of the online community, by offering free commercial Web sites and free Web hosting. Local customers wanting online stores were effectively lured away and over to another, out-of-state company that offers free e-commerce sites. Why wouldn't they steer such local businesses towards the local community and InterBel co-op members which are already engaged in such business?
Of course, InterBel doesn't risk its own profits as you or I would if we engaged in free enterprise. InterBel is unique. It gets its money free from subsidies on their phone service and then it takes that excess and devises ways to grow and spend more so that they will qualify for more subsidies during the next year. It's almost like InterBel gets a 10 percent return for every dollar it spends rather than on every dollar it earns. InterBel never has shown a profit! Why? Because with subsidies, it doesn't need to. And that's why it's UNFAIR for InterBel to compete against the community and its own co-op members!
Contrary to what manager Wilson seems to recall, we and many others have complained about InterBel's poor attitude and their bad business choice. Wilson was asked: "Why does InterBel outsource, (a fancy term for sending business to out-of-state firms instead of using qualified local suppliers), when both KooteNet and Montana Sky have all the facilities available and could provide InterBel with all the ISP services it receives from its South Carolina source at the same price?".
His answer was: "It is not in the best interest of InterBel to hire a competitor".
What is good for InterBel is obviously not good enough for its own co-op members, with such an attitude.
Who do all of these "local competitors" have to buy their phone services from..... OUR COMPETITOR.... InterBel. Like John Stossel says on ABC's 20/20: 'Give me a break!'
Adding insult to injury, Wilson offered to buy both KooteNet and Montana Sky's Eureka area businesses. Were they good offers? Not in our minds. Lincoln County KooteNet said it was not interested in selling. Montana Sky asked InterBel's Wilson for an offer. What we got for an offer was a slap in the face: $1500.00! What do you think? We've invested four years and almost $100,000 and they offer us 1.5 percent of it?
Want to make a local comparison where a phone company bought a competitor? Century Tel paid over $1 million for Digysis last fall in Kalispell. Based upon the number of clients as the basis, that would make Montana Sky's Eureka operation valued at $330,000. Why would InterBel offer such an insult? Because it has unlimited cash with which to compete and squash any competition.
INTERBEL vs THE LAW
InterBel has refused to follow Montana Law which says co-ops can't compete with private businesses already established or provide services outside of adequate telephone or cable TV services! Check it out for yourself :
Montana Codes 35-18-105 and the Supreme Court cases supporting same.InterBel manager Randy Wilson reasons that, because "almost every telephone company" is offering Internet services, InterBel can do the same. Wilson obviously has missed the law that says, they can't! He wants to justify InterBel's apparent noncompliance with state law by saying "everyone else" is, which sounds like an immature teenager arguing with his parents. The law is the law; even if it was "written in 1982." If Wilson doesn't like it, get the Legislature to change it before he enters a business that the law plainly says InterBel can't enter. Until then, he is hurting us and the community.
InterBel is using its subsidized position to undermine its own members. InterBel refused to display or distribute our brochures or those of other local ISP service companies to prospective telephone customers citing "it's not in the best interest of the co-op".
InterBel uses its employees, resources, equipment, federal subsidies, clout in the community, advertising, billing and newsletter services to unfairly compete and exclude its members, like Montana Sky Net, from equal access to these resources. Just look at InterBel's phone book Yellow Pages. Count the ads for InterBel's Internet and figure out what they would charge you for that many ads.
How much do you think InterBel paid themselves for all the ads in the phone book? Now look for Montana Sky Net's phone book entries? It is almost as if InterBel deliberately removed them. Then count how many phone bills you received with ads for free long distance giveaways to entice you to switch over to InterBel's Internet service. Who pays for the free long distance? Do you see an unfair pattern yet?
MONTANA SKY PHILOSOPHY
Montana Sky Net became an ISP because there was a need for professional, knowledgeable, business and people oriented Internet services. Before Montana Sky Net, our community was without e-commerce sites, secure servers, private email, and untraced Internet connections. Plus, there was no ISP offering technical support. The only help available for KooteNet's members four years ago were the future members of Montana Sky Net and the community volunteers you had to call at home for help.
Montana Sky Net saw the vision and acted on the premise that the Internet would change our lives and we've built a system of complex computers, servers, routers, switches and software that would prove to be an industry model. Montana Sky's system has been acclaimed from all over the world from important publications such as Money Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, including ISP Planet: the most widely respected publication about Internet services.
Montana Sky was invited to share its expertise with such industry heavy weights as Cisco, BreezeCom, Softnet, Intellicom and The ISP Channel at the industry's showcase in San Jose last winter during ISP Conn 2000. Montana Sky Net's representatives were questioned by ISP leaders, technical gurus and interested corporate owners on how Montana Sky combined computers, satellite, ground based telephone wires, and wireless Internet into a magnificent, reliable and cost effective ISP system benefiting its customers.... you right here in Lincoln County!
The largest ISP in Montana, ICS of Missoula, sent only one person to this same conference. InterBel had a handful of Internet subscribers then, but they sent THREE employees: a week off work, with full pay and expenses paid by "co-op" money. Why? Because InterBel has no responsibility to spend their money as if they had to earn it themselves. In NO WAY are we implying that InterBel employees don't earn their pay. We think that the InterBel crew, for the most part, are hard working and deserve what they are paid.
But the management of InterBel allows unbridled spending of their subsidy windfalls and they totally flaunt it in front of the rest of the world. Why? Because "every co-op does". We think this would be a great piece for NBC or ABC News segments called "It's your money"!
INTERNET EQUIPMENT
Montana Sky Net has invested in and actually owns and uses its own Internet equipment. Not our friends at InterBel! They hired some firm back East to use theirs! Montana Sky has one or more backups for EVERY component in our system. We have back up battery power that will keep us online through power outages and bad storms. And if the power goes out for good, we'll run it on our portable generators. When there is a power outage at InterBel's "rent-an-ISP" in the Carolinas, your Internet access goes down as well!
Our email server is right here: secure and reliable. If your email receives a huge picture that would take 5 hours to download before you can receive other important email from your family or a pending business deal, our local tech support can have the huge blockage removed and you'll be on your way in minutes, instead of days. Sure you can get Web page server space from other local individuals. But they're only renting that space from some faceless company's computer to make a couple of bucks a month in extra spending money.
Are these part time, "sell a Web site once a year" types really the people you want to deal with? Or would you rather deal directly with the people who design, maintain and are able to troubleshoot your needs in a matter of minutes.
Montana Sky Net is the only provider that can meet ALL your online needs locally; including hosting for your servers at the same price you'd pay out of state.
CONNECTION SERVERS (Modem, ISDN, DSL, Wireless)
Montana Sky has had ALL Internet connection methods available for the last four years. We waited on InterBel to supply the lines for ISDN and DSL. InterBel would not allow Montana Sky Net on their proposed DSL because they wanted it all to themselves. We had to invoke the Communications Act of 1996 to get InterBel to finally decide that Montana Sky should supply you with DSL whenever InterBel makes the lines available. We are still waiting for them to allow us to use their DSL lines and InterBel has never contacted us to include us in planning a system that would work for every ISP.
When Montana Sky first started, we pioneered the use of high speed satellite-in-space Internet connections to bring economical connections to our community and to be able to compete with our County government's run (your tax dollars at work) ISP venture called KooteNet.
The County government has been misleading everyone by calling it a "nonprofit organization," which it is not, but KooteNet is a whole other story. Since we had to a find a way to keep the cost down to compete, since KooteNet was given its equipment free by the County commissioners (KooteNet also gets free rent and employees from the County), Montana Sky came up with the idea to use decommissioned satellites which allowed us to match the below cost price of the KooteNet.
Four years later, we still are operating against the tax dollar supported KooteNet: Lincoln County doing private sector public business. Now it's against InterBel, a not-for-profit co-op that has never had to worry about money because it gets special tax breaks and big-time government subsidies.
While KooteNet is planning to wire downtown Libby (not anywhere else in the County) with fiber optics paid for from public funds, Montana Sky Net now boasts the fastest connections using AT&T MIS Internet direct fiber, microwave and wireless connections to the main port to the Internet. We are just one hop away from Mae West, the main hub to the Internet in San Francisco all paid for with money we earned. No subsidies, no County tax dollars, no free County labor or free rent in the County libraries.
InterBel goes through South Carolina and then all the way across the continent to get to the same hub. KooteNet goes through Sprint and CW Net first..... then to Mae West. In actual "recent" unbiased tests, Montana Sky wins hands down in fast, reliable connections to the main brain of the Internet!
EMAIL SERVERS
Montana Sky Net has the fastest and most dependable email server ever made. They have never crashed, lost or misdirected any of our customers' important email. We have our email servers right here in our network center so IF there's a problem, we can fix it in seconds. InterBel's mail server is shared with 80 other telephone co-ops and is located in South Carolina. InterBel does not even know what the server looks like, how it works and if they need to troubleshoot a problem with your email account, InterBel has to call someone on the East Coast, two time zones away! Montana Sky is right here ready and waiting to serve you when any trouble or problem arises.
WEB SERVERS
Montana Sky Net has four Web servers to host your lifeblood... your business web site. We supply the tools to make easy forms, data collection, shopping carts and online catalogs. We use state of the art software to put your business and products on top of the search engines and in front of your customers. We know how to make a Web site beautiful, functional, and have a high impact on your customers. We have customers from all over the world hosting with us because of our expertise in e-commerce and commercial Web hosting.
Not InterBel! Again, InterBel has never even seen the web server they share with thousands of others in South Carolina. Instead InterBel's employees recommend that you take your business to other, out-of-the-area companies to host your Web site instead of using InterBel's own far-away server or referring your Web business to either of the two local ISPs which have Web hosting services in house.
Montana Sky Net was built by business people with solid computing backgrounds. InterBel never even wanted to be an ISP three years after the Internet was here! Montana Sky Net understood the value of the World Wide Web from the first day and we continue to be the leader in Web hosting.
SECURE STOCK, CREDIT CARD AND TRANSACTION SERVERS
Montana Sky Net owns not one, but TWO Secure SSL Certificates from Thawte who guarantee that your transactions will be private and encrypted from hackers, thieves and ne'er-do-wells. Montana Sky's customers can rest easy knowing their credit cards, stock transactions, and other private and personal information is never intercepted by the wrong eyes.
Neither InterBel or KooteNet own a Secure Certificate. In fact, InterBel tries to get their potential Secure Users to send their business to a Web site they found somewhere on the net who gives away free e-commerce sites in exchange for you showing their advertising on YOUR Web site! So much for security. Nobody even knows who these people are! Montana Sky Net is safe, secure and is trusted by clients all over the world.
Even Guy Kawasaki, the Apple Computer guru, has recommended Montana Sky Net as one of the remarkable ISPs of the era!
TELEPHONE LINES AND SWITCHING EQUIPMENT
Don't be misled that InterBel somehow has better lines or equipment. We both use the SAME "Light Speed" Fiber Optic Lines. We both use Cisco equipment; but Montana Sky also uses Lucent Portmasters and Netopia Routers. Montana Sky pays InterBel to use their phone lines. However, InterBel just takes and uses them for free because they already own them as a telephone company.
TECH SUPPORT
Montana Sky Net has LOCAL expert tech support covering both Windows and Macintosh. Not InterBel!
Montana Sky Net does not route your tech support calls to a call center in South Carolina for you to wait on hold for the next overworked support person like InterBel does. We keep the whole Internet local for you. You deal with real Montanans living in your same community who understand everything about the Internet. In fact, InterBel hired one person to help them with the Internet because no one on the InterBel staff completely understands how the complex Internet really works. We find it interesting that the new InterBel staff member recommends to his friends and part-time clients to host their Web sites on another server; one that InterBel does not even own. Funny that an InterBel employee actually sends customers to other ISPs for service rather than the one he works for!
PERFECTION
You are right; nobody is perfect. We have made mistakes. No one has written a book on how to run an ISP. But if they do, they will ask Montana Sky Net to contribute. Montana Sky Net has pioneered the ISP Internet and has received national acclaim for it. Our competitors still don't get it. InterBel hopes you think they "do" the best job because "They are the Phone Company." Well, don't let them fool you. Montana Sky Net uses the same telephone components InterBel does to get the Internet to you via fiber, copper wire, modem, ISDN, or DSL. But only Montana Sky offers you wireless and satellite in addition to the telephone related Internet services.
Don't be short changed by rumors and hearsay. Montana Sky is the best to trust with your Internet connectivity. The phone company does what it does best: supplies telephone service.
Support private enterprise. Without it there will only be government jobs and government money supporting our local economy. And we all know that when a community's economics depends on government money they wither and die.
MontanaSky.Net in Eureka and LCLink.com in Libby are the only private enterprise Internet providers in our area and we trust you'll support them.
Montana Sky Net