Best of the ISP-Lists

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Members of the ISP-Wireless list discuss the unfair practices of local competitors. It's important to be aware of the repertoire of dirty tricks that can be played against you—and to respond within the bounds of the law.

[March 26, 2001]

On the ISP-Wireless list in March, JH explained,

"I run a local dialup ISP, and our largest competitor is the local cable company. One of my customers, an employee of the cable company, mentioned to me that the manager of the cable company's Internet division was 'out to put me out of business.'

And I just got a notice from the county zoning board ordering me to stop construction on a tower in my back yard because they've received 'several calls' complaining about it.

The thing is, there are a dozen ham radio towers within three blocks of my house, and none of them has gotten complaints: I asked. This strikes me as competitor harassment. Any advice?"

JO noted that such methods indicate that the cable company's got a pretty dark side:

"It's hard to believe that a cable company would be that vindictive, but I do believe what you are saying. If it's any reflection of the cable company, I'm sure you will win over a lot of the competition just from disgruntled customers alone."

Some respondents suggested using the Freedom of Information Act:

[BM suggested] "The federal government has enforced standards that unless there is some contributing factor as to why complaints need to be confidential, they must release the info to you. Next time you get a problem from the local government, go to their public relations office and ask for their policy on Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests as they pertain to complaints.

The version the states use is called FOIL; the federal version is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). File the request, and take them to court if you must, for the names of the complainants. With any luck, this will end your troubles. FOIA/FOIL requests can go a long way."

[JK recalled] "I actually used it against a complainant to the FCC regarding some of my operations, and successfully brought an abuse of process lawsuit against them. You'll have mostly good luck with FOIA requests to the federal government; local governments won't have a clue."

Others advised exploring the freedom of the press:

[RB offered] "Don't forget that letter to the editor of your local newspaper when you've got something worth hearing about. Free speech and free advertising all at the same time."

[DJ agreed] "If a letter to the editor is interesting enough, it often ends up promoting a phone call from the editor to do a story instead of simply putting your letter in a side section of the editorial page. You can help this along by publishing a press release and mailing it to all the local news producers."

[KW added] "It's not a bad idea to enclose an accompanying sheet with some brief info about your company. If you have a couple of nice newspaper articles or printouts from the web about how wireless can benefit local consumers, attach that too."

— End