With four years to prove itself, this small association with a significant ISP membership shows it's concerned about all aspects of running an ISP.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [March 5, 2004]

Founded on January 19, 2000, the Triangle, Va.-based American Alliance of Service Providers (AASP) has been around for some time. (When it first appeared, we did not think it would surive; see Another Cooperative.)

With an active membership of 840 service providers at time of publication, each paying $300 per year for membership, the organization is representative of ISPs in America, with member businesses of all sizes.

The association offers discounts to members through its vendor partners who pay a nominal fee (starting at $500 per year) and promise to offer significant discounts (sometimes over 50 percent) on services to members.

"We try to find products that will provide extra revenue or save money for ISPs in the long run," explains Russ Ferguson, AASP's CEO. He points to QuikCat and TechShield as examples of successful offerings. QuikCat is a dialup accelerator and TechShield provides ID theft insurance for a very low annual price to AASP members.

The association has just signed an agreement with an anti-spam provider called Privacy, Inc. "Their product is different," he says. He says users sign up, pay an annual fee, and get a control panel that gives them disposable e-mail addresses that link back to a user's actual e-mail address (similar to Gennux's product, see Addressing an Anti-Spam Challenge).

Disposable e-mail addresses should enable users to fight abuse of trust, a key spam problem. If a flood of spam comes in on the address you gave to amazon.com and to no other vendor, then they are clearly to blame for the spam you have received.

Two merchant services providers are also vendor members of AASP.

For funding, the association relies on its ISP dues to keep it running. Although this keeps the association honest and representative, it does limit resources. The AASP has two full-time staff (Ferguson and Corrina Wolfe, vice president of design and development) and two part-time staff (Scott Joseph, COO, and Brian Lehman, vice president of technology).

If you have any questions about the association, just use the contact information on the website. If you talk to anyone, you'll probably talk to Ferguson himself, or you can meet him at ISPCON, if you're going.

He would like to be able to hire more staff. "We've actually had to put people on hold and delay projects," explains Ferguson.

Ferguson is concerned that ISP voices are not being heard in Washington. The USISPA and CIX have been bought out, Sue Ashdown and the American Association of ISPs has closed, and even state associations are falling on hard times. "I've only found ten state associations that are active," says Ferguson. "Then I heard today that the one in Utah is closing."

With more money, the AASP might also lobby the government on ISP issues. "But I'd have to find other ways to do that sort of thing. It would take at least one full time person, and not a cheap person, to do that."

As it is, the AASP has a relationship with area lawyer Kris Twomey who helps the association's members stay informed about legal issues in the ISP business.

The AASP is already doing a lot, but Ferguson wants it to do more. It has an alliance with a lobbying group called Support AHPs Now that is lobbying to allow associations to offer health plans to members. Ferguson would like ISPs to use collective bargaining power to obtain better health plans for their employees. Under current law, to do so he'd have to open a separate organization in each state, which the AASP cannot afford to do.

He is also looking at building a news section on the website and getting information about national and state issues to the ISPs that need to know about them.

Finally, he hopes to add a portal that would allow end users to find an ISP in their area providing the services (dialup acceleration, ID theft protection) that they're looking for.

Ferguson estimates that there are 5,000 ISPs in the U.S. and Canada. Someday, he hopes they will all join, and believes they will do so if he can prove that his association can be of value to them.

"We're not backed by any large corporations. It's been a tough road, but we made it, thanks to the support of our ISPs," he says. "The vendors who participate help too, but the majority of our funding comes from ISPs."

— End

 

Related articles:
	[Jan. 19, 2007]	AASP Adds Filtering and Archiving
	[May 1, 2003]	Morpheus: 'We're Back'
	[Jan. 17, 2002]	Watch Out, They're Associating!

Online resources:
	ISP-Planet Directory of ISP Associations