The ISPs of northern New Hampshire have been involved in public affairs since 1999. If they can do it, surely you can too!

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [July 30, 2004]

The New Hampshire ISP Association (NHISPA) has been around since 1999. "There were some PUC dockets on congestion in the public telephone network, and Verizon was blaming the ISPs," explains Carol Miller, of NCIA (which stands for North Country Internet Access but can also stand for Networks, Computers, and Internet Access).

"We've been thorns in many people's sides," she says proudly. "In 1999, we met in a restaurant in Concord, N.H. [the state capital] and decided to form the association. The docket went on for a couple of years. We were awarded a special service called 1009 circuits (PRIs were not offered at the time). This allowed us to order the circuit and pay to have it conditioned. We were ordering alarm circuits but it was a fifty-fifty chance whether it would work or not."

The 1099 circuits were made available during a trial period from August 1, 2002 through January 31, 2004. During the trial, Verizon reported no technical problems on the 61 circuits in service across the state.

However, the NHISPA complained about install fees, which varied from $181 to over $1,185. On December 30, 2003, the New Hampshire PUC issued order number 24,255 [.pdf] which requires Verizon to provide the circuits with a flat rate install fee, noting that the availability of the service provides broadband to underserved parts of the state and causes no interference. In October of 2004, Verizon will be required to provide installs at a flat rate, Miller says.

Today, the organization is funded by member dues. Most ISP members, including Miller's NCIA, pay $400 per year. The association also have nine associate (i.e. vendor) members paying $500 per year. Overall, the association probably has annual revenues of about $8,000.

Miller adds that the association is fortunate to have one non-profit ISP member, ValleyNet (which is based in Norwich, Vt. but covers northern New Hampshire and Vermont).

She thinks that's the future. "We're seeing 'connect groups' more and more. They're building nonprofits to connect communities. Also, cities want to build municipal networks and are studying bonding money to build the networks."

It's certainly a different New Hampshire from when NCIA was founded in 1995. "Next June will be our ten year mark," says Miller. "There was no Internet service in the north country when we started. We had no competition. But things change. Now, everyone wants to be an ISP."

As ISPs proliferate, even in rural areas like northern New Hampshire, surely the customers and the communities will win, as long as the government, both federal and state, does not prevent small businesses like NCIA from providing the competition such areas so sorely need.

— End

 

Related articles:
	[June 4, 2004]	Editorial: Defining a National Alliance
	[July 19, 2002]	Telcos' Dark Fiber Lures ISPs
	[Feb. 28, 2002]	Homebrew DSL Revisited
	[April 3, 2001]	Making Time to Broker Service Transitions from NorthPoint

Online resources:
	ISP-Planet Directory of ISP Associations