Internet Service Providers Launch Local Association
by January 11, 1999 12:00 am 102 views
There’s a move afoot by several Northwest Arkansas Internet service providers to form a local association — a group that they hope will give them greater lobbying power and provide cooperative purchasing opportunities.
Brian Espenschied, one of the owners of Terra One Inc. in Fayetteville, says the Northwest Arkansas ISP Association is still so new that officers hadn’t been elected as of Jan. 5.
But Espenschied and other participating ISP owners hope that they can have a voice in the negotiations between Fayetteville city officials and TCA Cable Inc. about requirements for a renewal of TCA’s franchise agreement. By appearing as one group, they anticipate having a greater impact than if they appeared separately, he says.
And Internet users will be interested in what happens in those negotiations because it may determine whether cable modems become available soon.
TCA Cable plans to offer cable modems this year to customers in Springdale, Bentonville and Siloam Springs, says James Jones, TCA’s local Internet consultant.
Fayetteville customers, however, are out of luck. The equipment simply isn’t available yet on the Fayetteville system to provide that service and TCA’s franchise agreement with the city expires soon. The city began assessing the need for cable service last year, and negotiations with TCA regarding a renewal of its franchise agreement will begin soon.
The interest in cable modems is high, says Jones, because they offer several advantages over dialup modems. Among those advantages are speed — cable modems are 20 to 50 times faster than dialups, Jones says — and elimination of the need for additional telephone lines.
Subscribers with cable modems must have network interface modems in their computers, but then they can connect directly with the coaxial cable used on their television sets, Jones says. He expects the cost to be comparable with that of dialup services.
Jones is already acquiring a waiting list of potential customers eager.
As for the NWA ISP Association, organizers hope to benefit in other ways, too. One possibility is the opportunity for cooperative purchasing agreements in which individual ISPs may be able to buy new equipment at lower prices than they could otherwise.