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The businesses, organizations and individuals you see here have signed-on to support and endorse the Gigabyte March on Washington! Byting back! To view comments and feedback please visit the links below: Industry (CLEC's, ISP's, WISP's, etc.) Aggregators, Suppliers and other Technology Related Industries If you would like to join our virtual march on Washington please reply by email to cdelorenzi@patriot.net. Be sure to include your name or the name of your business, your city and state, phone number (not required) as well as the group you believe best represents you. |
CLEC's Cornerstone Communications, LLC Charleston, ME 207-255-0679 Nelson Geel, Network Engineer "My organization is in full support of the Washington Bureau for ISP advocacy. We are a facilities-based CLEC in Maine and have pioneered deployment of broadband technology into underdeveloped and unserved rural exchanges. We have, at our own cost launched copper-based DSL in several exchanges that previously had no prior DSL product and in some cases no broadband offerings whatsoever. These communities and much of the state of Maine are, in the incumbents eyes, too small to be on the radar. Indeed Verizon has expressed frustration with their returns from Maine in general and there are real fears within the state government that they will withdraw from the state altogether and sell off their holdings here. Only locally-based telecommunications companies and CLEC’s have the best interest of Maine citizens in mind and their successes, especially in extremely rural locales, far outshine the incumbents. The stripping away or reduction of the rights and abilities granted to competitive carriers will only push Maine back into the technological doldrums of the eighties and early nineties. The incumbent only see costs associated with technology deployment in our state and without the pressure of competition will fall back to their old habits of turning a deaf ear to the consumers of this state. The incumbent historically treated Maine as a “last priority” before the Telecom act forced competition here. To assume they would not return to that behavior if given the chance is to ignore history and demonstrates an ignorance of the incumbents behavior “on the street” as opposed to in the courtroom." Eagle Telecommunications, Inc. Sarasota, FL 941-256-WIRED x207 Mike Ray Grand Junction, CO 970-257-9045 William Hubbartt "We're an upstart facility Based CLEC in Western Colorado. I don't think that I can say anything that hasn't been said yet. It really saddens me to see how the BOC's and the FCC have torn apart over 8 years of progress of true telephone competition in this country. It seems really strange to me that all these petitions by the BOC's get filed after they receive 271 LD relief. It's my opinion that this was their "grand scheme" or plan from the start, now that it seems they have prevailed with the FCC with UNE-P elements they have now focused their lobbyist goons against every small ISP and CLEC in the country. The LEC's won't be happy until all the competition is gone and they can charge what they want once again. Remember the $55mo business phone lines before competition? It wasn't that long ago. With competition, the avg business POTS is half that now. I just wish congress would step up to the plate and stop the mass slaughter, butchering of the telecom act that they had passed. Enough is enough! The BOC's must be stopped. I only hope that all our comments don't fall on deaf ears and I fear they will." Franklinton, LA 985-795-0025 Jason Hunt, President "We are an ISP/CLEC/CATV company. Currently, we employ 17 people in a small town of only 4500. If the Bells get these laws passed we will have to lay off at least half of our staff as we will lose half our revenue due to the Bell turning off our customer access lines." Sebring, FL 863-471-1183 Gabriel Pulido TXKNet Internet Services, Inc., TXK Communications Texarkana, TX 903-794-4638 Steve Yeager "With Powell resigning and rulings in the industry. Independent ISP's and CLEC are getting cut out of the deal which in the end is going to discourage any competition in the Internet Industry and Monopolize the Bells again. Most of the Rural switches in the country are subsidized by the Government so that should mean that independents have just as much right to provide services as the ILEC's." ISP's Kentucky 270-793-0647 Jonathan Baldwin "As a fifty percent woman-owned ISP, a small business which is the “heart of America,” I believe that granting of petition 04-405 would shut us down and force us to layoff all of our employees. We have many loyal customers who choose us because we are available to assist them with personalized customer service, something the large LECs cannot do.
There is a big
segment of the population that would like to deal “locally” If this forbearance is granted, you guarantee the demise of small ISPs, CLECs, etc and you ensure that communications services rates will increase once the LECs have achieved monopoly status. It is only a matter of time.
Besides that,
as a tax paying, voting American, I believe that monopolies are
anti-American. It is time to take a firm stand against this political
manipulation being attempted by the large telecommunications providers." Alpha Communications Integration, Company Reno, NV 775-284-7400 Fred R. Wilson Atlantech
Online 301-589-3060 Ed Fineran, President "Atlantech Online is a 10 year old ISP based in Washington, D.C. Atlantech delivers high speed Internet and data center services to State and Federal Agencies (including Homeland Defense related agencies) and corporations throughout the United States. Atlantech's 35 employees work diligently around the clock to ensure that our customers are well taken care of, including staying on top of the local exchange carriers to ensure that they provide the services that we have contracted for on behalf of our customers. We need to maintain access to UNE and other services we purchase from the ILEC's to deliver the services we have contracted for with our customers." Pittsfield, MA 01201 413-442-7805 Michael D. Bathrick, President "The inability of the ISP to gain access to broadband delivery options is sentencing the originators and promoters of the Internet to a slow and painful death while rewarding those who fought against the creation of the Internet with the fruits of an already successful concept. It has also killed the innovation seen in the early years of the Internet by removing the competition aspect from the equation - little progress has been seen in delivery of data since broadband (DSL and Cable) was introduced at the beginning of the decade." Blacksburg, VA 540-961-4445 Lyle Evans "We are opposed to this petition (and anything else) that tends to further increase the shared monopoly of the Regional Bells and cable companies. The alleged competition that exists is marginal and largely doesn't exist in the rural areas at all. Louisville, KY 502-589-4638 Norman Schippert "Our society benefits immensely from having more than just two IP networks (ILEC and Cable). By keeping ISPs in a position to deliver alternative IP network solutions over broadband at reasonable rates we have to have access to some type of broadband transport network. It is the responsibility of the incumbent utilities to deliver that transport in the absence of reasonable competition." Computers-n-Service Internet, Inc. Morgan City, LA 985-385-5600 Troy Bourque Southern Pines, NC 910-695-7068 Barbara Baxter, President & CEO "I whole-heartedly endorse the comments that will be presented to the FCC on behalf of independent ISPs (of which I am one) - probably one of the few WISPs (Women Internet Service Providers) left in this country. My daughter and I started this business in 1996 when there were no nationwide ISPs here. As a 4th generation entrepreneur I never expected to be put out of business by my own government. I find it strange after 35 or more years of entrepreneurship to find that my only competitor is my biggest vendor." Beth Morgan "I'm seeing our choices as consumers in this country disappear as behemoth companies use their massive financial resources to put independent businesspeople out of business. The FCC needs to get the message that, by allowing the big telcos and cable carriers to monopolize Internet access, they're damaging our country. I have an apocolyptic vision of all Americans working either for Wal-mart or Time-Warner one day, with those companies controlling what we buy, read and otherwise consume. I thought the government was here for the people, not big business!" Springfield, MA 413-746-2760 Matthew Crocker Fredericksburg, TX 830-992-2240 Holly Scott Sanford, ME 207-324-3882 Wayne Demers "Please do not reverse all the hard work that went into giving every citizen the opportunity to choose their access point to the Internet at a reasonable rate. Please do not put our jobs and businesses at risk." Delmarva Online (www.dmv.com) Salisbury, MD 410-749-7898 Robert Russell, President & CEO Pasadena, CA U.S. largest Independent ISP Dave Baker Southbury, CT Richard Siddall, President Carmel, IN 317-290-3880 Steve Johns "It is incumbent upon all of us to express our opinions to our political representatives. Please do not withdraw or leave it up to the next in line, your voice counts. By preserving competition, we encourage consumer choice and innovation." Fiberpipe Premium Internet Service Sheridan, WY 307-672-6010 John Sanders, President Fitch Affordable Telecom & The-I.Net Solutions Group Cprpus Christi, TX Cary Fitch Athens, OH 740-593-3764 x224 Chip McIntosh "To further deregulate the LECs with regard to DSL service would be a death blow to most independent Internet Service Providers, such as FrogNet, and would degrade options and quality of service for many of the consumers of Internet Service in the US. Additionally, many subscribers (churches, schools, charitable organizations, community service organizations, low-income families, etc.) receive free Internet service from FrogNet and most independent ISPs. These services would likely go away with the death of independent ISPs, which would cause serious harm to the communities they serve. The LECs have repeatedly demonstrated their desire to use independent ISPs as holding pens for broadband subscribers until deregulation such as this occurs. With recent changes in this direction, companies such as Verizon have already engaged in anti-competitive practices in an effort to steal subscribers from the ISPs Verizon serves. As a result, many ISPs are experiencing a mass exodus of subscribers to their LECs, who, as monopolies, provide the only option for the ISP to sell DSL service. Many ISPs, FrogNet included, have noticed their LEC directly selling the LECs DSL service to their subscribers when the ISPs subscriber calls the LEC for technical support - usually for issues solely related to technical failings on the LECs behalf. Santa Cruz, CA 831-460-2000 Don Fredrickson "We broke AT&T up for a reason...current policy is creating one big monopoly even larger and more damaging." Grand Lakes, CO 970-627-0034 Eden Recor HiloLatino Internet & Computer Services Vancouver, WA 360-213-0200 William Bates "Don't put me out of business!" Lake Placid, FL 863-465-4076 Steven Bastardi, President "As a small ISP founded in 1997 we have worked hard to serve our community when few if any other local service options were available. We employ local people and provide personal service. Many other providers throughout the country worked long and hard hours to make the internet available to their customer base. The Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (Sprint in our case) were happy to sell us communication services at significant profit to facilitate our business. At first it seemed that we were simply a money mill for the ILEC and our Communication Equipment Vendor. As our business grew and we learned how to operate more efficiently we found that it was actually possible to make a profit as an ISP. With the onset of Broadband DSL services we invested early and began providing service as soon as it was available in our chosen service area. With Sprint functioning as a partner and competing for the same customers we quickly found ourselves at a significant disadvantage except with our most loyal customers. Despite the stiff competition and tight margins we are able to provide a quality service to our customers and remain profitable. Now that Sprint has an established presence we are no longer treated as a partner, but rather as competition that needs to be eliminated. They seem to look on in disbelief that we refuse to give up and close our business or sell to EarthLink. If the Forbearance filed by BellSouth is approved it seems obvious that Sprint will follow their lead. As with other Independent ISP's we have worked hard to establish our business and provide quality service to our customers. I see no reason why the ILEC's or the Cable companies should have exclusive rights to the industry we worked so hard to establish. Allowing these companies to use public right-of-way to establish connectivity to the customer base while denying us access and the ability to compete is a travesty of justice. Competition is the spirit of what makes the United States of America the great nation it is." Louisville, KY 502-966-3848 Chet Massie, President "As a DSL provider to approximately 2000 customers we have a lot at stake." Ridgeland, MS 601-969-1434 x228 Marshall Morgan, President "My company, Internet Doorway, Inc., established in the Bellsouth territory of Mississippi in 1995, fully supports and endorses your comments regarding WC Docket 04-405" Lincoln, NE 402-434-8680 x105 Eric Erlandson "Help! Help us preserve competition in the telecommunication world, and affordable service alternatives for the consumer!" Berwick, PA 570-759-1753 Brian Clark Fresno, CA 559-270-0186 Angela Caglia "I am anxious to be a part of your organization." Agoura Hills, CA 818-735-3000 Drew Kaplan North Kansas City, MO James Nelson Kinex Networking Solutions, Inc. Farmville, VA 434-392-4802 Jim Garrett, President Pembroke Pine, FL Omar Ali Paris,TX 903-784-1582 Paul Starnes, President Saluda, Va 804-758-5094 Robert E. Wilson, President Fairfax, VA 703-797-1888 Cynthia H. de Lorenzi, Chief Executive Officer "As a woman-owned ISP, I believe that granting of the requested petitions would force us to close our doors, layoff all of our employees and derail our nations faltering economic recovery. Our customers are very particular and have selected our ISP because of the customer care we provide and the specialized and innovative services not available through our region's telephone company." PatriotNet Comments filed to the FCC in response to Qwest Petition Greg Perrier, Chief System Administrator for PatriotNet, Inc. "As an employee of an independent ISP I am afraid that if the Forbearance petitions are granted I will lose my job and working in a place I really enjoy." Jesse Lowrey, Customer Care Manager for PatriotNet, Inc. "Our clients are professionals who demand class A service and customer care. The impact on their businesses will be detrimental if denied choice in selecting an ISP." Manchester, CT 860-533-0033 x110 Ken Reiss Pulaski, VA 540-994-4254 Troy Settle, Managing Member "Pulaski Networks, LLC is Southwest Virginia's largest independent ISP, providing near-universal dialup access for nearly 5000 retail and wholesale subscribers across 4 LATAs. We would have long ago added DSL to our service offering it it weren't for Verizon's anti-competitive pricing structure which is clearly designed to cross-subsidize their enhanced service offerings while keeping competition at bay. In it's petition to the FCC, Verizon is seeking forbearance from having Computer II regulations imposed on it. The key piece of evidence it presents in it's petition, is that it is not dominate in any segment of the broadband internet market. However, the FCC's own documentation (http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Reports/FCC-State_Link/IAD/hspd12 The FCC would be doing the American People a great disservice by not imposing Computer II regulations on Verzon and other ILECs. If anything, these goliath corporations need more regulation, not less." Winter Springs, FL 407-366-6663 David Hall Tampa,
FL Peter Radizeski, President "This is like a time machine. We will be turning the clocks back to 1994 (pre-TA96). One more telecom implosion. It is amazing to watch - as we poke our nose in other countries to show them democracy, when we really have a republic ruled by an oligarchy." Tampa, FL 813-232-4887 Dustin Jurman Wailuku, HI 808-871-4332 Michael Painter A/V Engineering of Hawaii Skowhegan, ME 207-474-1291 Vernon D. Burke, President West Texas Travis Smith, Owner "We are in West Texas and right in the heart of SBC territory. We have to deal with them everyday from telephone service, Access Advantage lines for dial up, and of course they are our up stream provider for the high speed wireless that we offer. This company is already by far the worst company to deal with as far as being moral and doing the right thing. If they get their way (which they are so used to) they will become even worse to work with and basically will become dictators of the market." Moorehead City, NC 252-727-0303 David Danies, President/CEO Newton, NJ 973-300-9211 Robert Boyle, CEO Franklin, TN 866-769-9434 Brett Adkins Draper, UT 801-748-2464 Bret Westwood, Vicre Presietn of Information Technologies and Internet Services Virtual Networking Services, Inc. Maple Valley, WA 450-432-8172 John Hokenson, CFO Dayton, TN David Snyder, CEO As the operator of an Independent ISP in a rural area, I urge you to reject this petition. Under current rules, my company, VOLstate, Inc. relies on the ILEC network in order to deliver a key component of our services to our customers. VOLstate provides specialized services that the incumbent will not and cannot provide. Our typical customer is a small business that uses our services not only for high speed Internet connectivity, but also for filtered, domain based email, customized VPN solutions, and online data backup services. Having the ability to bundle our specialized services with a high speed DSL connection is critical to our business plan and provides critical services to our customers. For example, VOLstate provides services to many health care offices. Our services are specialized to their software applications, assisting them with HIPAA compliance and security services. The amount of individual attention this requires cannot be duplicated by the ILEC. The Independent ISP is a VITAL part of the competitive landscape. It is likely that if this petition is granted to BellSouth, BellSouth would not offer access to us for transport of our DSL service. This action would cause immediate harm to hundreds of businesses that we serve in East Tennessee. BellSouth’s argument that since they already control 90% of the DSL market in their service area and therefore granting forbearance is inconsequential to the 10% of the market that is served by Independent ISPs is absurd. The goal of the 1996 Telecom act was competition… by their own logic they have largely eliminated competition, so therefore the remaining competition is unnecessary. My customers would no doubt take issue with this. Since 1996 VOLstate has been filling in the gaps that large companies overlook or cannot fill. We have been able to adapt to changing conditions in the past, but the prospect of losing our DSL transport agreements with the ILEC could mean the end or our unique and vital niche in the marketplace. Charlotte, NC 704-370-0333 x3350 Scott Huffman, President/CEO "I used to be a carpenter. I bought a computer in 1994 for my carpentry business and in 1995 I gave up my carpenter's belt and tools. Instead of building decks, I've built an ISP. My communications experience started while serving in the U.S. Navy for 8 years as a Radioman. The loss of my ability to provide broadband services over 200k would not only effect my business and myself, but my employees and their families and the business and harm the consumers we serve. We have worked hard over the past 9 years to provide Internet and Broadband services to the community. WebKorner services an area that encompasses the greater Piedmont area of North Carolina. We provide Broadband in the form of DSL and Wireless to rural areas. Monroe, NY 563-588-6266 Edward A. Larson Arlington, VA 703-379-4568 Jon Larimore, President "As a small non-profit 501(c)(3) community resource having no paid employees, our primary mission since 1996 has been to provide free Internet access grants to qualified individuals suffering long-term or terminal illness or extended periods of unemployment. We fund these grants via low cost Internet access accounts purchased by our subscribers. Wireless Broadband Providers Monroe, LA 318-323-0011 Paul Vingiello "Without being able to support ourselves by being an ISP first, we will not be able to support our customers with router support, firewall support, network and communications planning, etc. Bell South does not provide the type of services that we do. We can't make enough money to survive on these services alone." Cheboygan, MI 231-591-0376 Greg Bur Santa Fe, NM 505-577-4984 Albert Catanach "Please send me information on how to stop these people from driving local ISPs out of business" St Augustine, FL 904-20901116 Mike O'Connell "I have been employed in the Independently owned Telecom industry for more than 20 years. My livelyhood and that of hundreds of thousands of others I've known and worked with was made possible by the breakup of the Bell telephone monopoly. It would be economic and political suicide to allow the RBOC's to put us back in the dark arges of little to now choice." Dunwoody, GA 866-638-8031 Carl W. Peede, President and CEO "The BOC's represent the greatest threat to our company and the thousands of individuals and businesses who reside in rural America and have been waiting YEARS for high-speed broadband to no avail. We applaud your efforts and seek ways for companies like us to participate more fully." Canyonville, OR 541-643-2023 Jeff Kratka "Being a small ISP the telephone companies are trying to kill us off. We can't let this happen." Freemont, CA 510-573-0561 Dewayne Hendricks Leitchfield, KY 270-230-1000 William Curd, Network Operations Administrator "Please do not side for Bell South. This will drastically negatively impact our business and lively hood. As a Marine Corps Veteran of 14 years, I truly understand defense and combat and the approach that the Bell Companies have placed towards small business and small independent ISP's is nothing short of war.It is proven that the small independent ISP is the true driving force to technical innovations. The Internet and computer industry would not be what it is today if it were not for the small independent ISP's and computer companies. I have personally been involved with the Internet in some sort, as an end user, as a webmaster and as a local independent ISP network engineer since 1982. I have been an amateur radio operator (KC6KFQ) for many years and never have I seen the FCC work toward killing small business with its totally big business minded leaders. General Powell, I am sure would have considered all his troops not just the most senior ones and would venture to say that the FCC Chairman was taught these ethics, to consider all persons when making decisions that effect large and small business owners. I am a WISP which has the Motorola Canopy solution that extends coverage into areas that Bell South claims to have DSL coverage and does not. I also have coverage in areas which Alltel claims to have coverage but is unable to provide services. The steps I see the FCC heading towards is killing Competition and fair market share. I further ask the commission to consider requiring the ILEC's to unbundled phone service and DSL service or as termed "naked DSL". This will further the growth and increase the demand for broadband services. Please as a United States Military Veteran I plead with the FCC to please rule against Bell South in the Forbearance matter before the court." Columbus, OH 614-751-7900 Team Jade "We here at Jade Inc. are a 10 year old Internet Service Provider in Columbus Ohio. We provide internet connectivity to central and eastern Ohio and we offer our customers quality, personal support with one on one assistance, and satisfaction that is so strongly needed in this technological world. We formed this business with the motto, Where there is no Path Create One, to give us the mission to seek and find new and better ways to provide personal and unique solutions for our clients. Cleveland, OH 216-335-9255 Alan Jacubenta "I would like to be a part in the organization. I write for various magazines and would love to get involved in the fight." Fort Brag, CA 707-961-5488 Dustin Dickens "We compete for a small sliver of a small local market against a dying giant (Adelphia) who while hemorrhaging millions a month, leaving their vendors with loads of debt, and US courts with thousands of man hours worth of work by trying not to be sold off, still has the nerve to offer deals such as 1 year at $25.00 per month for the first year. There is no profit for anyone, even them at that price. The cable companies are in everyway the new monopoly on the block, just because we are able to use wireless technologies to capture some insignificant portion of that market that is within line-of-sight does not in any way negate the antitrust issues at hand." Meadowlands, MN 218-260-4111 Tim Robison "The reason I became an ISP was to get the phone company to upgrade switches in their CO. By leading the charge for Extended Area Service (EAS) I helped force the telco to upgrade so we could have Internet etc. This was while they were regulated; now it appears that they want to be unregulated in their desire to force us out of business. Well, maybe we should form an alliance and go after their bread and butter....local telephone service." Williamsport, IN 765-762-2851 Justin Wilson "Looking to have my small voice heard." Bluffton, IN 260-827-2549 Terry L. Miller, President "The forbearance request 04-405 submitted by the Regional Bell companies (RBOCs) to the FCC, if granted, will be a setback to this nation's economy, security and technology innovativeness. Lisle, IL 630-964-2478 Rick Herrmann " The US must have and encourage competition in Telecom and Internet, or else we will continue to be stuck with the horrible and degrading service provided by the current monopolies. The nation has moved past the need for government-supported universal service, and competition MUST be encouraged."
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