With all the basic features of larger Internet Service Providers, including e-mail, Pascoag Net costs $15.95 per month if paid monthly and $13.95 per month when prepaying for 12 months of service.
Provided in conjunction with the Providence-based ISP Log On America it offers local service – real people – to deal with account and technical questions, Garille said, through the district office and a 24-hour answering service.
When there’s a technical problem they can’t handle calls are passed on to Log On America experts, which the district pays for as well as for use of its servers and gateway.
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It’s win-win all around, Garille said. “People are tired of paying high rates and then dialing an 800 number for service only to be put on hold for minutes at a time by someone thousands of miles away,” he said.
Besides having a lower monthly rate than many larger ISPs, Pascoag Net is able to connect Northern Rhode Islanders to the Net through a local phone call, something services like AOL – even if they come free with the purchase of a computer – don’t do, Garille said.
”They have ‘free Internet,’ quote, quote,” he said, adding that Pascoag Net also contains “no foolishness” like advertising, although unless users set up their own browser like Yahoo or Excite they will get to the Net through the district’s home page and might have to face Garille’s picture. “I’m not going to put a dent in Prodigy or AOL,” Garille said, but “people have been disgusted with the costs of the Internet. It’s something that needed to be done.”
So far they have about 25 customers signed on. “It’s embryonic right now,” Garille said, adding that they need to reach at least 500 customers to break even. “You can’t beat the price,” he boasted, neatly fielding comments about how, yes, there are in fact Internet users in rural Northern Rhode Island “Yeah, yeah,” Garille said, “indoor plumbing, too.”
While the current focus of Pascoag Net is on Northern Rhode Island, they eventually plan to provide local phone numbers for the service for anyone in the state. Installation CDs for personal computers are currently available at the district office, and should they ever hit the magic number of 2,500 customers, their monthly rates would go even lower.
One Pascoag Net customer is the Town of Burrillville, which last week according to Information Systems Manager Edward Pienkos had already converted its public works department and Town Hall to the local service provider.
Pienkos said they had been paying $19.95 a month for unlimited Internet access, and would now save close to $6 per service with the cheapest Pascoag Net rate.
“ It certainly cuts back the costs,” said Town Manager Michael Wood of Pascoag Net, adding that he hopes as many folks as possible will take advantage of the savings. “I think it’s great that they’re doing it.”
The Pascoag Fire District was incorporated in 1887 and is the only public power utility in the state, originally organized to provide fire protection, a police force, energy and street lighting for its members. “We make absolutely no profit,” Garille said, “no stockholders [and] no dividends to pay.”
Thanks to utility deregulation and the opportunities it affords utilities to pursue “divergent interests,” Garille said the Pascoag Fire District is also discussing entering into long-distance telephone service and cable television, and while he wouldn’t disclose anything more, he laughed when it was noted that considering their emphasis on staying local, whatever companies they’re talking to they must be Rhode Island-based.
”These are some exciting times for us,” Garille said. “We’re simply looking out for our customers’ best interest. If it’s determined that we can reliably manage additional services under one roof at competitive rates we’ll continue to expand.”
For more information, call the Pascoag Fire District at 568-6222.
