A wireless communications company that began offering services to Bethel residents in November lost its satellite link and ability to provide service in late December, but the owner said he expects to resume service soon.
Jim Stevens of Village Telecom Management Services LLC, which formed Bethel Wireless, said his problems began when his firm got into a dispute with the satellite company providing access for his wireless customers.
As of Feb. 6, the service was still unavailable.
Stevens said Feb. 2 that he was working with a new satellite company and anticipated a quick return of services to about three-dozen Internet customers in Bethel who paid for the service. Stevens said his company would be willing to extend service contract periods or give a refund to those who wanted to end their contract, but to date has been unable to give refunds because his company is cash poor.
United Utilities Inc. also offers Internet service in the Bethel area via digital subscriber lines, and cable services have been available through GCI for at least two years.
Stevens said he started the company after watching an exasperated resident in a small Bering Sea village several years ago try to download several lengthy government documents from the Internet. The process took so long that the phone line was disconnected before the download was completed.
"Why can't a village get better access to the Internet?" he asked. Once he found out the technology was available he decided to form a company to deliver it, he said.
If Bethel Wireless customers have had their woes, another wireless enterprise that Stevens set up in Anvik is operating smoothly, according to Marcy Maille, clerk for the Anvik Traditional Council. About a dozen Anvik residents and several businesses are signed up for high-speed wireless services.
A $280,310 grant from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program helped the federally recognized tribal government foot the bill for construction of the system.
Tribal ownership of Internet service providers has four major advantages, according to Stevens. First, it eliminates state regulatory oversight, allowing for greater flexibility in sharing bandwidth between user groups. Second, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted initiatives to promote tribal ownership of telecommunications companies, including the elimination of regulatory barriers. Third, tribal bodies have greater access to grants for purchase and deployment of equipment. Fourth, the tribes can control content delivery to local users in a way that boosts economic and educational opportunities, and reduces exposure to deceptive, fraudulent or pornographic sites, Stevens said.
Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.
