WHP CBS 21 reported on January 7 that PA.net is a "rare" Internet company, one that continues to grow in an industry besieged by turmoil and layoffs.
In the wake of disappointing Earthlink layoffs in central Pennsylvania, WHP-TV's Eric Schudiske went in search of a local Internet provider surviving in today's market - he found PA.net. We were happy to give the CBS affiliate station a tour of our main office in Mechanicsburg, better known as "Home of the SPAM BUSTERS."
During the visit, interviews were conducted with PA.net's CEO and co-owner Allen Deckert and with employee number 1, Andy Jensen, who has been with the company since August of 1996. WHP found that PA.net's focus on providing quality service has lead to happy customers and provided PA.net employees with job security, satisfaction, and positive aspirations for the future. In the words of WHP's Eric Schudiske, "There is a reason job hunters put that company [PA.net] in their sights. If hired, they are less likely to be fired anytime soon."
According to Allen Deckert, there are many reasons for our success, "some of it is technology, some is quality of service ...." However, there is a sobering reality in the Internet service industry: it is being taking hostage by large monopolies. "It is not a healthy industry," Mr. Deckert said, "these problems could have been predicted and forecast, unfortunately nothing has really changed in the legislative or technology marketplace that has made those problems go away."
PA.net testified with Earthlink at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives over the Internet Access Enhancement Act (House Bill 1516) in December of 1999. During that testimony PA.net argued for open access to cable networks. If passed, this bill would have prevented Pennsylvania cable companies from leveraging their franchised cable licenses to exclusively provide their Internet service without allowing other providers to compete.
Instead, however, cable companies have continued to gain market share through aggressively priced Internet access, which most consumers feel is being subsidized by overpriced cable television bills. Also, since cable communications were never included in the FCC regulations on telecommunications service, they are exempt from paying Universal Service Fund fees. These taxes are levied on traditional ISPs, telephone companies, and even individual consumers with the intent of stimulating broadband deployment to rural America.
PA.net has fought against the odds to deliver broadband to our customer base at prices that are below cable. We encourage our loyal customers and new broadband users to continue to support independent Internet companies which fuel the innovation of new online services such as spam filtering and virus blocking. As larger providers ship jobs overseas in order to compete, during this state of unfair industry practices, PA.net remains committed to our local workforce and will work to provide fair prices and the highest quality of service to our customers.
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