Progressive Internet service launched

[G_j]

note** The Mountain Area Information
Network (MAIN) is my local provider and they are great!! www.main.nc.us
They are now expanding.

(They also started a low power progressive radio station here that is quite awesome, check it out: www.wpvm.org you can listen online)

**************************
Internet service launched
by progressive nonprofit

A nonprofit nationwide Internet service has been launched to serve dial-up
Internet users who support media reform and the creation of a vigorous independent media.

Marketed under the name IndyLink, the service is aimed at value-conscious
Internet users who also want to avoid the commercial clutter and privacy
risks of corporate services such as AOL and Earthlink. IndyLink is a
service of the North Carolina-based nonprofit Mountain Area Information
Network (MAIN), which has been providing dial-up Internet access since 1996.
MAIN currently has more than 4,000 subscribers in western North Carolina.

"IndyLink gives dial-up Internet users the option of putting their dollars
where their values are, rather than having those dollars go to support a
corporate media system that is not serving the needs of a democratic
society," said Wally Bowen, a veteran media activist and founder of MAIN and
its low-power FM radio arm, WPVM, the Progressive Voice of the Mountains.

"The Internet-access industry has undergone mergers and consolidation like
other media industries, and the emerging business model is to harvest and
sell personal information while pushing more and more targeted ads at
subscribers," Bowen said.

"Because IndyLink is provided by a nonprofit organization, we don't rely on
advertising revenue to survive. This allows us to provide a non-commercial
'oasis' where subscribers can enjoy greater privacy protection and lower
cost," Bowen said.

"Creating a truly democratic media includes support for more non-commercial,
not-for-profit media," said Robert W. McChesney, a leading media scholar and
founder of the Free Press media reform coalition. "IndyLink is an excellent
example of how citizens can support nonprofit media with their Internet
dollars," he said. <http://www.freepress.net>

Launching a national dial-up service when the whole world seems to be moving
to high-speed cable and DSL may seem counterintuitive, said Bowen. "But our
marketing research shows that dial-up will be a viable option for
cost and privacy-conscious subscribers for years to come," he said.

Priced at $14.95 a month, IndyLink service is about 30 percent less than AOL
and Earthlink, while offering comparable spam and virus filtering and a
dial-up "accelerator" which can produce download speeds up to five times
faster than conventional dial-up service.

"IndyLink operates on the same telecommunications infrastructure used by
corporate ISPs, so our service is just as reliable. In addition, we have
one of the most experienced tech-support staffs in the Internet industry
because we provide living-wage jobs and turnover is low. We don't outsource
our tech support in order to take advantage of low-wage workers in
developing countries," Bowen said.

"For citizens wanting to support non-commercial Internet alternatives to
monopolistic telecom providers, IndyLink offers not only excellent and
affordable Web services, but represents a new and exciting direction for
21st-century public-interest telecom policy," said Rob Williams, president
of the media reform group, Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME).
<http://www.acmecoalition.org>

Via its homepage, IndyLink also offers a daily digest of progressive news
and information gleaned by IndyLink staff and volunteers from across the
World Wide Web.

"We believe the IndyLink homepage will quickly become a 'must see' stop for
progressive activists and citizens who are looking for news content
under-reported by mainstream media," Bowen said.

Information about IndyLink and its services can be found at
http://www.indylink.org. To contact IndyLink, email [e-mail] or
call toll-free 1-866-962-6246.

END
====
Here's the Asheville Citizen-Times story about our expansion:
http://www.citizen-times.com/cache/article/business/72803.shtml

& another MAIN connected project: www.SinclairWatch.net

-Sinclair Media Watch is a grassroots effort to evaluate local news coverage provided by WLOS-TV, the only broadcast television station based in Asheville, NC.

[imenja]

1. I wish they offered DSL

I think a progressive network is great. I am surprised, however, they believe dial-up is a good area to invest in. Let's hope their market research is correct and perhaps they can expand to broadband at some point.

[comsymp]

5. You might be surprised at the number of people who can't get DSL

I live about 5 minutes outside a town of about 20K, and our local carrier's (Sprint's) phone lines won't accommodate DSL... which, incidentally, is why you'll rarely see me online after business hours.

[Stone_Spirits]

8. I don't much about this, but

I think it may be hard for a non-profit to get DSL access, at least at a non-profit cost.
Anyone know more about how that works?

[starmaker]

2. rock on main

had them years ago and may have to go back
i've been looking for a way to take 51capitalmarch
to asheville was going today but too ill
will definitely take a sign on third friday
went to 12/12 in raleigh and dc on 1/6
time to activate asheville come back

[In Truth We Trust]

3. Kick.......... Thanks for the post

[leftchick]

4. great news!

Thanks once again G j!

[G_j]

6. as you can probably tell

I'm exited about this, and proud of the progressives in our community. :-)

[G_j]

7. kick

[G_j]

9. weekend kick