Doe Bay Internet Group Celebrates Third Year

— from Chris Brems —

In what amounted to a mini love fest, the Doe Bay Internet Users Association (DBIUA) held its third annual meeting on Sunday, Sept. 24, at the Doe Bay Fire Hall. Since its founding, the innovative, grassroots nonprofit group has delivered reliable high-speed internet service to its members, lowered monthly fees and drawn inquiries from around the globe.

According to president and founder Chris Sutton, the all-volunteer WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) now serves 63 members with 139 radios throughout the Doe Bay neighborhood, providing high-speed internet service with no major operating problems.

“In the past year we’ve made significant upgrades to our network, like upgrading radios and replacing aging switches with new routers,” said Sutton. “Best of all, we now have redundancy. If our original broadband provider, Startouch, should have a hiccup, we have local backup.”

DBIUA recently entered into an agreement with Rock Island Communications for duplicative service. “If needed, we can switch from one provider to the other, or if high demand warrants, divide our service between the two. This really enhances our reliability,” explained Chris.

Because of the system’s innovativeness and cost efficiency, especially in difficult terrain, DBIUA continues to receive inquiries from as far away as Papua New Guinea and recently, Croatia and Lebanon.

At the recent meeting, the biggest question posed to members was what to do with the excess funds in the association’s reserve “what-if” account.

“Income exceeds our monthly expenses,” said Chris.“And because we’re an all-volunteer, neighbor-helping-neighbor association, we have no labor costs.”

In the past, DBIUA has lowered monthly fees and announced two “no fee” months.

After discussion, the DBIUA board and membership agreed to reduce the monthly fee to $35 (from $55) and not charge for October. That sparked applause and smiling faces all around. Said one member, “We know how lucky we are to be part of this wonderful group.”