[1st-mile-nm] Some May Lose (Azulstar) Internet Connection

[Richard Lowenberg]

Some May Lose Internet Connection

By Rosalie Rayburn / Journal Staff Writer on Thu, Dec 27, 2012

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/12/27/west/west-news/some-may-lose-internet-connection.html

An Internet provider’s Christmas Eve letter informing customers it may 
discontinue service within days has highlighted the dilemma of those 
left without a connection.

The Dec. 24 letter from Azulstar said the company’s inability to reach 
an agreement with an unnamed vendor over the location of equipment used 
to transmit signals meant Internet service may discontinue as early as 
Friday.

The company has already started helping to transfer customers to a 
similar provider, Azulstar’s CEO said late Wednesday.

Azulstar’s website www.azulstar.com  says the company provides service 
in Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Corrales, Rio Rancho and Placitas.

Those customers, who depended on Azulstar for business and residential 
Internet and phone service, say they’re now scrambling for alternatives.

“We’ll have to come up with somebody, but exactly who, I don’t 
know,”said former Rio Rancho mayor Jim Owen, who uses Azulstar Internet 
service for his printing business.

The company is working with another local provider, Agave Broadband, to 
continue service. It’s up to affected residents to contact Agave 
Broadband, Azulstar CEO Richard Brouwer said, but they are working with 
the provider to make the transition easier.

Agave’s website says it provides Internet in rural areas like Edgewood, 
Moriarty and Estancia.

West Side Albuquerque resident Ed Zamora uses an Azulstar connection 
for web surfing and phone service. He worried that Agave service would 
not be of comparable quality.

Brouwer said Agave provides a similar quality connection to that of the 
former provider. The company will begin to re-focus its coverage on 
Albuquerque over other areas, he said.

The CEO said the Michigan-based company waited until days before the 
Internet was slated to be cut off because it was considering 
alternatives to suspending the service. He would not say what those 
alternatives were.

“We were hoping to continue the service,” Brouwer said. “…We just ran 
out of options.”

Brouwer also could not say how many customers were affected or how many 
had already made the switch to Agave Broadband.

It’s unclear what recourse Azulstar customers have. The state Public 
Regulation Commission, which regulates phone companies, has no ability 
to regulate Internet suppliers, said outgoing Commissioner Jason Marks.

Marks was involved with a case in early 2009 when thousands of New 
Mexicans — including some 911 services, banks and hospitals — were left 
without Internet connections when Qwest cut service to SkyWi Inc. Qwest 
claimed SkyWi had failed to pay bills.

Marks said he recently tried to introduce a rule requiring Internet 
providers to give customers 30 days notice before discontinuing service, 
but got no support from other commissioners. His term ends Dec. 31.

The letter also said Azulstar would issue pro-rated refunds for any 
amounts overpaid.

Azulstar previously had a contract with the city of Rio Rancho to 
create a citywide wireless network. The contract allowed Azulstar to 
locate equipment on city property. Rio Rancho terminated the contract in 
September 2007 for failing to provide satisfactory service and ordered 
the company to remove its equipment.

Intel spokeswoman Natasha Martell said Wednesday that Azulstar has had 
equipment at the Intel site but said she was unable to provide more 
details because the appropriate contact was on vacation.

Journal Staff Writer Patrick Lohmann contributed to this report.
—	This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal



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Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
www.1st-mile.com   rl at 1st-mile.com
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