[1st-mile-nm] Rio Rancho Terminates Wireless Contract

[peter]

This is a classic example of what happens when you try any project 
without a good business plan.

I first met Tyler ( Not Tony ) Van Houwelingen just after the project 
started and had a conversation with him regarding the business 
feasibility of his endeavor and the lack of true testing that he had 
carried out to demonstrate whether or not he could provide good service 
at reasonable cost to tens of clients let alone the thousands he was 
predicting especially in the face of competition from cable and Qwest 
who could give away the same service he was providing in a bundled deal 
to wipe him out if he ever got his numbers above 500. He commented that 
" Qwest and Cable are inconsequential and  not a factor "

When I showed him test results of the abysmal service that 802.11 and 
even 802.16 has experienced especially through all buildings and 
structures emphasizing the major problems that Faux Adobe houses with 
chicken wire underlay turning buildings into mini Faraday cages he 
shrugged the problem of as non problematical. Add the terrain factors 
and he was dead meat from the get go

His business plan consisted of " Wireless is great and is the future " 
and had done 0 research or any financial or project due diligence after 
a previous company had withdrawn from RR judging the project unfeasible 
without massive RR City support which should have been a major red flag 
to anyone.

The project he consistently referred in Michigan was completed by his 
father at 4 times the cost the Tyler was quoting ( with its major 
clients in a harbor on boats with full line of site just like RR right ( 
:  )

Bluntly he was a young kid way out of his depth riding a wave of hype.

Taken together with the Sandoval Broadband project and Azul( did not 
)star I would bet that over $8m in man power and financing has been 
wasted and that would have provided a huge tract of fiber really moving 
Rio Rancho into the future

I personally think his plan was to suck in the city to buy his project 
out ( Like some poor locals did ) to save embarrassment for all, but the 
city manager he was playing with departed

The very good news about this projects collapse, and the pending one of 
its infamous sister county project, is that now Fiber through the city 
will come up for serious consideration

Maybe the council should send the bill to Intel who promoted this 
project in the first place

Again a very classic example of " Do It Right THE FIRST TIME  = Fiber + 
Fiber + Fiber  " all else is pure imitation

( : ( :  Pete

Richard Lowenberg wrote:
> Tuesday, September 25, 2007
>
> RR Terminates Wireless Contract
>
> By Rosalie Rayburn
> Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer
>
> Rio Rancho's ambitious free wireless Internet project is officially dead.
>
>     City contracts administrator Steve Ruger sent a letter to Azulstar
> president Tony van Houwelingen late last week immediately terminating the
> wireless company's contract with Rio Rancho.
>     The letter, dated Sept. 20, said the wireless company failed to honor
> terms of the contract regarding payment for electricity charges, providing
> a satisfactory business plan and proof of its financial ability to offer
> continued service in the city of Rio Rancho.
>
>     "The city does not see a continued relationship with Azulstar as in
> its best interest," the letter said.
>
>     Grand Haven, Mich.-based Azulstar signed a contract with the city in
> 2004 to operate a wireless network on city property and rights of way. In
> return, Azulstar was supposed to provide eight free hours of Internet
> service per month for residents of Rio Rancho.
>     The letter said Azulstar was in breach of contract because it owes the
> city $33,000 for electricity charges.
>
>     Under the terms of the contract, Public Service Company of New Mexico
> billed the city for electricity Azulstar used to run its wireless network.
> Azulstar was, in turn, supposed to reimburse the city, Ruger said.
>     The city sent Azulstar an invoice on July 27 for electricity charges
> dating back to 2005, when the company began operating its network.
>
>     Ruger said Azulstar did not respond and has continued to incur
> electricity charges at the rate of about $1,600 per month.
>     Reached by telephone on Monday, Houwelingen told the Journal he needed
> to consult with the company's primary owners in New Mexico before he could
> comment.
>     Ruger said he sent the letter to Houwelingen because his name was on
> official communications the city received from Azulstar.
>
>     City officials have been pressuring Azulstar since early May to get
> the wireless company to address complaints about poor service and lack of
> customer support.
>
>     In early July, city officials threatened to terminate Azulstar's
> contract within 40 days unless the company provided a plan showing how it
> would improve service.
>     In mid-August, Azulstar submitted a plan to revamp its network and
> billing procedures. Azulstar also said it would arrange to be billed
> directly by PNM.
>     The city spent nearly a month reviewing Azulstar's plan before it sent
> the letter terminating the contract. The letter notified Azulstar that it
> has until Dec. 31 to remove all its equipment from city facilities. After
> that, the city will remove any remaining equipment and invoice Azulstar
> for any associated costs.
>
>     The city currently has no plans to seek another wireless provider,
> Ruger said.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------
> Richard Lowenberg
> P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
> 505-989-9110,  505-603-5200 cell
>
> New Mexico Broadband Initiative
> www.1st-mile.com/newmexico
> ------------------------------------------------
>
>
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> 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
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>
>   

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Peter Baston

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