The following was read at the Poplar Bluff City Council meeting during Citizen Input on July 6th, 2010. ============ My name is Brian Becker, I own Poplar Bluff Internet also known as semo.net. A month ago I stood before City Council asking for action. It’s now been 49 days of being prevented by City Cable to sign up new customers and in several instances over the past month, even lose the ones I already have.
[Disclaimer: the following is solely the opinion and perspective of Brian Becker] On May 14th, I was sent a letter from Bill Bach, General Manager of City Cable. The letter stated that my company was exceeding the 8meg bandwidth allotment per the 2001 city ordinance. For that reason, semo.net could not sign up new customers until a new rate was negotiated. Within hours I made a reasonable and fair offer for the overage so that our company could continue doing business and simultaneously work with the City Council to update the old ordinance. My offer was ignored.
Semo.net has already received more than 70 copyright violation notifications pertaining to our users this year. The illegal uploading, downloading, copying and/or distribution of copyrighted works are serious offenses that carry with them the risk of substantial monetary damages and, in some cases, criminal prosecution. Copyright infringement also violates the semo.net Rules & Regulations and could lead to suspension of your Internet account.
In times of economic hardship, it is more important than ever to keep track of your finances. There are a lot of free tools and applications available for budgeting, bill pay and financial management. A very important aspect that is often overlooked is the ability to check your credit score online any time you like. Companies like FreeCreditReport.com grant you one free credit report per year, but you are left in the dark the other 11 months unless you want to pay a fee to view your score. CreditKarma.com lets you to shed some light on your credit – absolutely free! You can check your credit rating on the Credit Karma website an unlimited number of times, without any hidden
Below is a press release describing semo.net's attempts to secure USDA broadband stimulus funding to make high-speed access available in our area; an area which the USDA has decided is not remote enough to qualify. USDA TILTING AT WINDMILLS: LITTLE GUY EXPOSES USDA STIMULUS BLUNDER Brian Becker owns a small Internet Service in Southeast Missouri started in 1995. Becker has documents to show that the USDA, responsible for doling out billions for Rural Broadband, has contradicted both itself and Congress. Most are skeptical at first, but a few minutes with him and you realize that $7.2B stimulus dollars hinge on one word.
