Holiday Greetings for 2009
You may download and print a copy of this newsletter here.
Happy Holidays to All!
We have reached the close of another year and the start of a New Year. 2008 saw many changes -
- We conquered a Trojan with a wide spread penetration within our customer base and implemented servers throughout the network to limit the impact of such Trojan activity in the future.
- We implemented a server which monitors all of our access point radios and backbone radios and we are aware of radio or network failures within 90 seconds of them going off-line.
- In March, we purchased a dial-up Internet business in the Medford market and added new subscribers.
- In May, our DS3 circuit finally showed up 10-months past the due date! But we were happy to finally get it. The DS3 is equivalent to 28 T1's or 45Mbs of bandwidth which will enable faster connection speeds for wireless users.
- In July we updated our servers to protect everyone from a barely known "DNS vulnerability". The news of this vulnerability was released to the general public in August. We were updated and protected from any threat.
- These last few months we have been updating our web servers with faster hardware and redundant servers.
- In December we set up an off site Tera-byte backup server which now has all of our internal server data, billing system and web servers backed up safely in the event of a catastrophic failure.
- As a reminder we do have a home page for our internet subscribers found here: http://airrun.net/users
Staff
Bill Flood - Owner; administrative and technical
Phil Gregoire - Senior technical support and network analyst
Brad Pagel - Programmer
Bryan Meade - Installer
Kris Kleinschmidt - Technical support
Janet Gregoire - Technical support / clerical
Jack Flood - Sight surveys and support services
Amy Tillman - Book keeper
New Speed Packages
With our faster new circuit we have new speed packages available for wireless customers. These can be found at the following link: http://airrun.net/newspeed
If you’d like to make a change to your current speed package, call 715-443-3700 ext.102.
Radio Replacement Policy
This is a voluntary membership in a radio replacement policy. Over the years, thunderstorms have occurred or radios have aged out. Because of this, manufacturer warranty is not applicable for replacement. Current replacement radio cost is $235.00 for a 2.4 Ghz radio and $370.00 for a 900 Mhz radio. As outlined in our Acceptable Use Policy/Terms of Service, the customer is responsible to cover this replacement cost. We recognize this can be a hardship and now offer this replacement policy. To be a member of this policy requires a once a year payment of $25.00 payable by February 16th. If your radio fails or is damaged following a storm, AirRunner Networks LLC will replace one radio each calendar year. You cannot opt in for participation in the policy after your radio is damaged or fails. Payment for the policy for existing customers must be made in the month of February. If additional items are damaged, such as wire, routers or antennas, the customer is responsible to pay for these replacements at current cost. If you wish to renew your policy or get set up with this replacement policy, please call us 715-443-3700 at extension 102 or send an email to: billing@airrun.net
Technical Support Changes
In 2008 we made some changes in how we process technical support calls. Starting in 2009 we will simplify this process. On Monday through Friday [except holidays] 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., all calls will be directed to extension 113. Or if our automated attendant system should answer, choose option [1]. This is a voice mail only box. Please leave your name, telephone number and a brief description of the problem and the on-call technician will return your call.
After 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. weekdays and from 5:00 p.m. Friday evening until Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. your call will be answered by our automated attendant system. If you have technical needs, simply press the number one [1] and you’ll be connected to a technician after a short hold. Sometimes due to call volume, you may need to wait on hold until a technician clears the previous call. The evening technical support staff will troubleshoot most issues, but will leave some of the more involved problems for the business day staff to resolve. If the evening staff cannot resolve your problem they will escalate the call and the daytime staff will contact you the next business day.
Your Internet access charge only covers Internet access. Although we provide technical support services, these services may come with a charge for extended time or if you require a service person to come on-site to resolve your issue.
Invoice Changes
All invoices are net 15, which means that your payment needs to arrive at our office by the 16th of each month. If your payment is not received on time your Internet connection will be suspended. This is part of our automated billing server. You will see a page pop up if you try to reach the Internet once your service is suspended. This page has instructions on who to contact to get your service turned back on and get your invoice paid. It also has a credit card interface if you wish to pay right away and get your service reconnected. We will be charging a $20.00 reconnection fee for past due accounts. If you would like to avoid the $20.00 reconnection charge, we can waive that if you sign up for our automatic payment process. This process allows a customer to have their invoice amount taken from their checking/savings account automatically each month. If you sign up for this billing option prior to a suspension of service, we will give you a one month credit.
Coming soon we will be able to take recurring credit card payments through a secure portal on our website. Due to the charge we receive from the credit card companies, we will apply a 3% surcharge on the total of each transaction made.
Prepaid Internet
If you wish to pay for your year's Internet in advance we will give you a one month credit along with an additional benefit for paying in advance*.
Billing Changes in February
Starting with the February billing cycle, we will implement a surcharge of $1.37 on all invoices. This charge will be used to offset operational increases. In 2008, like many other companies, we saw a large increase in expenses from many of the vendors we do business with including our backbone provider. We reserve the right to modify these charges as needed without notification.
*Yearly prepaid Internet access will not be assessed this charge
Wrapping Up
Moving forward into 2009 we have a new circuit with ample bandwidth for all wireless customers. It is also a good time to update your websites during these trying economic times and if you need help with that, please contact Bill Flood at extension 101 or bill@airrun.net. Please consider the Radio Replacement Policy. If your radio requires replacement, you'll be glad you paid the mere $25.00 in February and not have to pay full replacement cost. Pay for your Internet service in advance and you'll save money.
Thanks again for your patronage!
The Staff at AirRunner Networks