Semo.net Weblog » Features

Becker To City Council: Bach’s Numbers Show City Cable Is Losing $1 Million on MyCityCable!

Brian Becker — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:59:51 +0000

The following information was relayed by Brian Becker to City Council on Monday, Aug 2, 2010. Additional supporting information has been added for clarity:

According to Mr. Bach, every time a light switch is turned on or the faucet is opened, citizens are subsidizing MyCityCable to the tune of over $1,000,000 each year.

I am on record stating that these numbers ARE NOT accurate and the city IS NOT losing money on Internet.
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Becker’s Letter To Council

Brian Becker — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:29:44 +0000

Below is the cover-letter for a packet of information provided to the City Council on Friday. Packet for City Council members

Dear Council members,

At the last meeting, Councilwoman McVey asked for information to be provided in advance with your packet of information. Councilman Matthews echoed that sentiment as well. With that in mind, I prepared the enclosed material to be included for the upcoming meeting.

I was at the City Clerk / City Manager’s offices yesterday asking how I could get my material included; Mr. Bagby refused my information and informed me that I needed to mail it to you directly. Read the rest of this article…

The City Has Forgotten Who Helped Them…

Brian Becker — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:28:04 +0000

After watching the KFVS story, my wife asked, “What did you mean by ‘the City has forgotten who helped them get to where they are today?’.”

In 2002 when City Cable announced that it was considering doing Internet service, our company had thousands of dialup customers in the Poplar Bluff area. MyCityCable had 0 customers at that time. The City Council voted to open their Cable Internet service up to all ISPs and encourage companies like semo.net to bring their dialup customers onto the network.
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What Does The City Council’s Decision Mean For Semo.net?

Brian Becker — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:01:13 +0000

semo.net has been around since 1995. Long before City Cable provided Internet service…semo.net was here…and for years to come, semo.net will continue to provide great Internet service in our area.

Of course this move by the city is disappointing. And in this economy, it would not be fair to say this isn’t going to be detrimental to our current business model. But remember that the same ingenuity that created & sustained semo.net is still at work within our staff.
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Becker Pleads With City Council Not to Trust Bach’s Financials

Brian Becker — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:27:09 +0000

The following was read by Brian Becker at the City Council Meeting on 7/19/2010:

My name is Brian Becker and I own and operate Poplar Bluff Internet, dba semo.net, at 1877 N Westwood Blvd.

This afternoon at the Municipal Utilities Advisory Board it was voted by the members to recommend to you this evening to end Open Access. This is all predicated on the false assumption that Open Access is costing the City money.
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Becker Again Before City Council

Brian Becker — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:10:35 +0000

The following was read at the Poplar Bluff City Council meeting during Citizen Input on July 6th, 2010.
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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.
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Becker Protests City Cable’s Decision To Deny semo.net Any New Internet Customers

Brian Becker — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:30:04 +0000

[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.
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Copyrighted Material and P2P Piracy

Semo.net Management — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:56:48 +0000

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. Read the rest of this article…

Semo.net Disputes USDA Rules Preventing Rural Broadband Grant

Semo.net Management — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:50:51 +0000

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.
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College Organization Made Easy

Bridgett Barnhill — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:49:26 +0000

As a college student, I find it increasingly difficult to stay organized. Keeping up with assignments, homework, due dates and various other stress-inducing factors can be a serious headache. I’ve tried several different organizational methods, from calendars to online document storage, but nothing ever seemed centralized enough to meet my needs.

Enter Soshiku. It might sound like a variety of sushi, but there is nothing fishy about this web application.

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