ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607050025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE AND ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITERS
The Blacksburg Electronic Village has talked for more than a year about getting out of the commercial modem pool business.
Sure enough, "call failed" greeted former BEV users who tried to log on Monday.
"Access denied."
So it is that one phase of the grand experiment ended July 1, when the approximately 1,700 non-Virginia Tech modem pool users officially lost their Internet access through the BEV. The approximately 4,000 remaining modem pool subscribers who are connected to the university can continue their service.
Education will become the main emphasis for the BEV as it moves out of the commercial Internet access arena. Still, losing the cheap on-line access afforded by BEV has not been an easy perk to give up for many people.
BEV Director Andrew Cohill, sensitive to criticism that the BEV may be turning its back on the very people who helped get it this far, said "the only thing that changes is the number the modem dials to get to the network."
"The Blacksburg Electronic Village is not going away."
Forecast in BEV's future: More seminars on topics such as learning how to make web pages, or research advising communities elsewhere about setting up community networks. Anyone who wants to still can look up the village home page, and consult community listings or Blacksburg town meeting agendas.
Also in the future is an effort to figure out how to retain a piece of BEV life that proved to be more cherished by users than Cohill and others had predicted: Use of the ".bev" e-mail address.
"Bevnet says something about where you live," he said.
Mail will be forwarded indefinitely, and Cohill said the village hopes to find a way for users to keep their old addresses.
Local Internet discussion groups have been abuzz with news of the impending switch in recent months, although BEV officials always have said the $8.60 monthly charge for unlimited Internet service never covered the costs of running an increasingly crowded modem pool.
"The dilemma we were in, as more people wanted to be part of BEV, we didn't get the money to pay for the staff," Cohill said.
And many users agree that the university should not compete with private business.
"No, I didn't understand it was going to be a temporary thing at first," said John Flanagan, an Elliston construction worker and former BEV subscriber. "But I tend to agree, universities are there to help students to research or support economics for the state. I don't think the government should be competing with the private sector."
Two local Internet access providers have emerged in recent months - NRVnet and Citizens InterNET, an offshoot of the Floyd-based Citizens Telephone Cooperative. Later this month, Bell Atlantic Corp. will begin offering dial-up service to individuals and small businesses.
Blacksburg-based NRVnet became the first modem pool provider when its opened its doors in November. Since then, about 2,000 people have signed on in four counties - including many people who used to get their Internet access through the BEV.
Ted Hudson, NRVnet's president, admits the company has experienced growing pains. Software glitches, service problems and maintaining enough capital to cover the high costs of a business that must constantly upgrade its equipment have been obstacles that Hudson insists the company is overcoming.
Changes in software have been made, the company is offering to sell stock to outside investors and service hours have been tailored to meet peak times.
"I think the growth will slow down once we get past the BEV influx," Hudson said. "Then we will start focusing on the business accounts."
Citizens InterNET began offering on-line access in February and now includes about 800 customers in nine counties. Unlike NRVnet, which was formed as a direct result of the BEV, the rural phone company decided to begin offering Internet access to ensure its customers had the same services as people in more urban areas.
"Certainly, we're glad to get the BEV customers, but that was not the whole idea in getting into the Internet business," said Network Manager Danny Vaughn.
There is no solid estimate of the number of BEV subscribers who have moved to Citizens InterNET. The company recently added Blacksburg, Virginia Tech and Roanoke discussion groups to its service and did make preparations prior to the July 1 cutoff date to prepare for a moderate influx of new subscribers.
Citizens InterNET and NRVnet are competing in a local market that didn't exist prior to the BEV's fall 1993 launch. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg and Bell Atlantic Corp. launched the electronic village to test the Internet market and determine how a community could interact via computer. Since then, countless local businesses have established web pages - many with links to a BEV directory called the Village Mall.
Local schools also have been connected to the Internet through BEV and will maintain their accounts on the electronic village. One recent project involved the purchase of computer equipment for Christiansburg High School and Auburn High and Middle School, where a computer lab was established for students and the community.
Discussion groups have sprung up where people debate everything from the "smart" road to the quality of area restaurants. Several businesses that specialize in Internet-related products, including web page design and search engines, also have appeared on the scene.
A recent Roanoke Times poll, conducted by the Center for Community Research at Roanoke College, found that 44.2 percent of Montgomery County residents use the Internet daily.
The BEV also has generated a breathtaking number of national newspaper and magazine articles published everywhere - from GQ and USA Today to the National Enquirer. Many of the articles tout Blacksburg as "the most wired town in America."
And back when the project was conceived, its proponents said the whole of Blacksburg would someday be wired.
"The vision and intent was to wire the whole town," Cohill said. "We still want to do that. The university can't just hire a Ditch Witch and send me out with a couple of students to wire the town."
Cohill said there are currently 500 high-speed Ethernet connections in apartments in Blacksburg, including the Jefferson, Ivy Gardens and Foxridge complexes. NRVnet is negotiating with at least one apartment complex to install Ethernet connections.
Despite the switch, BEV has given the region one indisputable leg up on the future: It's taught people in the New River Valley how to go on line and use what they find there - even down to the pizza coupons from Blacksburg's Backstreets Restaurant.
Hudson said the BEV helped bring local awareness of the Internet to the forefront. "It's education," he said.
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