When will broadband be available from ZARKS.NET?

 We put up the tower the weekend of March 10, 2007. We've done some testing around the countryside to determine our coverage area. We hooked up the internet supply on April 14. We'd like to spend the next week or two testing to ensure that everything is stable. And then we'll start hooking up neighbors who have already told us they are interested. Our target to have them connected on or before the first weekend in May.

What will it cost?

 We are trying to keep this relatively affordable. ZARKS.NET is actually footing the bill for all the equipment. We are only asking that our neighbors pay for installation and monthly access. At present, installtion will be $300 with a $50 monthly charge.

What is the length of the service contract?

We will charge on a month-to-month basis. You pay for one month of service at a time. When you no longer want the service, you call us and we'll come get the equipment.

How fast will it be?

The Motorola Canonpy system can handle 3.3 megabits per second. Initially, our standard rate will be 512 kilobits. However, we will be able to supply faster speeds for an additional monthly fee.

How many households can you serve?

Initially, we are going to limit the service to 20 households. Once we reach that goal, we will upgrade our internet supply. Once we do that we will be "scaleable", which simply means that we will be able to add as many neighbors as want the service.

Note 8/12/2007: We actually upgraded our internet supply early, so we are now scalable. 

 Will you be able to provide broadband to my house?

That's a hard question to answer given the topography of the area. But if you are interested, give us a call at 844-8244 and we'll schedule a time to bring out some equipment and see if we can reach you!

Why are you doing this?

I, Phil Farrand, and my buddy are doing this because we are tired of not having solid high-speed internet. My whole goal in this endeavor is to break even while at the same time finally gaining access to broadband. I'm a computer consultant and I have broadband at my clients and then I come home to dial-up and it is not good!

Our business model works at 25 households. If we can find 25 neighbors, we can pay back all the money spent on the equipment and tower in just three years. And if we find more neighbors than that who want broadband? Then we might add another 25 (Why 25 you ask? Well...Motorola is very proud of this equipement and if you try to buy it in anything less than packs of 25, the price is really high!)