Wisdom from Powell River's Pioneer

Contact Info:

• Bev Collins, Coordinator, Powell River Community Network
• Telephone: 485-4051 (w)
• E-mail: bev@prcn.org
• HomePage-- http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/fpm/prcnsoc/sochome.html

Interview Notes:

• Public documents to share can be found at the Malaspina University College (MUC) Electronic Education Project HomePage http://aslan.pr.mala.bc.ca/fpm/mucfpm.htm. There is also a hands-on Internet course and the Powell River Community Network (PRCN) H omePage and Committee Archive.
• Equipment includes a Pentium, upgraded 486, a Sun, 16 line modem pool.
• There are no free accounts. Charges are $20/month based on 2 hours/day and a monthly limit of 20 hours/month.
• Bev is prepared to write up a short document summarizing key lessons learned.
• Powell River has been running in pilot mode since January 1995. Securing the Federal Industry Canada Community Access Program funding has them ready for operational service.
• There are currently 310 people registered on the network.
• Paid staff include a full-time Coordinator and part-time System Administrator. There are 9 volunteers on the PRCN committee. The local Chamber of Commerce has donated office space.
• An extensive list of sponsors, donors and information providers with their letters of support can be found on the PRCN HomePage.

Bev's Wish List is A Reasonably Priced Internet Connection!

• "We could do so much more if we had a reasonably priced Internet connection."
• 128 Kbps access to the Internet currently costs $3000/month in Powell River.
• T1 (1.544 Mbps) costs $11,000/month in Powell River versus $1000/month in Vancouver.
• In November/95, BC Tel's Gary Wilson discussed a possible partnership to reduce costs, but nothing has happened since.