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A New Ramp To The Information Highway

Just over the border in Monroe you will find a new on-ramp to the Information

Superhighway, as Netmeg Internet opens its electronic doors for business.

This start-up Internet Service Provider (ISP), located at 887-F Main Street,

focuses on the local market, providing Internet access and support to local

businesses and individuals.

"Connecticut is poised to take a major step forward in Internet connectivity,"

said Matt Magri, president of Netmeg. "The appearance of new local ISPs mean

that the state's businesses and individuals can end their reliance on the

out-of-state mega-providers."

Mr Magri established Netmeg with his wife, Carolyn, a math major, and brother,

Tim. Matt Magri's experience includes 10 years of Internet work for the

Defense Department; his specialty there was computer security.

In researching the market, Mr Magri found local ISPs can provide more flexible

services than large providers can. "Businesses in particular will find many

advantages in working with an ISP that can help the business develop an

appropriate Internet presence," said Mr Magri. "But a Net presence is only

part of the story."

There has been a good deal of publicity about advertising successes on the

Internet, but the Net is more than just an electronic billboard, he said. "It

can be an excellent environment for networking with other profesionals and

getting smarter about the skills involved in the customer's business. There is

virtually no subject which is too esoteric, since the Internet draws its

participants from all across the world," said Mr Magri.

Mr Magri said his years of experience give him a big advantage over the large

providers because he has an in-depth understanding of the Internet community.

"It's not that [large Internet providers] don't have some very smart and very

experienced people working for them. It's just that customers never get to

talk to the experienced people. They're hidden behind an impenetrable wall of

busy signals, voicemail, and temps," said Mr Magri.

Another advantage local ISPs have over the large out-of-state corporations is

better reliability. "There's no economy of scale when it comes to providing

access to the Internet. When it comes to computers and networks, breakdowns

and complexity go hand-in-hand," he said. As a network increases in size, the

amount of resources required to keep the network running smoothly grows even

faster, he explained.

As a local service provider, Mr Magri visits customers to offer ideas on how

they can best use the Internet to help achieve their business goals. He

explains the concept of websites and discusses ways in which to make a site

interesting so people will visit it."

Netmeg Internet does not offer "unlimited" pricing, a trend Mr Magri calls "a

sham." Rather, all of the company's dial-up networking accounts include 240

hours per month of access. "Normal Internet use is not going to amount to more

than that average of eight hours a day," said the president. "And unusually

heavy users are no longer subsidized by everyone else."

Dial-up networking accounts are available from Netmeg to areas for which

Trumbull is a local telephone call. Netmeg offers Personal PPP/SLIP Accounts

for $25 month plus a one-time set-up fee of $20. This account includes email,

space to set up a personal website, 240 hours each month of connect time,

Usenet Newsgroups and Network News Transfer Protocol, 10 megabytes of storage

space on Netmeg servers, and more.

Those who want most of the aforementioned, but not their own website,

anonymous FTP directory, or storage space on Netmeg's server, can choose the

PersonalLite PPP/SLIP Account, which costs $20 per month with a one-time

set-up fee of $15. An email-only account is available for $5 a month, with a

one-time set-up fee of $5. Discounts are available for paying in advance, but

if someone wanted to discontinue service, a refund for the remaining months

would be given.

Netmeg also has Internet Direct Access for businesses that want to set up a

high-capacity leased line.

High-Speed Lines

"We are using special high-speed digital connections for dial-in lines to

ensure the best performance possible. Our modems are currently all 33.6Kbps

and the equipment we use is sophisticated enough to allow instant upgrades to

higher-speed connections as those communication protocols are developed," said

Mr Magri.

The company has devoted 20 gigabytes of space to hold Internet discussion

groups and have implemented a special caching system to help speed up customer

web browsing. It currently has two webservers to hold customer webpages. One

for personal accounts and a second, faster server to handle the business

accounts. Netmeg can handle connections from any computer capable of running

dial-up "Internetworking" software including Macs, PCs, Amigas, and Unix

machines.

Although the company will eventually expand its territory for dial-up

accounts, Mr Magri said he is glad he is establishing his business in an area

he is particularly fond of. "This is where I grew up," he said. "I'm excited

to be able to work with the folks and businesses I grew up with here. I want

to give them the best Internet access possible. In fact, I want folks in the

area to be able to make their out-of-state friends jealous."

For detailed information on Netmet's services, contact Matt Magri by telephone

(459-9474), email (info@netmeg.net). Prospective customers can also get

information by visiting the company's website (http://www.netmeg.net/).