Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 11:50:33 -0500 (EST) From: BCPL.NET SysAdmin To: BCPL.NET News Subject: BCPL.NET NEWS: Price Change Announcement ------------------------------------------------------ NEW BCPL.NET ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEE EFFECTIVE MARCH 1 ------------------------------------------------------ Effective March 1, 2002, BCPL.NET's annual subscription fee will be raised to $120. Our goal has always been to provide quality service at the lowest possible cost, so this is not a step we take lightly. Unfortunately we really have no choice. We have been charging $100 per year since January 1997. The effect of inflation alone means that we should be charging about $110 in January 2002. However keeping up with inflation is only part of the story. Even after adjusting for inflation it costs us more per customer to provide service than it did in 1997. Like Internet users everywhere, our customers are using the service more often and are staying connected for longer periods of time. This puts an increased load on our modem pool. In January 1997 we did fine with a user to modem ratio of 15 to 1, but in January 2002 we need a ratio of 10 to 1 (or better) to prevent busy signals. In addition, the amount of data being received from and sent to the rest of the Internet has increased tremendously since January 1997. This is because our customers are becoming more and more Internet savvy and Internet dependent, sending and receiving more and larger e-mails, downloading more and larger files, and doing more Web browsing than they did back in 1997. That translates to increasingly higher bandwidth usage on our connection to the Internet. In January 1997 we were doing very well with a single T1 connection (1.54 megabits per second). In April 1998 we had to upgrade to two T1 lines (3 megabits per second), and in March 2000 to three T1's (4.6 megabits). In November 2001 we upgraded to a 6.3 megabit per second tiered T3 connection, and already that is showing signs of strain during peak business hours. All of this translates to increased per-customer costs, hence the new $120 annual fee. The alternative is to keep the price at $100, but allow the quality of service to gradually erode. We won't do that. Ever since its beginnings in 1995 BCPL.NET has been dedicated to providing quality service at a reasonable price. We won't compromise quality just to avoid price increases. All renewal notices sent out after the date of this message (for accounts expiring on or after March 9, 2002) will show the new $120 annual fee. If your expiration date is before March 9, you should already have received a renewal notice showing the old $100 fee. To avoid delays in processing your renewal, please pay the amount shown on your renewal notice. All new account application forms distributed on and after March 1 will show the new $120 annual fee, plus the $25 one-time startup fee which remains in effect. This makes the first-year cost for a new account $145. I realize the new $120 annual fee will seem like a big increase to some of you, but to put it in perspective, $120 per year is only $10 per month. These days most Internet providers who offer service similar to BCPL.NET's charge from $15 to $20 per month. We believe that even at $10 per month, BCPL.NET is still a bargain. -- BCPL.NET INTERNET SERVICES 320 York Road Towson, MD 21204-5179 U.S.A. CONTACTS: -------- Web Site: http://www.bcpl.net Administration & Policy: ispadmin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 Sales, Renewals, Account Status: accounts@bcpl.net 410-887-4172 Technical Support (Help Desk): help@bcpl.net 410-887-3297 Usenet News Newsgroup Requests news-admin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 E-Mail & Newsgroup Abuse Reports: abuse@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 Domain Name Service Issues: dnsadmin@bcpl.net 410-887-6180 FAX: 410-887-2091