Contesting.com & eHam.net Users
I have been hosting the Contesting.com and eHam.net web sites and mailing
lists on my network since 1996. In the beginning, my company (Akorn
Access) provided the hosting for free. Since we started the eHam.net web
site two years ago and began to accept advertising, eHam has been able to
pay a small amount each month toward the hosting costs.
Today, eHam.net and Contesting.com steadily consume more than a T-1 of
bandwidth. Combined, the two sites deliver well over 4 million pages and
push more than 200 gigabytes of data each month. The success of both
sites and all of the mailing lists are demanding more and redundant
bandwidth. However, we face the question of how to pay for it.
The cost to host this level of bandwidth most anywhere else would exceed
$2000 per month. eHam is currently able to contribute only $250.00 per
month, leaving Akorn Access out of pocket for at least $23,700 per year.
In the past, I have been able to cover these costs because Akorn was doing
well enough in other areas and the utilization was not as high. With the
recent slow down in the economy and our changing Internet access business,
Akorn is unable to continue this level of support. Additionally, many
potential advertisers are engrained in their print advertising, and refuse
to acknowledge the Internet as a viable method of promoting their
products. Although we continue to sign up new advertisers, they are not
coming (and funding the site) at the same rate as the bandwidth
utilization.
So, with regret, I'm reluctantly forced to turn to the users of both sites
for ongoing assistance.
We have an annual subscription program at eHam.net for users to help pay
for the site operations. We don't define the amount of the subscription,
but rather suggest that each user define for themselves the site's value,
and consider their own financial ability to subscribe. We suggest
comparing how much time you spend reading QST or CQ magazines with how
much time you spend reading eHam.net, Contesting.com, or the various
mailing lists when making your decision.
You can help by subscribing at http://www.eham.net/cart/product/111. If
you are unable to contribute by credit card, you can send a check to
eHam.net, 5095 Hamptons Club Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30004.
Many thanks & 73
Bill Fisher, W4AN
PS - I should also point out that we have many volunteers working on both
Contesting.com and eHam.net who receive no compensation at all. These
folks volunteer their time to provide the rest of us these services. A
list of volunteers can be found on both sites, and it would go a long way
if you would write just one of them expressing your appreciation for their
time.
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