IndyLink Information

IndyLink is a nonprofit Internet Service Provider providing dialup access and domain hosting nationwide, via a network of local phone numbers. A project of the Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN), IndyLink is dedicated to making Internet access a tool for progressive, grassroots activists throughout the United States. MAIN was founded in 1996 in Asheville, North Carolina. At that time, only two counties in the rugged, mountainous western part of the state were being served by commercial ISPs. MAIN founder Wally Bowen and a group of volunteers from around the region knew that Internet connectivity would prove vital to the future of these rural communities. Taking the successful effort to spread electricity to rural areas by means of community cooperatives as a model, MAIN designed a network that would eventually provide local Internet access to 14 counties in western North Carolina. Where other efforts to create nonprofit community Internet networks failed for lack of funding, MAIN succeeded thanks to a sustainable business model that used ISP revenues to fund network growth. From that solid foundation, MAIN has built not only a strong grassroots-based ISP but a network of important community projects. These include: a low-power FM and Internet radio station, MAIN-FM 103.5 FM, "The Progressive Voice of the Mountains"; an e-commerce portal for independent small businesses, the Blue Ridge Web Market; and a digital literacy program for Spanish-speaking people, CarolinaHoy.org. More information about MAIN is available here. IndyLink is the next step in the evolution of this nonprofit, progressive community network. By providing our Internet service nationwide, we are offering you the opportunity to spend your Internet dollars with an organization that shares your values and embodies your spirit - while saving you money! We offer a rock-solid privacy policy and many other reasons to join. We encourage you to explore IndyLink, MAIN, and the rest of our network of projects. If you have any questions, call us ...