Over the years, many people have asked about the origin of OutlawNet, Inc. They want to know where the name came from, who runs the company, how it is funded, how come it is located in Sisters High School, and whether or not it is a real, professionally managed company ... and a host of other things. Although we may not be able to answer all your questions, what follows is a brief overview of the corporation, and our mission. Welcome.

Sisters School District is located in the High Desert country of Central Oregon, and we are a long way from the rest of the world in many ways. As a social studies teacher, this isolation bothered me, and I saw a need to improve my students' understanding of the larger world in which they lived. Because of my technical background, I saw the internet as a way to do this. Initially, I developed a project for one of my classes that required each student to do extensive research about each state in the union using the very first version of AOL. We started with three outside telephone lines, and had to make a long distance call to a city across the Cascades to get a connection. Soon, it became clear that although this technology was "pretty cool," it was too expensive for our little school to support.

At that time, there were no federal or state programs to support this kind of technology in the K-12 world, so I decided that if we were to have this technology, we were going to have to find another way to provide and fund it. And, as a guy who had made his living in the high tech world before returning to the classroom, I knew what it was going to take to make this happen. I developed a business plan in which a firm was described that could provide the entire school district with free internet access and network services if the district would agree to lease the business an on-site office space at commercial rates. This was important because I also wanted students directly involved in the business, and this could be best accomplished if the operation were located on campus.

The business plan included a detailed cash flow analysis, equipment and personnel requirements, time lines, and a proposed contract with the school district that detailed the arm's length relationship between the district and the new firm. When completed, I shopped for a funding angel. Eventually, a friend made a personal loan to me for the necessary start up money ... a bit over $50,000 ... and OutlawNet, Inc, was ready to go.

The name ... well, the high school's mascot is the "outlaw" stallion ... and our teams are all "Outlaws" ... so what else could we name our new company? OutlawNet was a natural.

Initially, students were recruited from math and science classes, and they were really surprised when they discovered that starting up a new service business involved lots of telephone work ... each making many cold calls in our community ... calls where they would explain the internet, explain why people should have it in their home, and explain how our little firm could make this happen. Other students designed and produced business forms, and many competed in a design contest for our logo ... a contest that was won by a young man who earned the princely sum of $50 for his design, and who now gets to see it every time he opens our web site.

Students were also tasked with installation duties, and went out in teams to set up our customers. When the business first started, this service was free to our customers, but soon we began charging $45 and providing an hour of training with the installation. The teams consisted of an upperclassman and an underclassman ... a driver, and a trainee. Our customers loved this service, and today it has grown into a tutoring service that we bill at $62.50/hr.

Some students were primarily interested in the technical aspects of this business, and they learned how to diagnose and repair computer problems of all kinds. We also began working with the StRUT (Students Recycling Used Technology) Program, and many students gained valuable hands-on experience "making butterflies" from donated computers. As part of Intel's Challenge 10000 program, these students assembled, tested, and delivered hundreds of new computers to schools throughout Central Oregon.

Today, as OutlawNet's market has become more sophisticated, most new customers do not need as much student support. Instead, most students now spend their time learning advanced skills like web site development and management, graphic arts, and general science including the chemistry and physics involved in the semiconductor industry. Students also spend time refurbishing computers for use in the district, and maintaining our extensive district network. A few students also have a work-study position in OutlawNet's office, and work directly with staff and customers.

Our school offers a regular class called OutlawNet and, during that class, extensive training is provided in a variety of areas. Students can take the class for all four years of their high school experience, and during this process, participants work as a team. The "team" concept stems directly from my experience in industry, and in class, students are given learning tasks that they must work to complete as a group. Gradually, freshmen learn skills directly needed to solve these problems from more experienced students, and both groups learn many skills necessary in the real world of work. One of the most popular web sites at OutlawNet is an electronic reference that has been developed by students over the years ... and is now used by people all over the country.

OutlawNet provides free internet access to all students, teachers, and administrators in the district. It also hosts hundreds of school produced web sites that are dedicated to everything from a 4th Grade snowman to Advanced Art in the high school. Scholarships are discussed on the school web site, and instead of fighting with strange forms and an old fashioned typewriter, the scholarship site now features PDF electronic forms.

OutlawNet manages technological donations to the school district, and the refurbishment and distribution efforts of students participating in the StRUT program. This program has fielded hundreds of computers in our schools, and places free computers in the homes of students who cannot afford one of their own. Many of these computers are provided with free dial-up OutlawNet accounts as well.

Initially, our little community was unserved by internet services, and OutlawNet provided these services. We use the funds raised by customer subscriptions to support services provided to the schools in our district. Over the past nine years, other ISP's have entered our market area, and to remain competitive, OutlawNet has added new services and formed partnerships with other firms. We now offer satellite broadband in partnership with StarBand, DSL broadband in partnership with Qwest, and extensive commercial web site development and hosting services. We sell and service all types of computers and technical equipment, and our attractive rates and personal service continue to make this part of our business a solid profit center. We also provide well respected training services to those in our community who would like personal, in home technical training, and have found this service particularly appealing to members of our senior community.

We are working with a number of other firms exploring wide area wireless solutions in our area, and expect this service to expand markedly during the next several years. Other broadband solutions are also interesting, and the new "mobile T" systems are very attractive to our customer base. The largest growth area in our business is probably service however, and it seems that providing affordable, responsive personnel will consume the largest part of our effort during the next several years. We will do what we can to train, and inspire kids to work in this field.

The OutlawNet staff appreciates the community support we have received over the years, and will continue to work diligently to maintain the highest standards in service to our customers. Where once there was just a trickle of internet traffic in our schools, today's traffic sometimes reaches 4.5 million bytes per second … and all of it is supported by OutlawNet's staff, and our loyal customers. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be of service, and if you have questions about this program, please do not hesitate to call (541.549.1054) or write (outlaw@outlawnet.com).