Several local towns have been left wondering what to do after a regional wireless Internet service provider has apparently gone out of business.

Speed Express Networks — formerly Wireless Frontier Internet, based out of Fort Stockton — still has equipment up on city-owned towers in all four cities. The Internet connection still works sometimes. The company’s toll-free number is no longer in service, though, and officials in Fort Stockton are saying they’re out of business entirely.

"They used to be our (Internet provider). It was down most of the time (so) we switched to SBC," said Fort Stockton Chamber of Commerce Program Director Arna McCorkle. "I think they’ve gone completely out of business, now. We switched (Internet providers), so we were not left high and dry, but a lot of people were. Nearly everybody in town was on it."

Alex John Gonzales was the original owner of the business, but after he sold to another individual, things went downhill, McCorkle said. A year ago, the company was sold again and the name changed to Speed Express Networks.

City officials in Falls City have been using their e-mail service as the official city e-mail account, but recent troubles with the company have seen their e-mail servers down indefinitely.

"We can’t get the e-mail because they were locked out of their building that has their computers in it. They won’t answer calls, the phone number you call they say is no longer in service," Falls City Secretary Lauren Sturm said.

"Speed Express is coming across some difficulty," Speed Express Field Engineer Tad Vernor said. "There’s been a company out of Houston that has put in a proposal to take over. We should know something definitely this week. Speed Express isn’t bankrupt (but) they are having problems."

Meanwhile in Karnes City, city officials there are preparing to remove the wireless equipment from their tower.

"I had heard that they had filed bankruptcy," City Administrator Larry Pippen said. "We have not been notified really of anything. We have not been able to contact this (company). They’re no longer in business, so I’m going to give it a few more weeks. If we make no contact, then I’ll probably have (the equipment) removed."

Karnes City had used Wireless Frontier Internet as part of a free exchange program prior to switching over to SBC recently. The free high-speed connection, which was offered in exchange for being allowed to mount equipment on the city’s water tower, was plagued by extensive down times and technical issues, Pippen said.

"We’ve just had so much difficulty with them being up and down, then turning out that they sold. It was hard to find a contact for when we had a problem. We were down one time I think for a significant length of time," Karnes City Mayor Don Tymrak said. "Larry and I talked about it and I said I had never had a warm, fuzzy feeling about them, anyway. I (said) that I would feel much more comfortable with us going DSL for our needs."

Vernor has been serving South Texas under each wireless Internet company since soon after the first incarnation of the company was formed. He hasn’t been receiving a paycheck, he said, but he stays working to keep things running, anyway. Speed Express owes him around $17,000 in unpaid wages, he said.

One of the main problems the company has been facing is AT&T’s expansion into rural Texas, offering towns nowhere near a major metropolitan area, such as Runge, the same quality Internet service they can get in San Antonio or Austin.

"It’s getting harder and harder for a small company to make a go of Internet (service), particularly with the merger of AT&T and SBC," Vernor said.

AT&T previously has announced plans to spend around $4.6 billion to bring Internet services to nearly 19 million homes by the end of 2008, adding more direct competition and pressure to small business Internet providers.

While the financial arrangements over Speed Express are settled, Vernor said he’s going to keep working to make sure every customer stays connected.

"This is my area over in Texas and I’m kind of attached to it. I’m just going to keep on doing what I’m doing," he said. "I just get attached to the people and the areas I keep up and alive. I don’t have any say or anything to do with the financial end."