There’s a race on to buy Hollinet, the local Internet company
that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week.
There’s a race on to buy Hollinet, the local Internet company that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week.
James McDonald, the owner of Iamis Information Services put in a bid to take over the company last week and promised to not change a thing. Upon learning about McDonald’s move, South Valley Internet, based in San Martin, faxed over an official letter saying it too is interested in taking over the business.
McDonald, Hollinet’s former technical adviser from Antelope, thinks he’s in the lead because he’s been working with the attorneys handling the case longer. Roy Engehausen, owner of the San Martin company, says he thinks it’s important the company be owned locally.
While we hope the company that offers the best service wins the bidding war, the most important thing is that someone win so service continues. We want the e-mail to flow and the Web sites to work when we turn on our computers. We expect Hollinet’s 2,000 customers – including area residents and governments like San Benito County and the city of Hollister – feel much the same.
What a disaster it would be if e-mail addresses stopped working and government and business Web sites went down. It would be a “fire drill” at the city if service was lost, the city’s Internet technician Bob Davidson said.
That’s an understatement, in our opinion. The city and other governments need to draw up a contingency plan for the possibility that the company goes under.
What we do hope for is that someone finishes the race quickly. McDonald says Hollinet’s landlord is looking to get the remnants of the business out the door, and the utility companies feel the same way. If ownership issues are not settled in a week, the company will drop off the face of the earth, he said.
So, gentlemen, get a deal done fast.
As frustrating as computers and e-mail can be, they have become an essential means of communication and access. We await and anticipate a rarity in the world of technology: a computer transaction that comes off without a glitch.
To respond to this editorial or comment on this issue, please send or bring letters to Editor, Hollister Free Lance, 350 Sixth St., Hollister, Calif. 95023 or fax to 637-4104 or e-mail to [email protected]
