New Website
August, 2020
As we approach our 25th anniversary next year, we wanted to take a quick snapshot in the “wayback” machine to talk briefly about the evolution of PEAK Internet.
PEAK was originally formed in 1986 by the Computer Science department at Oregon State University. The Computer Science Department ran the modem pool and provided access to the public for free. This free service continued through 1992.
In February of 1996, John Sechrest rallied nine local entrepreneurial investors to take PEAK private in a new commercial organization. PEAK is an acronym for Public Electronic Access to Knowledge. Since inception, PEAK has had a customer-centric focus on education, training and support.
In a parallel path Casco Communications, Inc. was servicing Internet customers in the Pioneer Telephone Cooperative’s exchange from Corvallis to the Coast via pioneer.net and casco.net. At this time, “Casco” was a 3 member cooperative owned by Blachly-Lane Electric, Consumers Power, Inc., and Pioneer Consolidated, Inc. Casco was originally formed to provide DirecTV satellite services from the Cascades to the Coast.
In January of 2002, Casco Communications, Inc. acquired PEAK and did a minor re-brand to PEAK Internet. This acquisition provided a mechanism for the founding investors to receive a return on their investment and set up the new entity on a sustainable growth plan. Over the next decade, PEAK acquired several local ISP’s leveraging economies of scale along the way.
On August 1, 2020, PEAK Internet transferred the broadband customers in the Pioneer Telephone Exchange back to Pioneer so they can create the best user experience possible for their members. All of us at PEAK are grateful to have had the opportunity to serve our Pioneer members for the past 22 years!
We are also thrilled to launch our new website and engage our Internet community with new content and diverse mediums to communicate timely and relevant information. PEAK Internet is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Consumers Power Inc.
PEAK remains focused on enhancing its Fixed Wireless and Fiber to the Home broadband services to help members living in underserved communities receive better Internet access.
We are currently working on fiber projects outside the Lebanon area and in some parts of Albany that will help to connect residents to vital services like telemedicine, distance learning and workplaces that require work from home. Our new website will make it easy to check on the availability and status of projects while giving interested customers the ability to sign up and submit their interest for future projects.
We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about our history. We at PEAK are excited about
our new website and service offering and we hope you are too!