Zenbu stickers and instructions for connecting...

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to let all zone operators know that we now have waterproof outdoor stickers available. These are designed to be added to your existing signage to help advertise your Zenbu wireless internet system.

There are two sizes available, the larger is 25.5cm x 14cm and the smaller is 9.1cm square. Both are printed on UV resistant, waterproof vinyl suitable for being displayed outdoors.

[ 255mm x 140mm ] [ 91mm x 91mm ]

If you would like some of these stickers to use at your zone, please send us an email and we will post some out to you.

We have also been asked by several zone operators whether there are any instructions available that they can put in their rooms to help people connect to the internet. Connection instructions have been available on our website for some time, but were obviously too well-hidden for many people to find. There is now a more prominent link to the connection instructions on the zone administration page.

Please let us know if you'd like some stickers or still have difficulty finding or printing the instructions for connecting to the internet.

Regards,

The Zenbu Team

A taxing change to payments...

Hello everyone,

As of February 15th 2008 all prices advertised on the Zenbu website include GST. This means that rather than 10 cents per MB being received from customers who use the Zenbu wireless system, we now receive only 8.89 cents (10 cents less GST). As a consequence, 50% of the payment we receive is now 4.44 cents per megabyte. Usage and payments to zone operators occurring after February 15th 2008 will reflect this change.

If you operate a Zenbu wireless zone and you are registered for GST, please save your GST number on your zone administration page and you will continue to receive payments from us which include the GST component of payments we receive from customers.

Prior to February 15th 2008 Zenbu Networks Limited was not GST registered. Hence no GST was collected on payments we received, and the full amount (5 cents per MB) was passed on to all of our zone operators.

We look forward to our new role as unpaid tax collectors for New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department and hope the government spends the money we diligently collect for them wisely. 8-)

At least this change is due to the popularity of the Zenbu wireless network and it is very satisfying to see both our turnover and the number of satisfied customers increasing so rapidly. Thank you everyone for helping make the Zenbu concept a success.

Regards,

The Zenbu Team

A minor (but often requested) new development...

Hello everyone,

Just a quick post to let you know that we have added an often requested new function. That is, the ability to delete existing access vouchers. This function was initially removed to stop people accidentally deleting access vouchers which had already been given to customers (and the ensuing problems that caused!) but we have since received numerous requests for this capability so it is back by popular demand, albeit in a slightly different format.

On your voucher administration page, click on the voucher you would like to delete to bring up the voucher's details. On the voucher's details page click the delete voucher link. This will delete the voucher from the system and it will no longer be visible to you or usable by customers.

Please just make sure that you don't delete vouchers which customers are still trying to use!

Regards,

The Zenbu Team

Server upgrade complete (and some nice feedback)

Hello everyone,

As you may be aware, on Wednesday 23rd January we upgraded our servers and increased capacity in our data centre. We should now be able to expand the size of our network significantly (an estimated 50-100 times its current size) before we need to further increase capacity.

Everything went relatively smoothly during the upgrade, but there were some issues with one of our new switches which slowed our website and interrupted service for many people on the night of the 23rd. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused.

The Zenbu network was back online at full speed on Thursday 24th January and is now working better than ever.

Today we received an email from a customer who has traveled around New Zealand and has loved using the Zenbu wireless network to access the internet throughout his trip. Here is an excerpt:

"... We're off now until we get to the Law Courts Hotel in Dunedin, as they also advertise Zenbu, and confirm that it is working. As you may have guessed, Zenbu access is the main reason for shortlisting an accommodation as we tour NZ. Pity you don't have it in OZ, as we fly there from NZ on 27th Feb. Still, we can look forward to a few more days of painless internet..."

Thanks very much for the email and thanks everyone for the great feedback. It is very encouraging to know that our efforts are indeed being appreciated by so many people, both those providing wireless internet access and their customers using it.

Regards,

The Zenbu Team