Volume 48, No 8 Clear Lake, South Dakota 57226 December 2014

Bell Ringer

There is nothing like waking up Christmas morning and realizing all the things you

thought you wanted are not really things at all.

ITC Working For You

Keeping the high cost of te lev is ion a f fo rdab le i s always on our minds here at ITC. This year, we’ve completed new agreements with the companies that offer Disney, ESPN, HGTV, DIY, Food Network, Nickelodeon, TVLand, MTV, and many others. These negotiations have been painful in terms of increased costs and retail prices. As the year closes, we are still working with Discovery Networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX.

To learn more about these increases and how they affect you, visit www.itc-web.com. Go to the bottom of the page, and click on TVonMySide or go directly to TVonMySide.com.

Let’s face it, we live in an area where winter snow and ice are inevitable. Sometimes those winter elements also bring power outages. If you are a Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) customer, you need to know what will happen to your service when your power goes out.

During a power outage, your ITC telephone service will continue to work with your wired (not cordless) telephone using battery power from the ITC installed power supply. Battery life will depend on age and amount of use. Internet and television services will go off until power is restored. Services will return when power returns, or is supported by a generator. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 1-800-417-8667.

Attention Fiber-To-The-Home Customers“What happens when the power goes out”

Simple, Honest, Clear

By Jerry Heiberger, General Manager

What are broadcast retransmission fees?

How does sports programming impact my cable bill?

How do we combat rising programming fees?

Learn more.

It is mid-November as I write my article for this newsletter. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, winter has officially arrived! Our service area is receiving from 4-10 inches of snow with high winds making travel difficult and closing schools for the first time this season. It was bound to happen; after all, we do live in the Upper Midwest! I guess I was just hoping that Mother Nature could have held off until....maybe April or May! Who knows, by the time this article is published and read, the snow could have come and gone. We may still be enjoying some warmer weather before we settle in for a long cold winter season. That is part of the beauty of living in this area of the country, if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute, it will probably change!

As we transition from one season to the next, many personnel here at ITC shift their focus to various different duties. ITC construction crew personnel will park the plows, trenchers, and back hoes for the year. Some of their daily duties will consist of converting our member services to the new fiber cable facilities that were installed during this past season. The recently installed fiber cable will provide more of our members with the opportunity to receive the new voice, video, and data services that we currently offer.

Other ITC personnel will provide assistance for our ongoing project to replace the older video set top boxes with the latest available versions. One version of the new set top boxes that we currently offer allows you to record up to six programs at the same time. This set top box also allows you to watch picture-in-picture, and provides “over-the-top” services that integrate some of the Internet services to your TV screen. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about these new features and options that are available to our video customers.

ITC also has personnel who will be busy making sure all customers’ outside plant records are updated with changes that have been made throughout the busy spring, summer, and fall construction months!

ITC customers in the communities of Hendricks, Willow Lake, Bryant, and Florence may have recently noticed ITC personnel, or personnel from our engineering firm, working in their communities. These resident engineers are busy staking next year’s fiber-to-the-home project. We anticipate replacing the old copper cables in these communities with new fiber optic cable beginning sometime during the second quarter of 2015.

The managers and supervisory personnel have already begun the planning and budgeting process for all the various projects that will keep us busy next year. This task requires these individuals to anticipate what the future needs of the Cooperative will be and to establish a budget to cover the expenses.

ITC has others who have recently been busy printing over $2,000,000.00 worth of capital credit checks that will be mailed during the first week of December 2014! If you were a member and had patronage with ITC during 1997 or 2012, you should receive your portion of this capital credit pay out!

As you can see everyone is busy, but not too busy to stop and say, “Thank you” for allowing us to serve you! Thank you for your patronage to this great Cooperative and for being our friends and neighbors. And on behalf of all of the employees here at ITC, we wish you a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!!!

TV Costs

312 Fourth St W PO Box 920

Clear Lake, SD 57226-0920http://itc-web.com

1-800-417-8667* Published monthly for $.25 * Periodicals postage paid at Clear Lake, SD

Bell Ringer

Postmaster: Send address changes to:

Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc.

P.O. Box 920Clear Lake, SD 57226-0920

(USPS # 155-720)

Kathy Weitala, Editor

Merry Christmas ITC Cooperative members! Watch your mailbox the first week in December for your capital credit refund check.

The ITC Board of Directors voted this fall to distribute capital credits totaling two million dollars! The payout will include the remainder of 1997 and 30% of the 2012 patronage allocations.

Having a membership with your local cooperative has its benefits. You have ownership; you have a vote. You have representation by your local Board of Directors, and you share in the profits. ITC truly

is YOUR Coop, and capital credit refund checks are just one of those benefits!ITC remains community focused and provides support for local clubs and organizations.

We work together with our members to keep our local communities strong. Your support and our combined partnership makes all of this possible.

ITC is able to provide you with this capital credits check because you support products and services provided by your local cooperative. When you support your coop, you also help to build and maintain quality telecommunications for your communities. Your support helps ITC to continue to build out fiber installations to your exchanges. Your support makes it possible for ITC to continue to offer new products and services at affordable rates.

As always, ITC encourages you to spend these dollars locally. You can make a difference. Thank you for supporting ITC. We enjoy serving you today and look forward to serving you well into the future.

CooperativelySpeaking

Due to an increase in costs, it has become necessary for ITC to adjust the pricing on the premium TV channels.

As we have written before, television price increases are continual and significant. ITC finds itself in a position where some premium channel content costs exceed the price that ITC charges. In addition, customer requests for Watch TV Everywhere (WTVE) and Video on Demand (VOD) will bring increased licensing costs. This combination of events makes it necessary to increase prices for the following premium channels, effective January 1, 2015. Cinemax will increase to $13.95, HBO to $17.95, Starz/Encore to $12.95, and Showtime to $14.95.

ITC will begin the process to make these channels available on the WTVE platform. Watch for future announcements regarding this service.If you are looking for a career in the telecommunications industry, check out

Mitchell Technical Institute (MTI) located in Mitchell, South Dakota.MTI, founded in 1968, is ranked in the top 10% of America’s two-year

colleges by the Aspen Institute for the second year in a row. Their job placement rate for graduates is at an impressive 98%. MTI offers the region’s only “Telecommunications Training” program. The two-year program includes learning the latest technology including data, voice, and video.

Telecommunications companies such as Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. (ITC) are always looking for good, technical employees. Telecom careers offer good wages, a stable work environment, and excellent benefits. ITC encourages area youth to consider a telecommunications career.

The Admissions office at MTI is happy to provide information, tours, or campus visits to help answer your questions. To learn more about this educational opportunity, contact MTI at 1-800-684-1969 or visit mitchelltech.edu. The next classes are scheduled to begin January 7!

ITC will be closed at noon on Wednesday, December 24, and all day on Thursday, December, 25. We will also be closedon January 1. Enjoy this time withyour family and friends.

There will not be any ITC University classes in December or January. Classes will resume in February. Watch for new class information in the January issue of the Bell Ringer.

If you have suggestions for new topics, be sure to give us a call at 1.800.417.8667.

Thanks to everyone who attended classes this past year. Enjoy the holidays, we will see you again in February!

“Capital Credit refund Checks to go out the first week in December”Premium TV Channels Notice

Bills are mailed on the first of each month, and payment is due on the 19th of that month, unless otherwise indicated on the “Due Date” portion of your statement. Prompt payment is required. NO PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE GRANTED.

586, 629, 693, 794,795, 826, 832, 873,874, 876.Jan 8 ----------------------- Disconnect dayfor the following prefixes: 345, 532, 625, 628, 758, 783, 784, 785, 793, 947.

When sending payment to ITC , customers should return the TOP portion of the bill that says, “PLEASE TEAR ALONG PERFORATION AND REMIT WITH PAYMENT.”

Remit Top Portion Of Bill With Payment

Important Dates

Nov 28 -------------------Bills mailed from ITCDec 19 --------------------------Payment dueDec 19 ------------------ Final notices mailedJan 6 -------------------------Disconnect dayfor the following prefixes: 272, 275, 277, 368, 479, 483, 489, 542, 548,

Periodical Postage Paid At Clear Lake, South Dakota 57226Internet 911

Cold winter days are no match for fun with the Internet, especially if you are tired of the latest weather reports and guesstimates for snowfall amounts. Don’t get that shovel out just yet! If you have access to a computer, laptop or tablet, and are looking for something besides the latest shoot’em up games, there are numerous other options. The Internet is an endless resource with plenty of sites to explore. There are many educational and interactive websites. Most are just a click away.

YouTubeYouTube was originally the premiere site for videos. By going to youtube.com, you can find basic “how to” videos for everything from crocheting to learning how to play the banjo. It is a great starter site! Many other sites that require paid subscriptions also have videos. You can watch a demo of some of the actual lessons and teaching styles to see if you want to continue. Who knows, it might lead to a new hobby or two and keep you busy this winter.

Take LessonsDo you have a computer or laptop with a camera attached? If you always wondered what that little camera is good for, here is the next step to your music endeavor. The site is called takelessons.com. By utilizing Skype, you can take music lessons from an instructor across the country. With this site, you will find lessons in Bass Guitar, Cello, Drums, Flute, Piano, Saxophone, Singing, Violin, and many others. Don’t turn into a couch potato, try something new!

ExploreWant to get off the regularly beaten paths when traveling? How about exploring some new places where your language skills might be tested? You can learn the language before you head out on your adventure. A free site called livemocha.com is a great site to help you learn a new language. So before you head to Germany for Oktoberfest, or south to escape the winter, you can brush up on the local language before you ever leave.

ProgrammingFor those of you who don’t want to leave home, how about learning more about websites? Do you have an idea for a great website, or a website that just isn’t doing what you need? You can get some great training at codeacademy.com. Training is broken down into nice manageable lessons. Best of all it is free! So you can take your time, learn at your own pace, and gain or improve a skill.

Don’t let cabin fever get you this winter. Check out the Internet and try something new. This winter could be your best ever!

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Dolphin Tale 2 © 2014 Alcon Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Guardians of the Galaxy © 2014 Marvel The Hundred Foot Journey © 2014 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles © 2014 By Paramount Pictures Corp. All Rights Reserved.