Free Hot Dog Cookout, KTLO Treasure Chest, and More on Customer Appreciation Day, Oct. 8

Thursday, October 8, 2009, will be a great day for NATCO this year, and we’d like you to join us. It’s Customer Appreciation Day, a time to see old friends and for us to get to know new customers who may have moved to the area recently. We’ll provide hot dogs, chips, and soda for you – traditionally cooked outside on a big grill – and invite you to come inside to see our updated lobby and new media center.

Talk to our managers and staff members to learn details about any service you’ve been interested in trying. See demonstrations of services on Customer Appreciation Day. Register for prizes and enjoy the day. Hours will be 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 8.

Tell Your Friends: Email from NATCO Hasn’t Changed – Ever!

Unlike many email providers, NATCO hasn’t made its email customers change their addresses EVER! If you have friends who are tired of having to change their email addresses when the company they are with is sold or changes its name, tell them they are invited to get with NATCO, and not have to change again.

When we started offering email in 1996, NATCO planned email addresses for the towns in the South Shore area and some general area names for those who preferred that approach, like ozarkmountains.com, southshore.com, or wholedamarea.com. You just add your name and pick from one of the 30 domain names. It’s easy and you won’t have to change it.

Call Customer Service using our toll-free number, 1-800-775-6682, or 453-8800 in Flippin.

NATCO to Offer New FTTH High-speed Internet Special to Those in Bull Shoals

As work continues in Bull Shoals on NATCO’s initial fiber to the home project, we are glad to hear favorable comments from homeowners about our subcontractor. Klaasmeyer Construction is burying the fiber cable and is doing well on the clean-up. Burying the cable will protect it from weather (such as this year's ice storm) and other potential causes of damage that could occur above ground.

Fiber to the home – often known by its abbreviation of FTTH – will bring broadband to Bull Shoals at speeds considerably faster than cable modem and copper-based DSL. NATCO will offer residents of the construction areas a chance to try out the new ultra high-speed FTTH free. For the first three months after FTTH is installed, you will receive the newest, fastest package NATCO will offer at no charge to you. The speeds are 15 Mb/s download and 2 Mb/s upload. It’s a value of $89.95 per month, but it will be free to you for three months. Eligible customers receive this upgrade for no additional charge for three months.

If you have questions about the Fiber to the Home project, you may use the special email address: construction@natconet.com.

Win a South Shore Gift

When you visit the South Shore website at www.southshore.com, you'll have a chance to win a South Shore souvenir, like a T-shirt, a cap, chiller cups, and other necessities for the great South Shore outdoors. The South Shore website is an electronic community for the towns on and near the south shore of Bull Shoals Lake, and it's packed with information for you and visitors inquiring about our area.

Tom Short is this month's winner of a South Shore souvenir. Congratulations, Tom.

Do You Need Practice on Vocabulary? See Quizlet.com

Kids, if you dread learning vocabulary in your school classes, try visiting quizlet.com. The website was invented by a 15-year-old California boy (four years ago) who wanted a better way to learn a certain set of vocabulary words. It’s targeted for middle school through college-age students, and includes advanced placement-type vocabulary. (Let your folks try it, too!)

Quizlet.com focuses on vocabulary but covers a variety of subjects like science, English, literary terms, and foreign languages. You may also choose questions like those on college entrance tests, graduate school entrance tests, and professional field entrance tests (SAT, GRE, LSAT, GMAT). You may choose the “learn” mode or the “test” mode to use the materials as you wish.

Coloring, Essay Contest Awards Coming Up

A lot of kids and their parents will be coming to NATCO on Thursday night, Oct. 22. Those who do well in the annual NATCO Coloring Contest and NATCO Essay Contest and win first place through honorable mention in their grade levels will get an invitation. It is a special night for the winners, their proud families, and for NATCO employees who get to attend and meet more of our customers. We hope you can come if your child is a winner. Come for a sandwich supper, awards and gift bags, and pictures of the winners afterwards. All the NATCO area schools in Marion and Boone Counties are invited to take part each year.

Refer a Friend - When They Buy a Bundle, You Receive a $50 Credit from NATCO!

NATCO’s Refer a Friend for $50 in Credit is continuing, and you have time to take advantage of two ways to save money on your phone and internet services. Save money every month by bundling local phone, long distance, and internet service. If you refer a friend, and they sign up for a bundle package, NATCO will give you $50 toward your own bill with us. (Please note: This offer only applies to NATCO service area residents in Marion and Boone Counties.)

Here is what customer Niels Peterson said about the program.
“I saved between $10 and $20 a month by adding NATCO long distance and told several neighbors about it. I was happy with Tier 1 internet with it, so I didn’t change that.”

Mr. Peterson stopped using a long distance phone card and replaced it with NATCO Long Distance in a residential service bundle to save money and enjoy more convenient long distance service. He also earned $50 when a friend also signed up for a bundle.

Here is what customer Chuck Simpson said about the program.
“I told Georgia she needed to get on high-speed internet. She had dial-up and had to go to the icon and everything, and there was a wait. Now, she has Tier 1 high-speed internet and is happy with it.”

For himself, Chuck said he prefers Tier 2 internet. “Tier 2 is much better, and, on the bundle package deal, it’s cheaper.” Chuck also earned a $50 credit when he referred Georgia to sign up for a bundle.

E-Stories Needed – Reward Offered!

There are ever-increasing ways to use internet service today to keep in touch with one another. Why don’t you share your story with readers of the Enews from NATCO? Those who send in an E-Story that is published receive two free months of NATCO internet service. That might help out your budget at this time of year, don’t you think?

Enter more than once. If you tried before and your story wasn’t picked that time, try again! Just go to www.natcotech.com/estories.php and tell how using NATCO’s internet or email service has made your life easier, helped you promote or manage your business, or simply how much you enjoy using the internet or email. If your E-Story is chosen, you’ll win two months of free dialup internet service (19.95 X 2=$39.90) or an equivalent credit on your high-speed internet account.

Lobby Adds Media Center

There is something new in NATCO’s lobby – an area we call the Media Center. See how you can connect a large screen TV to your computer and view "over the top TV" through services like Hulu. This demo area was specially designed to show customers all the features of NATCO services – from the top-of-the-line high speed internet to telephone features you may have thought about using, but just never got around to it. Now, you can have a demonstration for yourself at anytime, just inside our front door. The lobby is open from 8:00 to 5:00 each weekday. We’re here. Come on in.

Weekly Maintenance on Wednesday

Each Wednesday morning from 12:01 A.M. until 5 A.M., NATCO Technologies performs regular maintenance on Internet equipment. Your Internet service should not be affected. But, if you do experience an interruption in service during this time, please try again a few moments later. We try to minimize any "down time" by doing our maintenance at a regular time each week.

All users agree to terms and guidelines published at www.natcotech.com/guideline.htm.

Feedback: NATCO invites readers' comments about the e-newsletter and suggestions for future articles. Let us know what information in the e-newsletter is most useful or what Internet issues are important to you. Readers may send suggestions for future e-newsletter articles, questions or comments to: custserv@natconet.com.

Want to view previous issues? Visit: e-newsletter archives.

NATCO Technologies does not endorse or recommend any software or program. The purpose of the articles included in this newsletter is to keep our customers informed. We do not provide free technical support for software or programs such as Norton, McAfee, AVG Anti-Virus, Instant Messenger Services, etc. Please see the NATCO Internet brochure for full details on what is and is not covered by our free Internet Technical Support.