Satellite Systems for Internet Beta Tested Here   NATCO at Flippin has been a regional beta test site for the new WildBlue satellite speed Internet and is starting to install the systems, as shown here, for area residents. Russell May, shown at the NATCO building, is one of six certified installers from NATCO, and installations will be done throughout northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. For more information, contact NATCO at 1-800-775-6682.

David Carson, supervisor of outside plant facilities for NATCO, said employees of NATCO are now trained and certified to install WildBlue satellite systems. NATCO’s staff has installed WildBlue equipment as a beta test site on a NATCO building and found it measures up to the promised speeds. "I’ve tried the service on sunny, cloudy, and rainy days, and the service has worked great," he said.

The speed is comparable to NATCO’s DSL, a broadband service which is not available to all locations. The top tier of WildBlue service offers downloads at 1.5 megabits per second. Comparing to dialup Internet, the speed is about 30 times faster.

NATCO will soon bring WildBlue Internet service to customers who live or work in rural areas where other high-speed Internet services are not available. Customers in northcentral Arkansas and southern Missouri will have a 26-inch satellite mini-dish with a transmitter and receiver for two-way Internet service.

NATCO has joined forces with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative and WildBlue, a new wireless broadband company in Denver, Colo. WildBlue began serving customers in Colorado in June and now offers satellite speed Internet service through NATCO and other companies. WildBlue company officials say their mission is to make affordable broadband Internet access available to everyone.

NATCO began placing names on a waiting list for the new satellite speed Internet service in June. Customers can expect an installation at their home or business to take, on average, about four hours. Carson says that is for a standard installation with the mini-dish on a house or building and with just one computer. Networked computers will take a little longer, as does installing a mini-dish on a pole.

NATCO Vice President Steven G. Sanders Jr. agrees with WildBlue that broadband service to rural residents will open up a window on a whole new world. "We are very pleased to offer this service. Faster Internet is becoming the norm in business and more important in most people’s daily lives," Sanders said. NATCO will begin installing the new service as soon as possible.

With satellite Internet, a household will have an "always on" Internet connection, may download a movie on demand, attend a distance learning class from a university miles away, or e-mail photos. These features are largely unavailable through dialup service.

NATCO is an independent, family-owned and operated telephone company serving a 658 square-mile territory. Its NATCO Technologies division provides Internet services to the entire Twin Lakes area, including Mountain Home, Yellville, Harrison, and surrounding areas. NATCO offices are at 301 E. Main St. in Flippin, AR 72634, telephone 1-800-775-6682.

Services and rates subject to change. Please call to confirm current availability.