South Canaan Telephone Company

South Canaan
Telephone Company
South Canaan2014
Inside this issue:
p. 2 The Future
Technology Home
p. 2 SCC Update
p. 3 From the
General Manager
p. 3 Unlimited
Calling Plan
FROM THE DESK OF…..
As I sit down to write this newsletter, I have even more of an awareness of the passing of time, not only
because we’re approaching the end of another year, but due to the recent passing of my older brother, Bill.
Bill was a unique individual gifted with great physical strength, intelligence, a good sense of humor and a
strong commitment to his wife and eight kids. In his youth, he gained a reputation for lifting cars off of the
ground with his bare hands and performing other stunts such as having another brother drive a vehicle over
his chest--as he did on Pittsburgh’s old Chiller Theater TV program hosted by Bill Cardille, for those of us
old enough to remember “Chilly Billy”. Although Bill was dealing with an array of health problems that led
to the hospital’s decision to send him home to die, we were hoping he would find yet another way to beat
the odds as he had done on numerous close calls in recent years. Several days before he died, he called and
asked me half-jokingly if I had a cure for him and all I could do was laugh in response to his sense of humor
even in such dire straits. I know that none of this really has anything to do with business, but I wanted to
share a few memories of my brother whose passing was a strong reminder of the fleeting nature of this life.
Entering 2015, we have a lot of work cut out for us as we continue the quest to provide our customers with
high-quality communications services. Along these lines, we are working on arrangements to expand our
Internet backbone capacity and improve the reliability of the service. Also, as part of this project, we will
be delivering a more robust video solution to our South Canaan customers. More details concerning this
project will be provided in 2015. On another note, as part of the year-end planning process, we felt it was
appropriate to update our Mission Statement, which now reads as follows:
24/7 Tech Support:
570-937-9535
Our Mission
Our mission is to be
an industry leader in
providing rural communities with highquality technology
and communication
services at competitive prices accompanied by honest and
friendly local customer service.
• Our mission is to be an industry leader in providing rural communities with high-quality technology and communication services at competitive prices accompanied by honest and friendly local
customer service.
Referring to the update article in this publication, we were able to meet with the offices of four of the five
FCC Commissioners to discuss the merits of the Small Company Coalition’s proposal to address the many
problems stemming from the FCC’s Transformation Order. We also met with staffers from the U.S. House
Small Business Committee to voice our concerns about the growing regulatory burden placed on the small
companies by the FCC.
In closing, regarding my brother’s question about whether I had a cure for him, I can respond by saying “yes”
and it’s a cure available to each of us, giving us hope beyond the grave. What better time of year to reflect
on the cure, which is faith in Jesus Christ. Best wishes to all of you for a very Merry Christmas and a safe
and prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
James J. Kail
President & CEO
The Future Technology Home
With 2015 just around the corner, it is expected that the future of technology will continue to advance and deliver ways to
make our lives easier. How many times have you driven past the grocery store and thought, “Do we have milk at home?,” or
left the house in a hurry and wondered, “Did I lock the doors?” How nice would it be if your home reminded you of all these
things and more!
Inside its Redmond, Wash., headquarters, Microsoft built a futuristic home, complete with a foyer, living room, kitchen, dining
room, bedroom and den.
When you walk into the home, you’re greeted by “Grace,” a disembodied voice named after computer pioneer Grace Hopper.
Grace gives you a rundown on what’s happened since you left, including the news that your electric scooter will be charged in
37 minutes, your daughter got an A on her math test, and you have four voicemail messages.
Microsoft envisions a near-future where everything is connected to the cloud. That means your home will learn a lot about
you, including your routine. It can remind you to take your medicine and automatically send a message to your relatives if you
do anything out of the ordinary like come home early or leave your doors unlocked.
Hundreds of tiny sensors are located throughout the home, tracking everything from whether your suit is at the cleaners to
when a plant needs more light. Knowing what’s in your fridge and pantry, the home suggests a suitable recipe, which Grace can
read out while you cook.
Microsoft’s Home of the Future has been in existence since 1994 and gets a makeover every two years. Nothing on display is
actually in Microsoft’s product roadmap, but the company believes that much of the technology will make its way into middleclass homes in the coming years.
Cloud technology is ever-growing and SCTC is continuing to fortify our broadband network by solidifying the redundancy and
capacity of our fiber optic network so we are prepared for these future technology advancements.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/technology/1203/gallery.coolest-tech-2015/
Small Company Coalition Update
I’m proud to report that the past few months have been rather productive for the Small Company
Coalition. As you may recall, one of the objectives of the SCC during the course of this year was to
meet with the offices of the FCC Commissioners. During the months of October and November,
we were finally able to sit down with four out of the five offices and discuss alternative solutions
to the Transformation Order—the harmful regulation that inspired the formation of the Coalition
itself. The final office with whom the SCC intends to meet will be that of the FCC Chairman, Tom
Wheeler, himself.
In addition to the FCC meetings, the SCC has continued to meet with various Congressional offices,
including those of Congressman Tim Murphy and Senator Bob Casey. Both of these offices have
continued to be supportive of the small company cause, and have opened many doors for us on Capitol Hill.
Senator Casey’s office has undergone some staffing changes in the past couple of months, so I would like to encourage you to
reach out to him and express your concern for Universal Service reform, as well as appreciation for the work he has done for
his rural constituents to date. A simple phone call or letter to the Senator declaring the importance of high-quality communications and Internet services to your business, family, and community goes a long way.
Finally, the SCC has also maintained its advocacy efforts in regard to lessening the regulatory burden borne by small rural telecommunications and broadband providers. To this end, we met with the House Small Business Committee and provided them
with a list of questions to be asked of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at a hearing in September. In our follow-up meeting with
the Committee in October, we were provided with the Chairman’s responses, as well as given a contact at the Small Business
Administration (SBA), with whom we expect to work in the near future. The goal of working with the SBA will be to provide
third-party oversight on the FCC’s regulations in order to monitor their effect on small rural companies such as YWTC, and
ultimately, the rural consumer.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] with any comments or questions concerning how you may
become involved in ensuring that our community continues to be served with affordable, high-quality communications services.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
Sincerely,
Luke Kail
From the General Manager- Eric Smith
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eric Smith and I’m the General Manager of South Canaan Telephone Company
(SCTC). My wife Maria, dog Lucy and I moved here last November from the Laurel Highlands and settled into a home on St.
Tikhon’s Road a short distance from our business office.
In my first year I have met many good people and several strong community organizations. I am further blessed with a good
group of employees who want to do the right thing for our customers. Also SCTC has been strengthened by the continuous
support and expertise supplied by our parent company – Laurel Highland Total Communications (LHTC). My boss is Jim Kail
the President and CEO of LHTC.
On March 31, 2014, we began building optical fiber to the home in Waymart which will form the platform for the increasingly
modern services we intend to provide. As mentioned in Jim’s article, in 2015 we will continue to improve our Internet backbone and bring a more robust video solution to South Canaan.
Now that we have gotten the introductions out of the way, I look forward to 2015 and beyond with great optimism. I also
look forward to reporting back to you in future newsletters about our progress.
Thanks for being our customer and all the best for the holiday season and the New Year.
Eric Smith
General Manager
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