Feb 2015 member/owner newsletter for Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative Copper Wire the The People You Know! Ivan Gillen Billing Clerk Valdez Winter Doesn’t Slow Us Down at Copper Valley Telecom! In December and January, deep in the heart of Alaska’s winter, Copper Valley Telecom’s operations team remained hard at work upgrading and maintaining our communications network. Although days were short and temperatures bone chilling by most standards, our teams completed important projects as 2014 came to a close and 2015 began. A technician installing 4G LTE equipment atop the Lake Louise cell tower in December. Lake Louise 4G LTE Upgrade Complete Of particular note was the installation of new 4G LTE wireless data electronics and antennas at the Lake Louise cell site. The cell site, located at Mile 10 of the Lake Louise road (turn off at Mile 158 Glenn Highway), provides voice and data to customers living and traveling around the lake, including several lodges, many cabins, and a campground. The 4G LTE system was turned on December 30, 2014, just in time for the New Year, ushering in a new era of faster data speeds in this area. Tests of the signal showed speeds of 10-30Mbps, the same speeds received from other 4G LTE sites in the Copper Valley and Valdez. Even some historically hard-to-serve spots around the lake tested at 7Mbps. The 4G LTE upgrade at Lake Louise was made possible by a related project that was completed in December – the replacement of a microwave pathway with ten miles of new fiber optic line along the Lake Louise road. Winter Maintenance Meanwhile, network maintenance continued right through the month of December and into January. The components of the network, including fiber optic and copper line, microwave equipment, cellular equipment, customer serving area cabinets and huts, and customer connections all require monitoring, evaluation, optimization, and replacement of parts. So far this winter, the Copper Valley Telecom team traveled to remote sites at Sourdough, McCarthy, Lakina, Gilahina, Cannon Hill, Paxson, Tangle Lakes, and Willow Mountain to conduct routine microwave checks and adjust signal, and install new monitoring equipment. Weather was cooperative for the most part, but deep snow at the higher elevation sites meant shoveling and stepping through the punchy snow pack to get to the sites. LOCAL LONG DISTANCE CVT Plant Foreman, Wade Sampson, snow machines away from the Cannon Hill site above Chitina after completing maintenance. WIRELESS INTERNET Winter Travel Tips Travel safely within CVTC’s service area this winter by checking the road conditions ahead of time and knowing where you can make a call! In addition to using our cell towers located throughout Valdez and the Copper Basin, did you know that you can also make wireless calls at the Thompson Pass DOT station and the Rendezvous, Tsaina, and Eureka Lodges? CVW’s mini cell sites at these locations make it possible. These sites provide a limited range for wireless calls and data usage. Due to the limitations of these devices, you should plan to pull over to the side of the road, or into a parking lot, to make your call. CVW also has a COW (Cell on Wheels) located near mile 16 of the Edgerton Highway. In addition to the State of Alaska’s weather cameras located on their webpage, CVTC offers a number of cameras for checking up on local area weather at www.cvtc.org. Cameras are available for Glennallen, Lake Louise, Slana, Chitina, Valdez and a number of sites within Prince William Sound if your travels happen to take you out onto the water. Knowing the locations of cell towers, mini cell sites, and COWs, as well as checking road reports and weather cameras, will help you arrive at your destination safely whether traveling for work or play! Annual Meeting Information With the exception of incumbents running for reelection, all candidates for election to the Board of Directors must be nominated by petition. This petition (and qualification information) may be picked up at either CVTC office, or downloaded from CVTC’s website at www.cvtc.org. The petition must be signed by fifteen (15) or more cooperative members and submitted no later than Friday, April 10, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. There are two seats available in the Glennallen district and one seat in the Valdez district. This year’s annual meetings will be held on June 2nd in Glennallen at the Murdock Center Campus and in Valdez at the Civic Center on June 4th. For more information, contact Rebecca Smith at 835-7741 or [email protected]. Board of Directors The Copper Wire Quiz Enter to Win a $50 Gift Certificate February 2015 Answer these three questions correctly, tear off, and mail or drop off at the Glennallen or Valdez business office. President : Tami Jindra Return by the 15th of the month to ensure your entry is included in the monthly drawing. Congratulations to last issue’s winners Kathleen Stratton (Glennallen) and Keith Boruff (Valdez). REMEMBER TO FILL IN YOUR NAME! Vice Pres Bill Bryson Sec/Treas: Rob Chaffin Mike Britt Mike Rego 1) Cooperative members interested in running for a seat on the CVTC Board of Directors must submit a petition for nomination that includes the signatures of ______________ active CVTC members. 2) CVTC ’s ________________, ___________________, and COWs (along with checking local weather reports and cameras) can help keep you safe when traveling. Graham Ward Jason Hoke Trish Stowe 3) Referring friends to Copper Valley Telephone could result in bill credit of $________ or $________ ! Name:________________________ Mailing Address:_______________________ Phone: __________________
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