NATCO Extends High-Speed Internet to More Customers
February 2004

NATCO, the Flippin area’s locally owned and operated telephone company since 1951, is also a main Internet service provider to residents of north central Arkansas. In the year just past, NATCO expanded its offering of DSL broadband Internet service and was a benefactor of education at all levels through its South Shore Foundation. NATCO also introduced a new way to invite family and friends to visit the Ozarks with electronic postcards from a NATCO Web site.

DSL now in all NATCO exchanges
With expansion of Internet services during 2003, more NATCO customers can have the extra-fast, “always on” telephone/Internet service known as DSL (digital subscriber line). Consistently aiming to bring the most advanced telecommunications services to its customers, even though they may live in a rural area, NATCO has now made DSL available in all exchanges in Marion and Boone Counties - from Bull Shoals to Omaha.

NATCO can also provide DSL to customers who may have telephone service with another company.

A high-speed Internet service, DSL eliminates the need for a modem and dialup connection, and it eliminates interference with the regular telephone line while using the Internet. No extra phone line is necessary. Unlike modems and cable-based Internet, there is no sharing of lines with a DSL Internet connection because DSL is furnished on a dedicated line to one customer. Those who work with large files of information, graphics, and video will find files can download at speeds up to 1.5 Mb/s and upload speeds can be as fast as 512 Kb/s.

Because DSL users must be within a certain radius of their area’s telephone switch, customers may call NATCO to check their location. In those places where DSL is not accessible, an alternative high-speed line is ISDN, or Integrated Services Digital Network, which also allows multiple uses on one line, such as phone and Internet, fax, or video.

Host central office expanded
NATCO doubled the size of its Lead Hill central office in 2003, which houses switching, transmission, and some DSL equipment, better positioning NATCO to provide advanced services to all exchanges. The Lead Hill central office is the host central office because it is centrally located in relation to all exchanges. It has been 10 years since Lead Hill’s central office became the hub of the digital upgrade that put NATCO in the forefront of small telephone companies offering advanced digital services.

New and expanded scholarship programs
The first scholarship from a $100,000 South Shore Foundation Endowment to Arkansas State University Foundation was awarded this year at ASU Mountain Home. The recipient is Rita Swafford, an adult student who is retraining for today’s work environment, studying for a degree in Information Systems Technology.

Six graduating high school seniors received $1,000 college scholarships through the South Shore Academic Scholarship program. They are: Samantha Farmer (Bergman), Byron Cothran (Bruno-Pyatt), Candice Brainard (Flippin), Abbie Thompson (Lead Hill), Jesse Courtney (Omaha), and Karen Streett (Yellville-Summit).

Starting in 2003, the South Shore Academic Scholarships could be renewed for up to four years, for a total of $4,000. The first group of second-year college students who qualified by their academics and attendance to have their South Shore Academic Scholarships renewed were: Jessica Dixon (Lead Hill), Nick Sachse (Bergman), Tonia Stokes (Pyatt) and Christina Tate (Flippin). Dixon, Sachse, and Tate are all attending the University of Central Arkansas, and Stokes is attending Arkansas Tech.

South Shore Foundation also helped the Advocates for the Elderly finance scholarships to train workers in the health care field by providing $1,375 for certified nursing assistant training for several Marion County residents.

Grants for educational purposes
Area school students of all ages, even pre-school children, enjoyed new opportunities for learning because South Shore Foundation made grants for the following programs during 2003:

• Free books for pre-schoolers through Marion County Literacy Council grant - $2,700
• Ecology study kits for grades 3,4,5 & 6 through the Audubon Society of North Central Arkansas grant - $2,318
• Yellville-Summit Middle School water testing equipment grant - $4,197
• Yellville-Summit environmental education pilot project grant - $18,000
• South Shore - Marion County Youth Leadership Team (9th grade) funding grant - $3,500
• ASU Mountain Home Developing Scholars (high school) grant - $25,000 (multi-year)
• Crooked Creek Conservation Education Center (public education) grant - $25,000
• Grants for computer equipment for Bruno-Pyatt ($6,250) and Flippin ($5,760) are pledged pending matching grant funding.

NATCO customer events
NATCO customers and area residents were welcomed at two traditional NATCO events in 2003 - the Open House and Technology Showcase, held in September, and Awards Night for the annual NATCO Coloring Contest and Essay Contest, held in October. Photo pages of these events appeared in the NATCO News, a newsletter mailed to all telephone and Internet customers in the area, as well as on the Web site of the company, www.natconet.com.

Meanwhile, NATCO offers residents of north central Arkansas a new way to invite family and friends to visit our area by sending out scenic electronic postcards. There are 10 different local scenes available and room for a short, personalized (75 character) message. It’s fun, friendly, and free.

To send an e-postcard, Internet users can go to a NATCO Web site. Those are: www.natconet.com, www.natcotech.com, or www.southshore.com. Click on the e-card link to see your photo choices and space to write your brief message. Then, send out your greetings from the South Shore.

You’ll see that NATCO is more than a telephone company. NATCO is interested in the success of area businesses, the education of its youth, and opportunities for the future. While you’re at one of the NATCO Web sites, NATCO invites you to explore all the information online. It’s an electronic community, and you’re right at home.

NATCO is an independent, family-owned company providing telephone service to a 658-square mile area of Marion and Boone Counties. Contact NATCO at 1-800-775-6682 or visit NATCO at 301 E. Main St. in Flippin.