Does 911 really work as well from a cell phone as it does from a landline phone? Is it worth it to keep your landline for safety? You might be surprised by the results! An Iowa 911 dispatch runs a few test 911 calls from cell phones to see how accurately they can pinpoint your location in an emergency. If you care about your safety, this is a must watch!

Your telephone rings, you pick up the receiver and nobody’s there. Or when you answer the phone, the voice quality is extremely poor. If this has happened to you in the past few months, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s a nationwide problem and it appears to be caused by a practice called “Least Cost Routing.”

In order to avoid paying Telephone Companies like Butler-Bremer to use the network that we built and maintain to complete their calls, long distance companies are manipulating the routes that their long distance telephone calls travel. In many cases, to avoid paying these “access charges,”  calls are being routed to use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), which are currently exempt from access charges. However, this can also negatively affect the quality of the call. This problem has become so common that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established a task force to study this issue and will likely be addressing it in the near future.

Like you, we are extremely frustrated about these types of call manipulation and wish we had a simple solution. What we are doing is working with our national and state telephone associations to provide input to the FCC and work towards a resolution to re-establishes the call quality we’ve all come to expect. We will keep you updated on the FCC’s actions to correct this problem in the future.

Once again, the Iowa State football game this Saturday, October 8th, will be carried on both our Digital and Analog cable systems!

• For Digital customers, the game will be on  Comcast SportsNet Plus on Channel 161.
• For non-Digital customers, the game will be on channel 69.

Game time is 6:00 pm. Go Cyclones!

GOOD NEWS COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS!

The Iowa vs. Iowa State football game this Saturday, September 10^th, will be carried on both our Digital and Analog cable systems!

• For Digital customers, the game will be on  Comcast SportsNet Plus on Channel 161.
• For non-Digital customers, the game will be on channel 69.

Tune in at game time, 11:00 a.m., and enjoy this annual rivalry game.

Butler-Bremer has negotiated a special offer with Starz/Encore and is able to give new subscribers of our Digital TV service one month of the Starz/Encore Multipack free. Starting June 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011 activate our Digital TV service and get 12 channels of Starz & Encore Premium Movies, including 5 additional High Definition channels free.

Call today for details and schedule your installation.

We’ve now have WGN HD available on our Digital TV system. WGN provides a wide variety of programming, including Cubs, White Sox & Bulls games, general family entertainment and movies. We hope you enjoy this new HD channel, tune to Channel 238 today and start enjoying this new HD channel.

Click here for a printable version of our current line-up

What is the Great Disconnect?

“Consumers in all regions of the Nation… should have access to telecommunications and information services… that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged in similar services in urban areas.”

- The Congressional Telecommunications Act of 1996

Simply put, the Great Disconnect refers to the lack of understanding, about telecommunications in Iowa and a potential of a double standard regarding communication services in urban versus rural America. Many of the current Federal regulatory proposals and the flawed logic behind them just don’t make economic sense. Additionally, if implemented today, these proposals will have a dramatic impact on the ability for companies like Butler-Bremer to continue to bring the needed communication services to our customers.

Please click on the link below to learn more about the current proposals and the Great Disconnect.

http://www.thegreatdisconnect.org/index.html

You may have seen the recent news about the need to secure your wireless router to reduce the possible of signal stealing. We know that many of our Internet customers have wireless routers through Butler-Bremer and many of them are not set up for security. We STRONGLY encourage you to set up security on your wireless router. If you need help in setting up security on a wireless router obtained through us, please give the business office a call at 319-276-4458 and we will help you in this process.

If you acquired your wireless router from a different source and DO NOT have security set up, please contact your vender for assistance

With Spring unfortunately comes thunder storms.

Each year we remind our DSL subscribers that the best protection from damage caused by lightening is to unplug the phone line (the line from the wall jack to the modem) during severe weather. DSL modems are very susceptible to power surges caused during server storms so disconnecting the phone line is the best protection.  Even if you have a surge protector we encourage you to protect your equipment by unplugging the modem. Not only will you protect the modem, but also your computer as it is possible that a power surge can pass through the modem to the computer.

“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”  Benjamin Franklin

 It’s almost time for March Madness!

Did you know that the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournament, better known as March Madness, is the second most watched sports event? Why not enjoy them in crisp High Definition? If you have a HD TV, with our Digital TV service you can watch game after game in stunning HD clarity. Contact our business office today to schedule your installation.