O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 V o l u m e 10 - N u m b e r 3 w w w . e t c z o n e . c o m

Inside At A Glance- Funding to Benefit SE Indiana- Making the Most Out of Your Website- October Cellular Special- Focusing On Focus Groups- Have You E-T-C-EEN Us?- Fall Sun Outages Possible- Curiosity Corner- Holidays & Happenings

October Cel lu larSpecia l

ETC is pleased to announce that work has begun on the rural broadband initiative project – a competitive federal grant and loan award received this past spring. ETC has been charged with improving the broadband Internet accessi-bility across seven counties in southeastern Indiana, including Decatur, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Scott and Switzerland. The award wraps up in just three short years, so ETC will be hard at work over the next 36 months to meet that deadline and the overall goal of improving Internet access across the rural areas in our region.

Funding to Benefit Southeastern Indiana

Making the Most Out of Your Website Because a website is generally a must-have for any business today, ETC’s web division is constantly working hard to help companies create the ideal Internet presence. According to Tom Barker, ETC Web Applications Developer, ensuring a strong web presence means ensuring a site has strong content. Because it’s a search engine’s job to scan a site for specific verbiage and images, using smart and pertinent phrases and pictures will help increase the number of hits on a site. For example, if you run a car dealership, your site should include keywords about the specific makes and models that you sell. Over-use of a generic term like “car” lumps you into searches for anything with the word “car” in it: boxcars, model cars, race cars, etc. Instead, using specific words allows the search engines to drill down to your site more efficiently. Barker also notes that cross linking websites is important. Making sure your site links to others’ sites, and vice versa, is key. If you own a car business and your cars use a certain brand name tire, add that local tire dealer’s link to your site. Then be sure to approach the local tire dealer and ask him to include your business on his site, as well. Free cross-linking opportunities are also available with sites like yellowbook.com and dmoz.com. These will list your business for free, so be sure to take advantage of their offer. Other suggestions from Barker include avoiding phrases like “click here for more information.” Instead, stating “click here for additional Ford dealers near you” gives the search engines another content-rich keyword to go off of. Listing your local phone number—not just your toll-free number—on the footer of each of your web pages gives search engines a clue as to how to list and rank your business geographically. And of course, keeping your site fresh is always important. Because sites are available 24/7, they are always available for viewing and need to be given frequent attention. For more tips from the pros about maintaining an effective website, be sure to contact ETC’s web division for all of your web design and hosting needs.

ONLY$9.99

BlackBerry Pearl 8130Data Plan Required

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and your local ETC office is joining in the campaign against the disease. During the month of October, when you purchase any phone style at regular price, you’ll be eligible to purchase the new Pink BlackBerry Pearl 8130 for just $9.99! As an additional bonus, you’ll get three free months of service on both phones. New 2-year contract required. Other stipulations may apply, so be sure to check with your local ETC office about how you can go Pink and show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness.

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Curiosity Corner

Previous issue Winners

Holidays & Happenings

Please write your answers on a small piece of paper. Incomplete entries will not be counted, so be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Mail your entry with your remittance statement (bill) or to ETC, Attention: Brandy Wessel at PO Box 145, Sunman, IN 47041. You can also log onto www.etczone.com and click “Spotlight” under Quick Links to answer online.

Q1. During which season do sun outages not occur? A. Spring B. Football C. Fall

Q2. How many counties will receive improved broadband Internet access as a result of ETC’s rural broadband grant/loan initiative? A. 96 B. 50 C. 7

Entries must be received by October 31, 2010. Limit one entry per household.

Last Issue’s Answers:

Q1. What is the cost of ETC’s new Cellular Unlimited Calling Plan? C. $69.99

Q2. How many $500 scholarships did ETC award this year to area graduating seniors? B. Eight

There were 127 combined entries from our Sunman, Greensburg, Batesville, and Brookville offices with winners selected at random. The winners from our Sunman office were Ruth Lattire and Joseph Schuman. The winners from our Greensburg office were Bass & Teverbaugh Attorneys and Norman Comer. The winners from our Batesville office were Richard Dietz and Marge Kirschner. The winners from our Brookville office were Pioneer Restaurant and Marilyn Hedrick. Each winner will receive a $10 ETC Gift Certificate. Please stop by your local office to claim your prize. Congratulations!

S u n m a n 6 2 3 - 2 1 2 2 B a t e s v i l l e 9 3 2 - 1 0 0 0 G r e e n s b u r g 2 2 2 - 1 0 0 0 B r o o k v i l l e 5 4 7 - 1 0 0 0

Thursday, Nov. 25th - Thanksgiving CLOSEDFriday, Nov. 26th - Day After Thanksgiving CLOSEDFriday, Dec. 24th - Christmas Eve CLOSEDFriday, Dec. 31st - New Year’s Eve CLOSEDAll ETC offices will be closed as indicated above. We will resume normal business hours the following business day. Happy Holidays!

Because it’s important for us to stay in-tune with the communities we serve, ETC regularly seeks candid feedback from our consumers via focus groups. Each year we formally invite customers from specific markets to share their thoughts, opinions and suggestions with our staff. This feedback is invaluable to ensure we’re offering the best products possible to the residents of Southeastern Indiana. In exchange for their opinions, focus group attendees are treated to dinner and receive a small gift as a token of appreciation. This year’s focus groups are tentatively scheduled in October for Greensburg and in November for Sunman. If you or someone you know is interested in participating in a future Focus Group, please contact jhanna@etc1.net and include the name of the interested person and the town where they reside. While focus group attendance is by invitation, our primary goal is to invite customers who will be honest and willing to share opinions.

Focusing on Focus Groups

Fa l l Sun Outages Possib le Every spring and fall, sun outages occur that affect ETC’s cable subscribers. During these mini-eclipses, the sun is positioned directly in line with ground-based satellite dish antennas used to receive cable TV programming. This align-ment causes programming interruptions, as the sun’s energy overpowers the television signals transmitted by the satellites. When this occurs, the DCT set top box displays “One Moment Please” on the affected channel(s). This condition is present for several minutes each day during the sun outage period. This year, that outage period is predicted to fall between October 6th and October 12th. Because cable trouble reported during this period may be the result of a fall sun outage, customers need only wait for the sun’s positioning to change; however, feel free to call ETC if you have any questions during this time period.

Have You E-T-C-EEN Us? It’s ETC’s policy and privilege to be a part of commu-nity happenings. In August you may have seen our dynamic duo of Lorna Jones and Brandy Wessel competing in Franklin County United Way’s A-MAIN-zing Race. We were also proud sponsors of the Sunman Wine and Fireworks Festival, which included events chaired by ETC’s Marketing Manager, Anita Fledderman. You may have even spotted us participating in recent parades during Franklin County High School’s Homecoming, Greensburg’s Fall Festival or New Point’s Crackaway Daze. There’s always something going on in our communities, and ETC is proud to be a part of it!

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