THE RAINBOW

CONNECTIONwww.rainbowtel.net 800-892-0163

CONTACT USEverest Office 608 Main Street • Everest, KS 66424 Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hiawatha Office 628 Oregon Street • Hiawatha, KS 66434 Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Horton Office 126 West 8th Street • Horton, KS 66439 Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seneca Office 513 Main Street • Seneca, KS 66538 Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sabetha Office 121 South Washington • Sabetha, KS 66534 Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Technical Support Center: 800-892-0163 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

COMMUNITY EVENTSNovember 7 Ladies Night Out, Seneca

November 20 Ladies Night Out, Sabetha

November 15 Jingle Bell Ride, Hiawatha

November 27 Christmas Window Shopping, Sabetha

December 31 New Year’s Eve Run, Sabetha

November/December 2015

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On September 21 in Boston, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association awarded Rainbow

Communications with its highest honor — the 2015 Smart Rural Community Showcase

Award. What makes a rural community “smart”? It’s a dynamic suite of broadband-enabled

solutions that builds community strength and enables global competition.

A Smart Rural Community relies not only on high-capacity broadband connections but also

on teams of highly motivated and collaborative leaders — the people behind the technology.

Fundamentally, a Smart Rural Community uses broadband networks to enable applications

that the community can leverage for innovative economic development and commerce, blue-

ribbon education, first-rate health care, cutting-edge government services, robust security

and more efficient energy distribution and use.

In our application to be considered for this award, Rainbow Communications highlighted

about 20 different local organizations and businesses that utilize broadband to enhance growth

and innovation in the national application. They included Nemaha Central Library, the Brown

County Sheriff ’s Department, AG Junction, Northeast Kansas Enterprise Facilitation, Sabetha

Community Hospital, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, Koch and Company, Crosswinds

Industries, Iowa Tribe, and Highland Community College.

Rainbow Communications Wins National Award for Being a Smart Rural Community

L to R: Scott Leitzel, Twin Valley; Melvin Massey, Rainbow Board Member; Jackie Petersen, Marketing Manager; Jason Smith, Assistant General Manager; Shirley Bloomfield, CEO NTCA; Angie Kreider, Sales Manager; Stacy Simmer, PR/Community Development Coordinator; and Mike Twombly, Station Manager

Continued on page 2

Big enough to deliver. Small enough to care. Big enough to deliver. Small enough to care.

Cooper Leach is September Athlete of the MonthThe Rainbow Communications Athlete

of the Month for September from the

Northeast Kansas area is Cooper Leach,

Doniphan West senior wide receiver.

Leach, a 6-foot-4 inch, 185-pound senior,

is having a breakout season for the

Mustangs. He had 450 yards receiving

and nine touchdowns over the month

of September in four football games.

Quarterback Levi Watts passed for

over 700 yards in

September and the

two form one of the

better connections

in 2-1A this season.

The Mustangs got

a win on October 2

over Maranatha and

are now 3-2 for this

season. Leach, who tied an 11-man state

record with five touchdowns over Valley

Heights earlier this season, broke the state

record on with six touchdown catches in

the game against Maranatha Academy.

Leach is establishing himself as one of

the top multi-sport athletes in the state

of Kansas.

“I am not the biggest guy on the field, but

I have been using my height and jumping

ability as an advantage. Playing multiple

sports helps me improve in all sports.”

Leach said.

Not only is Leach having an all-state

year in football, he was named the most

outstanding player of the 1A-I state bas-

ketball tournament as he helped his team

to a runner-up finish.

Doniphan West hasn’t experienced a lot

of football success until recently. They

had six combined wins in three years

coming into this season and now have

three already this season.

Check out the Sports in Kansas Network (@sportsinkansas, kansas-sports.com).

Rainbow Communications Wins National Award What set Rainbow Communications

apart was our recent investment of

$20 million to upgrade our broad-

band network. Among the upgrades,

Rainbow Communications installed

a 100% Fiber to the Home (FTTH)

network in our cooperative exchanges.

We also installed a core fiber network

for anchor institutions such as schools,

hospitals, and government offices in

Hiawatha, Sabetha, and Seneca, with

Internet speeds up to 1 Gig symmetrical

(both download and upload).

Jason Smith, Rainbow Communications

Assistant General Manager, says, “We

are honored to be nationally recognized

for our contributions to our communi-

ties. While we invest in our broadband

networks, our rural communities are

smart because businesses and organizations

utilize our broadband in ways to inspire

economic growth and social development.

This is an honor for all of us to celebrate.”

NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association

is the premier association representing

nearly 900 independent, community-based

telecommunications companies that are

leading innovation in rural and small-town

America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its

members in the legislative and regulatory

arenas, and it provides training and devel-

opment; publications and industry events;

and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation

and marketplace competition, NTCA’s members are leading the IP evolution for rural con-

sumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live

and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in

economic development and commerce, education, health care, government services, security

and smart energy use.

The Smart Rural Community (SRC) program is administered by NTCA with several third-party,

non-telecom organizations that have interests in rural America. This latter group includes the

American Farm Bureau Federation; Rural Schools and Community Trust, John Deere, and the

U.S. Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Rural Health.

“ …our rural communities are smart because businesses and organizations utilize our broadband in ways to inspire economic growth and social development. This is an honor for all of us to celebrate.”— JASON SMITH,

ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER,

RAINBOW COMMUNICATIONS

Continued from page 1

Big enough to deliver. Small enough to care.

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Big enough to deliver. Small enough to care.

TIPS, TRICKS & TECHNOLOGY

Rainbow and Roku: Your Keys to Unlocking Internet Entertainment

Cable TV or satellite dishes are not your only entertainment options any more. Let Rainbow

Communications help you unlock the potential of the Internet and give you more options

for home entertainment.

With a Roku streaming player and Internet service from Rainbow Communications, you can

choose from hundreds of offerings for TV programming, music, and movies.

Roku players connect directly to your TV from your home network to stream entertainment

via the Internet. With Roku, you can scan channels and keep all your favorites in one place.

You can also easily search by titles, directors, and even actors’ names.

Along with hundreds of free channels, you’ll have the option with Roku to buy or watch films

from top providers. If you are already a subscriber to Netflix or Hulu Plus, there will be no

additional charges to watch streaming services through your Roku player.

In all, you can choose from more than 750 free and paid channels, including HBO Go,

Pandora, Disney and many more. And with our 15 Mbps or higher Rainbow Internet and

our Rainbow MyTV service, you’ll also get local channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and

much more!

There are no recurring fees for the Roku player, just the initial purchase price, and Rainbow

MyTV is only $12.95/month. With hundreds of free channels and low-cost subscription plans

for services like Netflix and Hulu Plus (less than $10/month), you’ll enjoy a huge selection of

entertainment for a surprisingly small price.

For more information or to subscribe to Rainbow MyTV, call Rainbow Communications at 800-892-0163.

TVonMySide is a collaborative effort of

hundreds of local, independent Cable TV

providers located throughout the country

in communities like yours. Learn more at

TVonMySide.com

WatchTVEverywhereON THE GO • ON ANY DEVICE

COMING DECEMBER 2015As a Rainbow Communications TV cus-

tomer, you’ll soon have a convenient new

way to enjoy TV. WatchTVEverywhere

lets you stream some of your favorite

channels and programming to mobile

devices. Follow us on Facebook to get

updates and be one of the first to sign

up for this free app.

Not yet a Rainbow Communications TV customer? Call 800-892-0163 to sign up today.

Big enough to deliver. Small enough to care.

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www.facebook.com/RainbowCommunications

www.facebook.com/RainbowNEK

@Rainbow_Comm @RainbowNEK

www.linkedin.com/company/ rainbow-communications_2

The Iowa Tribe

of Kansas and

Nebraska provides

a wide variety of

services to its pop-

ulation including

education, Tribal

court, vehicle reg-

istration, housing,

a food commod-

ity program, and

health and social

services.

Like many other

organizations in

the area, the Tribe

depends on fiber Internet to run its various services. Vice Chairman Alan Kelley comments,

“When I got to this office, there were only three computers and three dial-up connections

here. But, that has increased since we got fiber. It opens up a lot of business opportunities; it

opens up a whole new world, and I can’t see us surviving without it.”

A collaborative partnership started between the Tribe and Rainbow Communications in 2010

when the Tribe inquired about the delivery of broadband services to its reservation. Rainbow

Communications had the experience to provide management, supervisory, construction, and

technical services to achieve the most efficient operation to the Tribe’s system.

The Tribe applied for a broadband infrastructure grant through the federal Rural Utilities

Service (RUS), and received $764,000 to provide a fiber-to-the premise (FTTP) network. The

Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program (Broadband Program) furnishes

loans and loan guarantees to provide funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or

acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide service in eligible rural areas.

Construction on the Tribe’s plant was completed in 2012. The installation has provided

residents with access to information about healthcare services, the medical facility, business

offices, pow wow grounds, and other operations. Tribal members are able to stay connected

through email and the Tribal website. Rainbow Communications continues to add fiber lines

as needed to accommodate the growth of the Tribe, and also provides phone systems, secu-

rity/surveillance services, email hosting, and networking.

Iowa Tribe Chairman Tim Rhodd comments, “Having fiber has made a big difference in

terms of speed and getting things done. Without Internet and the partnership with Rainbow

Communications, we wouldn’t have been able to have a website or high-speed Internet.”

LOCAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska

We Wish You a Tree-mendous Holiday SeasonHappy Holidays from all of us at Rainbow

Communications! We hope you enjoy

every stage of the season, from the hours

you spend decorating, shopping, and bak-

ing to the days you devote to family and

community festivities.

Will there be cool new devices wrapped

and waiting under the tree this year?

Remember, Rainbow Communications

can provide the updated communications

services you need to fully enjoy them. Call

800-892-0163 or stop by your local office

for details.