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Postings

February 2013 News from PANGAEA

In This Issue

-Community Impact

-New Employee

-What Customers Are Saying

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Quick Links

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Did You Know?

Fiber Optics Use Light

There is no electrical current being passed through fiber optic cabling, only light. Because of this, there is no heat and no heat means no burning and no fire hazards. During normal use, fiber optics are the safest option for data transmission.

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PANGAEA’S QUARTERLY TESTIMONIAL PROGRAM

If you haven’t already submitted a customer testimonial, please take a couple of minutes and give us your feedback. Just click this link and provide a couple of sentences regarding how PANGAEA Internet has impacted your organization. Every quarter, all customers who have submitted testimonials will be entered into a drawing to receive a $100 invoice credit!

Our first quarter winner!Janet Sciacca, Executive Director, Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce

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Customer Referral Program

PANGAEA Internet is available to all commercial customers that are near our fiber route. (See our Network Map.) If a referral from a current PANGAEA customer results in a signed service agreement, we will credit your PANGAEA invoice $200!!! Click this link to fill out the form to submit your referral.

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Board Officers Jim Edwards (President) Joe Crowder (Secretary) Harry Grymes (Treasurer) Board Directors Kate Barkschat Jeff Byrd Keven McCammon Rhonda Owens Marche Pittman Russ Pitts Staff Ron Walters, Executive Director Stu Davidson, Operations Director Carolyn Whitehead, Office Administrator

PANGAEA’s Community Impact

In PANGAEA Internet’s recently completed Customer Survey, over 90 percent of the respondents rated PANGAEA Internet’s performance and value, as compared to other competitive options, at above average or excellent. One of our satisfied clients is St. Luke’s Hospital in Columbus, a 25-bed critical access care center with a 10-bed psychiatric care unit, which is staffed by approximately 320 employees.

David Pearson serves as the hospital’s Information Technology Director. “We have a good partnership with PANGAEA,” Pearson says. “I like to think of them as a community partner that helps us provide quality patient care, which in the end, is our reason for being here.

“No matter how big or small my situation is that I need a solution for, they always work with me and St Lukes Sign find a way to help us,” he says. “We have a number of local facilities which need to connect with us. Some are just up the street, while others are across town. PANGAEA always works with us to establish a point-to-point fiber-optic connection between their offices and the hospital.”

Making these connections allows clinical data to be transmitted quickly between locations. Before PANGAEA, that process was problematic. “For example, physicians need to be able to view X-rays, MRI’s, and other images as they are produced by the Radiology department,” Pearson says. “When I first arrived at St. Luke’s, we had slow virtual private network connections. Whenever we had a storm or any sort of power disruption, they would go down, which required us to go out and reset them to get them working again. With PANGAEA’s fiber-optic connection, we don’t have to do that.”

The use of modern electronic medical records systems makes it possible for medical professionals to obtain patient data whenever they may need it, but a secure, fast connection is needed for the systems to work properly. “Whether our clinicians are on campus at one of our fiber-connected buildings, at their offices, or even in their homes, they need access to medical records at any time,” Pearson says. “Whether a physician is employed by the hospital, or by an affiliated medical practice, PANGAEA provides a secure connection which allows them to access records quickly from wherever they may happen to be. That’s a capability we didn’t have before we began working with PANGAEA.”

PANGAEA Internet has helped St. Luke’s through every step of upgrading their facilities to a modern, high-speed fiber-optic network. “They helped us set up our fiber network and connect five of our buildings through it,” according to Pearson. “Without their help, it would have been a much more difficult project. They had all of the contacts and vendor relationships necessary to complete the work, and they basically ran the project for me. They knew what needed to be done, and I didn’t have to manage the details. It was a load off my mind. They’re a great community partner. We’ve been extremely pleased with PANGAEA’s Internet service at our facility.”

To learn more about how PANGAEA Internet can help your business, call 828-859-3072.

PANGAEA’S New Employee

Thanks to our customers, PANGAEA Internet continues to grow. To help us manage our growth and continue providing you with the highest-quality internet Carolyn Feb 2013 Nwsltr service, Carolyn Whitehead has joined PANGAEA Internet as our Office Administrator. She has extensive administrative experience, having managed the office of the Lake Region Lakes Management District in Winter Haven, FL for 23 years.

Carolyn and her husband, Richard, moved to the area last June in order to be closer to their daughter and grandson in Rutherfordton. They recently purchased a home in Landrum, and are delighted to be in the Carolinas. Carolyn feels that her experience working in a governmental setting will be very useful in PANGAEA Internet’s non-profit environment, particularly when it comes to meeting the needs of public-sector clients.

“I’ll be providing administrative support to our staff and communicating with our customers and I’ll be the first point of contact for anyone who calls our office,” Carolyn says. Among her day-to-day duties will be updating and improving company documentation processes, managing accounts receivable, completing the annual customer satisfaction survey, developing reporting tools to track quality of service, and coordinating external communications, such as the website, Facebook page, and newsletters.

Carolyn particularly enjoys the professionalism of the PANGAEA Internet team. “I’m looking forward to being able to help grow our company,” she says.

What Customers Are Saying

“Polk County Schools has been using PANGAEA as an integral part of our network for almost 10 years. PANGAEA gives us fast, reliable connections between our schools and our administrative office. Last month, we lost internet access because of damage to the state’s data network. Unfortunately the disruption happened on a day when we had almost 150 students scheduled to do state mandated End of Course testing. Without internet access, we could not administer the test. PANGAEA came to our rescue with a backup connection to the internet that allowed us to function while the state’s network was being repaired. Although PANGAEA has always provided us with high quality service at a reasonable price, on this day their service could best be described as Priceless!”-Dave Scherping, Technology Director, Polk County Schools

The Superior Business Internet Service in Polk and Rutherford Counties of Western North Carolina. Serving Tryon, Columbus, Mill Spring, Saluda, Lake Lure, Rutherfordton, Spindale, Forest City, Ellenboro, Bostic and Cliffside.

PANGAEA Internet Stimulating Economic Development in NC Foothills

August 29, 2011 – Tryon, NC
Contacts: PANGAEA Internet: Ron Walters (828-859-3072 or 828-395-1155)

PANGAEA Internet Stimulating Economic Development in NC Foothills
Contact: Ron Walters – 828-859-3072

TRYON, NC / August 29, 2011 – Businesses, schools, health care facilities, non-profits and local governments throughout Polk and Rutherford Counties are taking advantage of the “speed of light” internet service offered by PANGAEA Internet to power their organizations to new heights.

As a non-profit service provider, PANGAEA Internet can focus on community needs, rather than the desires of shareholders. Economic development continues to be one of the most critical community needs, and by extending high-speed fiber optic internet service into the area, PANGAEA Internet is energizing the local economy.

A prime example of these efforts is the Mill Spring Agricultural Development Center (MSAC). Formerly an abandoned school building, the MSAC was launched in early 2010 as a resource for education, community service, and agricultural & business development. Since then, sixteen businesses have opened offices at the MSAC. “The availability of PANGAEA fiber-optic internet service has been the main reason for quite a few people moving into the center,” according to Lynn Sprague, MSAC Director. “If we had not had this type of bandwidth available, we would probably not have several of our current tenants.”

Among those tenants is Turner HD Media, a multimedia services company. Turner HD Media works with high definition video and graphics, and collaborates with designers and artists all over the world using PANGAEA Internet’s fiber-optic service. “Files which used to take literally hours to transfer can now be done in just a few minutes,” says Lynn Turner. “The ability to access this type of internet speed has had an amazing impact on our business.”

In September, a public access computer center will open at the MSAC, providing free high-speed access during the center’s operating hours. Grant funding obtained by PANGAEA Internet will provide computers and software for the center. “It’s safe to say that the MSAC is making a significant impact in the Mill Spring community and beyond,” says Ron Walters, PANGAEA Internet Executive Director. “We’re pleased to be affiliated with this important economic development engine.”

PANGAEA Internet (pan-GEE-ah) is a non-profit provider of high-speed fiber optic internet service, currently serving more than 70 customers at over 100 locations across Polk and Rutherford Counties, including public school districts, city and county governments, health care facilities, and local businesses. Visit us online at www.pangaea.us, or contact Executive Director Ron Walters at 828-859-3072.