Stories - Alpine Communications

Tomorrow’s Career Opportunities for Today’s Gamer

May 31, 2023

With spectacular advances in graphics, artificial intelligence (A.I.), and increasingly complex story arcs and character development, video gaming is more popular than ever. And competitive online video gaming—also known as esports—has taken what once was considered a frivolous pursuit enjoyed by the young and turned gaming into a global phenomenon and economic powerhouse. Indeed, the most-recently available statistics show how just how big gaming has become not only in the United States but also around the world. Nearly 30 million Americans watched esports in 2022—a number estimated to grow to nearly 35 million by 2026. Globally, there were 532 million esports viewers in 2022 alone, a staggering number. (Source)

Best Games for Bonding With Your Child

May 30, 2023

From pediatricians to psychologists, experts agree that spending quality time is among the best “investments” a parent can make for their children. But it’s also perhaps the most difficult to pull off. Between parents’ work responsibilities and their child’s school, sports, and activities schedules, time for parents to bond with their kids can just slip away. For the past few generations, one of the most common ways kids spend their free time is by playing video games. And from the Atari of the early 1980’s to the PlayStation 5 of today, they’ve only gotten better. Between their increasingly sophisticated stories to stunning graphics, it can be rather difficult to peel kids away from their screens! So what if instead of competing with video games for your kids’ attention and time, you joined them—as in playing video games with your kids? Well, many parents are doing just that—and even enjoying the games almost as much as their children are!

The Summer Slowdown: Preparing Your Home Internet for Increased Demand

May 24, 2023

The summer television viewing season isn't what it used to be. Once known for endless reruns and launches of shows that studios deemed less likely to be successful, the world of streaming entertainment and the production houses it created are churning out phenomenal content you've just got to see. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to improve your internet connection and performance, even during the summer's high demand.

Explaining Internet Speeds

May 21, 2023

Perhaps the most common question we hear from customers at Alpine Communications is: “what internet speed do I really need?” It’s actually an excellent question, and the answer can depend on a number of factors—from the number of people in the home and the number of devices regularly used at once to the types of online activities that matter most to you. (For example, gaming and videoconferencing will require more bandwidth than checking emails!) While Alpine Communications’ advanced fiber network is the most reliable internet you can get—and that reliability is consistent no matter what speed tier you choose—we offer different plans and tiers based on the speeds your household needs.

Remembering the Past, Planning for the Future

May 18, 2023

There are a lot of memories generated as a child, especially with your grandparents. Spending summers here in NE Iowa was an annual treat for me. Having grandparents in both Garnavillo and Clayton, made it easy to switch week to week spending time with each. Traveling to Clayton meant going by J-Wood campground, the corner where my dad had his car accident, and reaching the top of the hill where I would get the honor of putting my grandpa’s maroon LTD in low gear. We had many winters where we needed to get a run for that hill and going down was just as scary.

Creating a Portable Home Office

May 15, 2023

More Americans are working remotely than ever before. Indeed, some recent estimates indicate that nearly a quarter of all U.S. workers now work from home, with still many more people working remotely at least part of the time. Instead of shutting themselves into a guest-bedroom-turned-home-office for eight hours a day, many remote workers prefer a portable home office. A portable office makes it easier to relocate from a home office to the kitchen table, back yard, local coffee shop, or back to the corporate office. With reliable, high-speed internet and whole-home Wi-Fi from Alpine Communications, you can work on a strong connection from anywhere in your home. Feeling too tied to your desk? Check out these tips to create the perfect portable office for you!

What Is a Public Right of Way?

May 10, 2023

When fiber internet—the fastest, most reliable internet you can get—comes to a new neighborhood, you can almost feel the excitement in the air. After all, fiber’s extraordinary speeds and bandwidth capacity provide an outstanding internet experience for all of your streaming entertainment, video calling, gaming, and other online activities. But part of installing and maintaining our network includes the need to access property—your neighbor’s property and your own. In the law, there is a concept that allows internet service providers (as well as other utilities) access to private property, and even to make considerable impacts to it. It’s called a “public right of way”—and at Alpine Communication, accessing it is essential to our efforts to providing our community with quality high-speed internet.

Privacy Settings Every Smart Home Assistant User Should Consider

May 5, 2023

Smart home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and its Echo and Dot smart speakers, Apple’s Siri and its HomeKit, and Google Home Assistant and its Nest product line have become extremely popular in recent years. Also known as voice-controlled smart devices or digital assistants, it's getting harder and harder to find a home that doesn't have at least one smart home assistant device in it. As smart home technology continues to improve and better integrate into the home, more and more families are finding them indispensable. But some consumers are less-than-enthusiastic about the seemingly ever-present smart speaker just waiting to be woken by its trigger word—and they’re rightly concerned about their privacy. Fortunately, there are privacy settings you can implement and adjust for the most prominent smart home assistants and devices on the market today.

Reasons for Your Business to Use Online Backup

April 27, 2023

How important to your business is your data? What would happen if all those records, all that information was lost forever? The threats to data are many – from natural disaster to equipment failure to cybercrime – but the best prevention stands alone: online backup.

Planning a Move? Here’s How to Get Connected in Your New Home

April 20, 2023

When you’re planning a move, you have about a million things on your mind. From packing to gathering boxes to hiring movers, there is a lot on your plate! But have you taken a moment to think about setting up your internet connection in your new home? Fortunately, with a bit of planning, it’s easy to set up service or make the switch. And if you’re already a customer with Alpine Communications, high-speed fiber internet service may be available at your new address—and super simple to transfer! Below are tips on how to easily set up, transfer, or find new fiber internet service so you and your family don’t have to miss a minute of streaming entertainment, email access, or online shopping for your new home. 1) Sticking With Alpine Communications? Just Give Us a Call! Are you an existing high-speed fiber internet customer of Alpine Communications? Just give us a call at 563-245-4000 to find out if we service your new home. If so, we’ll make it easy to transfer services, and you can focus your attention on packing and other moving tasks. 2) Search Addresses on Fiber Homes If you’re moving out of our service area, you can search any address at FiberHomes.com to discover which (if any) internet provider would deliver fiber to your new home. If you’re browsing Zillow to find homes, Fiber Homes also offers a free Google Chrome plug-in you can add to your browser that will show the provider right in Zillow’s home overviews for your convenience! Once you’ve identified the provider, you can reach out to confirm availability and schedule an install before you make the move to minimize any downtime in your new home. 3) Installation and Wi-Fi Optimization If you’re remaining a customer of Alpine Communications, we make it easy to get connected in your new home. Our skilled installation technicians will help determine how best to optimize your wi-fi, including ascertaining the best location for your wi-fi router in your new home. They’re trained to know the many facets of router placement, including minimizing interference from walls and other electronic equipment, to help you get the most out of the high-speed fiber internet you’ve wisely selected. Moving is never easy—but transferring your internet services can be! Just contact us today. We’re proud to keep you connected.

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