How to Prepare for (and Ace!) Your Next Virtual Job Interview

Virtual interviewing is becoming more and more common in today’s job market. While remote interviewing may be more convenient, the distance and technical difficulties can be awkward, or even jarring, to would-be applicants.  

Fortunately there are tips from interviewing experts that prospective job seekers can use to get through—and even nail—a virtual job interview. We share some of their key insights and recommendations below.

The Interview Environment: Organize and Professionalize Your Space

You already know you should “dress for success” and make sure that you look your polished best for an interview. But when you’re interviewing from your home, the interview space and background could be distracting, even off-putting, to potential employers. Take the time to make your space look its best, too.

Clean and Declutter: This seems obvious, but make sure you take the time to de-clutter your surroundings, whether it is your bedroom or home office desk. Show your would-be bosses that you quite literally have it together at home, which will make a better impression of being grounded and composed.

Lighting: Proper lighting is a detail too-often overlooked. Be sure to “light yourself” from the front, and not from the back! The latter can create a rather eerie, even sinister visage. Where possible, aim for “cool light,” which is whiter in color, rather than “warm light,” which is yellower. These seemingly small details help put your best foot forward.

Interviewing Skills and Tips

There are countless tips on interviewing available online, but we share a few below that are particularly relevant to remote interviewing.

Keep Any Notes Short and (Mostly) Out of the Way

Like in any interview, try to not over-rely on notes. It is easy to get flustered and lose your place in notes, so keep them sparse and well-organized. Index cards placed outside the viewing area may be especially helpful, with key information and points printed largely and visible to you, but out of sight from the interviewers. 

Keep Eye Contact—And Look Into the Camera, Not at Your “Mirrored Image”

Another common mistake is the awkward “stare” that people make when they forget to look into the camera, and instead watch their own reflected image while using the app. You will look less engaged, and even odd, at least compared to applicants that remembered to look “correctly” at the camera.

Watch Your Speaking Pace

Avoid speaking too quickly, a common giveaway of nervousness. Practice and rehearse answers to likely questions, and actually time how quickly you are speaking.

An Interview is a Conversation

Ultimately, an interview is just another conversation. A back-and-forth discussion makes for a much better interview, so be sure to have researched the job thoroughly and come prepared with questions. Look engaged when the interviewer is speaking by maintaining eye contact (see above about looking into the webcam!) and nodding your head occasionally. Don’t miss an opportunity to add something of value to what the interviewer says.  

Get Internet You Can Rely On

One last tip: Make sure you have high-speed internet with fast download and upload speeds that you can rely on for a steady connection throughout your interview. (Adequate upload speeds ensure your video is clear for the interviewer on the other side of the virtual table.)

With internet from Northern Lights Fiber, you can video call without fear of a dropped connection or glitchy experience, so you can tackle your interview with confidence.

Dropped Outbound Calls vs. Inbound Calls: When to Call Customer Service

Every once in a while, we at Northern Lights Fiber get a complaint about call disruption—a formal term for a frustrating concept usually referred to as a “dropped call.” And we totally share in your frustration.

There can be a few reasons why a call may terminate unexpectedly, from standard technical or weather-related hiccups to more complex matters related to different calling networks. Of course, we cannot control or explain the weather!

To start, Northern Lights Fiber’s fiber home phone service, Fiber Talk, is:

  • Convenient – fast easy calls that are clearer than standard home phone! Also get your phone bill and internet on one monthly bill for easy payment.
  • Cost effective – our fiber talk package is competitively priced and has loads of features powered through VOIP tech.
  • Seamless – we transfer numbers, port to our service and you can use existing handsets
  • Supported – our customer service and tech team is there to help and support you and ensure that your fiber powered home phone is an awesome experience

BUT there are a few things we also want to share with you to ensure that you have the best information and experience possible….

Understanding Voice Over Internet Protocol and Call Termination

To understand why some calls get suddenly dropped or why some calls “don’t go through” in the first place, we need to explain how Northern Lights Fiber’s Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls work.

Firstly, VoIP transmits its signal—your voice and the voice of the other caller—through the internet. After moving at ridiculously fast speeds, the signal (and your voice) then connects to its end point—i.e., a cellular phone—through a process known as “call termination.”

Call termination is the crucial step that lets Northern Lights Fiber keep you connected to family and friends over the phone as well as through email and social media. At its most basic, call termination simply refers to the process of routing calls from one phone company to another.

VOIP will reduce call issues from traditional landline and ensure that you have clearer, better calls across the board.

Dropped Calls Due to Call Termination Issues

Now, as the old saying goes, “it takes two to tango.” With call termination, there are almost always at least two parties (meaning, two companies) involved. And just as with tango dancing, sometimes things can get a bit tangled up—and in this case, that can lead to the dreaded dropped call.

Remember that with VoIP, lots of data is transformed instantaneously and then rapidly moved over the internet before hitting your phone in the form of your voice and the other caller’s voice. It’s a technological wonder, but one that sometimes hits snags over the networks. Hence, occasionally, customers will experience dropped calls due to call termination errors.

When to Call Customer Service

It’s tempting to call Northern Lights Fiber’s customer service when you’ve experienced a drop call seemingly out of the blue—especially when the weather seemed perfect on both ends of the call! But keep in mind that because there are often two calling networks involved in the call, Northern Lights Fiber’s customer service can only assist or investigate when you are the initiating caller—or when both callers are Northern Lights Fiber customers. That’s because any technical problem due to call termination errors is nearly always an issue with the calling network of the person who initiated the call in the first place.

When deciding whether to call Northern Lights Fiber’s customer service number, follow this rule of thumb: if you originated the call and the call was dropped, feel free to reach out to us at anytime; however, if you received the call from another person—and that person is not also a Northern Lights Fiber customer—there is unfortunately nothing we can do to assist with that call.

Please know that we are not trying to discourage you from reaching out to us! But we don’t want to waste your valuable time if the dropped call was initiated on another company’s network.

Just remember: we can investigate and assist with outbound call termination issues—the calls made by you on our network—just not inbound calls made to you by other callers from other companies’ networks.

If you are interested are interested in home phone service, call our customer care and get signed up today at 1-888-236-2947! Current internet customers can bundle home phone service and save money over standard pricing.

As always, please be sure you’re following Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages to learn more about how our high-speed fiber internet can help keep you in touch with your loved ones!

Survive Winter Temps the “Smart” Way

Winter is upon us—and with it are cold temperatures, heavy snowfalls and ice, and dry, chafing air. While parts of the country are lovely in winter, there’s no escaping the fact that colder temperatures and bleak weather can take their toll.

Wintry weather also brings higher energy expenses. Home heating units often pump out warm air constantly just to keep the house comfortable—and at great costs, too.

Thankfully, today’s technology can help make winter more bearable. And utilizing Northern Lights Fiber’s high-speed fiber internet not only connects you to the most reliable network available but also helps keep your home warm and snug.

Together with “smart technology,” it all adds to saving money this winter and beyond!

Below we highlight some of our favorite tech to help you get through the coldest months more comfortably. These unique items will make you and your loved ones feel cozier all winter, from Bluetooth devices to smart thermostats and even smart clothing.

Smart Thermostats

One of the best upgrades you can make to your home this winter (or any season) is to install a smart thermostat that monitors and controls your heating and air conditioning.

Smart thermostats can sense temperature changes in different rooms and can be easily programmed to get warmer or cooler at various times of the day.

Smart thermostats can connect to your home’s internet network, and through Bluetooth, to your smartphone and other devices for easy control.

Even more conveniently, many smart thermostats are controllable through voice-activated technology like Alexa or the Apple Home Kit (using Siri). And according to the federal government’s Energy Star program, which researches and provides consumers with reliable information on energy-efficient products and services, smart thermostats can save homeowners up to 30% on their energy bills.

Several solid options exist, including the Google Nest Learning Thermostat. We’re particularly impressed with Google’s device because, over time, it learns your temperature preferences in each room and at different times of the day.

Using a Smart Thermostat can more effectively heat your home than conventional thermostats—and because of its “smart” features and controls, it saves energy costs, too!

Smart Space Heaters

If you’ve reduced your energy bills by lowering your home’s temperatures a tad, but find that you or others in your household still feel cold, consider adding a smart space heater to those chillier rooms. Smart space heaters are ideal when one or two people prefer the temps just a bit warmer than everyone else or when the temperatures drop drastically.

The Atomi Smart Ceramic Tower Space Heater is among the best options available. The Atomi can heat up to 750 square feet, perfect for small rooms.

Its safety features are also top-notch, including notifying your smartphone if the heater tips over. Then, you can easily shut it off from your phone. It’s base sits evenly on multiple flooring types reducing the likelihood of tipping over at all.

You can also connect the Atomi Smart Space Heater to Alexa or Google Assistant for hands-free voice control through your home network.

Smart Clothing (Jackets and Shirts)

We recommend smart clothing for personal warmth, especially a jacket and shirt.

Smart clothing safely and steadily heats your body in different zones that you can control. And you can even quickly recharge them when you’re on the road with your car’s charging ports.

We recommend the DEWBU Heated Jacket because of its multiple heating zones. It also comes with a convenient 12V Battery Pack that can keep it powered longer on the go.

Also, check out smart shirts from Venture Heat, which make different styles for women and men.

Bluetooth-enabled, you can control Venture Heat’s smart shirts ten-temperature settings with your smartphone, helping to fine-tune the perfect temperature to keep you feeling comfortably toasty on even the most frigid days!

Smart Hats

Growing up, you may remember hearing that you can lose nearly half your body heat just through the top of your head.

While science has proven that that was not exactly accurate, you can still lose around 10% of your body heat off your head alone. So grandma was right—you should keep your head covered in colder weather!

And believe it or not, there are actually smart hats available for you to get the most coverage for your noggin!

We love the iLive Beanie (not only because it’s quite fashionable in a cute, wintry way) but because its Bluetooth-enabled speakers connect directly to your smartphone, doubling as a music-listening and hands-free calling device, too!

The internet and smart technology can’t stop Mother Nature’s annual blast of wintry weather. By utilizing these smart devices and a reliable fiber internet connection like Northern Lights Fiber’s, we bet you’ll cope better than you ever have before!

To learn more about how smart technology and high-speed fiber internet can work together to improve your quality of life and save money, follow Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages!

Five Tips for Scoring an Esports Scholarship

Though many parents may be skeptical about their teen’s passion for video gaming (and the seemingly extensive number of hours they play them), they might be surprised—and even impressed—by the economic opportunities brought about by gaming, especially in competitive esports. And perhaps the most eye-poppingly impressive statistic parents and their college-bound kids should be aware of is the tremendous amount of esports scholarships available for college: $16 million according to the most recent data!

Below, we provide several tips for gamers who want to take their hobby to the next level and help them pay for their college education through esports.

When combined with their own skills and many hours of playing on Northern Lights Fiber’s advanced fiber network—the fastest, most reliable internet a gamer can utilize—these tips may help students outperform the competition and get a well-merited scholarship for their future.

Tip 1: Join a Gaming Club and/or Compete for a Spot on a High School Esports Team

If possible, join a gaming club and/or compete for a spot on a high school esports team. Joining a gaming club or playing on a high school esports team puts you in direct contact with players you’re not used to playing against, which are probably your friends and other family members. Those players already know your abilities and weaknesses—and you know theirs.

Thus, to truly get ahead, you need to start playing against different people, and in a more competitive arena. Joining a gaming club can start you on the road to more competitive play, improved tactics and skills, and to college-level esports.

Similarly high school gaming teams provide an environment comparable to competitive esports at the collegiate and professional levels. They also teach additional gaming skills and techniques you might not be well versed in, introduce you to other games you haven’t yet mastered, and give you actual tournament experience—all the factors, in short, that collegiate teams are looking for and that improve your chances of achieving an esports scholarship.

Tip 2: Record Your Gaming Sessions

As you continue to hone your gaming skills and gain more experience playing competitively, we recommend you record your gameplay. It’s simple to do and there are many apps available to create recordings of your games, so check out their features and make a few practice recordings.

Recording your gaming sessions lets you see your progress—and learn from your own mistakes. It also gives you the opportunity to “show off” your skills and achievements to others and gain feedback from them, too. Even more importantly, esports recruiters, especially coaches, will want to see examples of your esports play (see Tips 3 and 4, below).

Tip 3: Create an Esports “Highlight Reel”

Having tested your mettle in a gaming club or on a team, and recorded and reviewed your sessions to improve your gameplay, consider creating a highlight reel of your best gaming experiences. This is similar to what other high school athletes in other sports like football and basketball do. It takes some time to learn to edit and splice a highlight reel, but it’s a useful skill for self-marketing—and for other areas of life, too.

But don’t just think of a highlight reel as a braggadocious ego-trip. An esports highlight reel can be used to pique the attention of esports recruiters and coaches, who are always scoping out rising talent and who need a quick pitch that stands out from the rest of the pack.

Tip 4: Reach Out to College Esports Coaches

Dedicated esports players should attempt to contact esports coaches as early as they can during their college search and application process—preferably even before the application and scholarship process begins, if possible. While esports coaches and recruiters follow Twitch and similar esports platforms to find and assess players, would-be esports scholarship winners should take the initiative and reach out directly to coaches.

Putting yourself on an esports coach’s radar early—and continuing to share progress, achievements and wins with them through your highlight reels—can have an enormous impact on scholarship success. Be confident and assertive in your communications with coaches, but don’t overdo it, either. Striking the right balance between self-confidence and humility is also key, so be mindful of your approach.

Tip 5: Think Beyond the Game

Finally, remember that most colleges aren’t just looking to train professional gamers. Indeed, many colleges award esports scholarships to gamers with tangential interests like video production, coding and programming, graphics design, and marketing.

Resourceful applicants should highlight these gaming-related interests, and any experience they may have in them in their college and scholarship applications and essays. These additional interests and experiences help candidates stand out—and may just be the decisive factor.

By joining up with other gamers you don’t usually play against, competing on high school teams, improving your gameplay, and showing off your talents online and to coaches, you’re well on your way to winning an esports scholarship. Above all, stay positive, keep challenging yourself, and keep playing!

With Northern Lights Fiber’s fast fiber network, you’ve got the speeds and the bandwidth to handle just about any game. And with any luck—and some hard work—all that distortion-free gameplay may pay off in the form of a generous esports scholarship, too! 

Follow Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages to keep up with esports and to learn more about online gaming. And feel free to reach out to our friendly experts if you’re interested in an upgrade to make your gaming experience even better!

Parental Settings for Smart TVs

If you’re like most parents, you may feel frustrated when something as innocent and simple as turning on your smart TV can display gory images from ads for horror movies or suggestions for suggestive—or even outright raunchy—content on the home screen before you even navigate to your preferred apps and platforms.

While parental controls within streaming platforms don’t kick in until you open their apps, there is good news: Many smart TVs have parental control options and settings built right into their operating systems.

Below we discuss some of the settings parents can make on many of the most popular brands of smart TVs. Combining these parental controls on smart TVs with in-app settings enhances protection—and gives peace-of-mind to parents as they and their families enjoy Northern Lights Fiber’s high-speed fiber internet and pristine streaming quality!

Smart TV’s With Parental Control Settings

We begin with popular smart TVs that have parental control settings: LG and Samsung, as well as Google TV, which is preinstalled on many well-known smart TV brands such as Sony. Many other brands, including Fire TV, offer similar parental controls (and similar ways of establishing them), so we present these brands as models for exploring your options. 

In general, you can search for safety, security and parental controls in the Settings Menu of any of the models below. Some brands include more features than others, so check each of them out carefully before buying a new model.

LG Smart TV’s

Most LG smart TVs made over the last several years have a few key features to help parents feel more comfortable about letting their children use their television. Specifically, parents can lock channels out entirely, block visual and sound content of certain channels, block programming with certain TV content ratings, and even block access to particular apps. LG also lets parents block inputs to other devices as well, giving an extra layer of protection against “work-arounds” a clever child may attempt.

LG uses the most common way smart TVs enable parental controls: the establishment of a PIN and passwords. Parents simply need to set up a PIN to create and manage the protections—and make sure they don’t share that PIN or password with their child! Though it’s probably obvious, be sure to choose a PIN or password that your child isn’t already aware of or cannot easily guess.

Set up is easy: simply navigate to the Settings symbol on the Menu, then click on System Settings, then to Safety Settings, and establish the password or PIN. From there, you can block channels or apps or block out content based on content ratings.

Google TV (Preinstalled on many Sony, TCL, and Hisense Smart TV models)

Next on our list is the increasingly popular Google TV, an operating system that is preferred by many customers for its easy integration within the Google ecosystem of apps and smart home devices, like Google Nest. You can find Google TV on many brands of popular smart TVs, including Hisense, Sony, and TCL, and on some Chromecast models.

Google TV has an option many parents will immediately appreciate: the ability to establish Restricted Profiles. Through Google TV’s Restricted Profiles, you can set content restrictions and limit what younger members of your family can watch when on their profile.

The only “downside” to Google TV’s approach is that parents (or any older viewer) need to remember to set the TV back to “Restricted Profiles” whenever the parent’s “unrestricted” use is complete. That way, when your children turn on the TV, they will immediately be in the Restricted Profile, with all the protections and limitations you previously established for their profile.

Samsung TV

Lastly, we consider Samsung, another popular smart TV. Like the LG smart TV discussed above, Samsung also lets parents set up a PIN or password to block channels or limit content to particular ratings.

Just follow these simple steps: First, head to your Menu and go to Settings. From there select Broadcasting, and then choose Program Rating Lock Settings. Next, create your PIN. Finally, choose your settings and limitations.

Other Parental Protections to Consider

Beyond setting up parental controls, PINs, restricted profiles and other limitations and protections within a smart TV, parents should also remember that there are other steps they can take as well. Most apps, like Netflix, have built in parental settings, including user profiles. These profiles can be set to filter content that is less-than kid-appropriate, while still allowing other users to stream what they want in their own PIN-protected profile.

Additionally, streaming sticks and boxes also have parental control settings and options, beyond just the individual apps. Recall that streaming sticks and boxes can turn any TV with an HDMI connection into a smart TV. Roku and Apple TV are two ever-popular streaming devices, and both have settings and restrictions parents can implement.

Protect IQ and Experience IQ from Northern Lights Fiber

Northern Lights Fiber’s ProtectIQ and ExperienceIQ are like superheroes for parents managing Smart TVs. ProtectIQ protects your devices from viruses, blocks malicious sites, and keeps sensitive info secure from cyber criminals – and from little eyes. And ExperienceIQ? It’s the sidekick that makes everything easy to manage from anywhere. With ExperienceIQ, parents can set time limits for their kids to watch, game, or use social sites online. You can filter apps and websites, monitor household/family online usage, and more. So, with these awesome features, you can relax knowing you’ve got the tools to create a safe and fun TV zone just right for your family! Just ask us about adding the ProtectIQ/ExperienceIQ bundle to your new or existing internet plan from Northern Lights Fiber.

By employing these recommendations, parents can breathe a bit more easily as they stream on Northern Lights Fiber’s advanced fiber network. And for more tips on staying safe online, follow Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages!

Esports Scholarships: What You Need to Know 

A female gamer is totally absorbed in the game while competing in an online competition

If you have a gamer in your life, whether it’s your own kid or a family friend’s child, you likely know how much video gaming is integrated into their lives. But even beyond the meteoric success and outright appeal of video gaming to young people (and even many not-so-young people), gaming now provides tangible benefits to serious players: competitive esports and esports college scholarships.

Parents of college-bound gamers might want to pay attention below, as we discuss college level esports and the burgeoning ecosystem of esports scholarships. And don’t forget that the high-speed fiber internet delivered to smart TVs and gaming devices by Northern Lights Fiber may just give the budding esports scholar in your life the edge he or she needs to own the competition!

Varsity Esports Are Exploding Across Colleges and Universities    

Following the 2010s and the exponential growth of video gaming and esports, it’s obvious now that collegiate esports are truly taking off as a legitimate competitive endeavor. This explosive growth is mostly due to advancing internet technology like Northern Lights Fiber’s fiber network and apps that make gaming more social and more competitive, as well as increased talent among players. Indeed today, there are approximately 500 American colleges and universities offering esports scholarships.

Every year, more and more colleges and universities across Canada and the US add varsity esports programs to their rosters. And yes, we did say “varsity”—as in intercollegiate competition, not just a club or diversionary dorm room duel. Robert Morris University was the very first college to create a varsity esports team back in 2014—and the trend has only ballooned since then. 

At the varsity and college level, schools typically create individual teams of players around particular games. This gives gamers the opportunity to advance and even excel at strategies and tactics suited to the complexities and skill needs of that title, enhancing the competitiveness of each game and of esports more generally.

Beyond enormously popular and well-known titles like Fortnite (played by untold millions of people around the world both casually and competitively), several other titles are most commonly played at varsity level esports in colleges and universities in North America. In particular, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Rocket League, Smash Bros, and Valorant are among the most frequently duked-out games in collegiate esports.

Other games are also increasingly popular, however. Overwatch is noted for its hero customization and intense fighting, requiring stout players and almost preternatural reaction skills to succeed. Additionally, Rainbow Six: Siege and its almost alchemical blend of gaming genres like strategy and tactical shooting has attracted legions of players to the game based around Tom Clancy’s novels. Both games are fielding more varsity teams and are increasingly seen at college level esports tournaments.

Collegiate Esports Give Rise to Generous Scholarship Opportunities

Because there are actual competitions and bragging rights to be bandied about, colleges are also competing for the best talent in esports. Thus, more schools are also providing scholarships for their best esports players. That means real dollars are increasingly available that the top gamers can put toward the costs of their higher education. Indeed, in 2017, Harrisburg University became the first college to offer full-rides to its leading esports competitors, including room and board!

Already, an estimated $16 million in college scholarships exist just for esports players—not a small sum for a sport that barely existed only a decade ago. And as collegiate esports continue to rise, we can expect more schools to establish varsity programs, as well as expand their existing esports teams, too.

All this burgeoning esports growth at the college level means that more scholarships—and even larger dollar amounts—are likely to be dedicated to esports gamers. Hence, for the truly talented and committed gamer, esports should be taken seriously, and gamers should consider taking steps to making themselves more competitive for esports scholarship opportunities.

The Esports Gender Divide

Despite the stunning growth in collegiate varsity esports, we hasten to note an important issue inside the gaming and esports community—the gender divide. Though females make up almost 50% of all video gamers (49% to be precise, according to one 2023 analysis), statistics show that men receive 90% of esports scholarships.

With patently lopsided statistics like that, the divide has not gone unnoticed. Arguments abound for this staggering disparity, but at least one likely reason for the imbalance is that most of the games more typically played by female gamers are less likely to be the games that comprise competitive varsity esports in colleges.

With that in mind, however, savvy female gamers with a keen interest in esports games that are played at the varsity collegiate level may want to be particularly on the lookout for scholarship opportunities that have too frequently landed in the hands of their male counterparts. Their unique backgrounds and talents may help give young women an edge over their compatriots in the coming years—and also help broaden and improve the sport as well.

To stay on top of the ever-changing and always-exciting esports scene, follow Northern Lights Fiber’s social pages. We’re confident that our high-speed fiber internet can improve any gamer’s experience and perhaps even help prepare them for competitive esports and the worlds of opportunity they open!

Streaming Canadian Sports: Where to Watch Hockey and Football with Northern Lights Fiber

In Valleyview, the love for two sports runs deep: hockey and football. As Canadians passionately devoted to these games, we often find ourselves eagerly searching for the best platforms to stream NHL and CFL games. Fortunately, with a reliable high-speed internet provider like Northern Lights Fiber, you can experience seamless 4K viewing and stay connected to the action.

Canadian Hockey: Where to Stream

Ask any diehard fan and they will tell you: hockey is more than just a sport; it’s a way of life. If you’re looking to stream Canadian hockey games, you have several great options:

Sportsnet +: For professional hockey enthusiasts, NHL Live is the go-to platform. Subscribers gain access to all NHL games, including those featuring Canadian teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and the Vancouver Canucks. With a Sportsnet + subscription, you can stream NHL games aired on Sportsnet. Sportsnet is home to many NHL broadcasts, and this is an excellent choice for keeping up with NHL.

TSN Direct: TSN Direct offers access to games broadcast on The Sports Network (TSN), which includes a variety of Canadian hockey content. You can watch the thrilling matchups involving your favorite teams, such as the Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets.

CBC Gem: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) provides a free streaming service called CBC Gem. While it doesn’t cover all games, you can watch selected NHL matchups, particularly during the playoffs.

CFL: Where to Stream

Canadian football, with the iconic Canadian Football League (CFL), also has a dedicated fan base. To catch CFL games online, consider these options:

CFL.ca: The official CFL website offers live streaming of games. You can watch CFL action with a subscription or enjoy free games if available.

TSN: TSN broadcasts a significant number of CFL games. You can access these through TSN Direct or the TSN app, ensuring you don’t miss the thrilling matches featuring the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, and other CFL teams.

DAZN (DA-ZONE), a global sports streaming service, has gained popularity in Canada. While it primarily focuses on international sports, it occasionally offers coverage of CFL games.

The Role of Northern Lights Fiber

When it comes to streaming your favorite Canadian sports, a reliable internet connection is essential. This is where Northern Lights Fiber comes into play. With its high-speed fiber internet service, Northern Lights Fiber ensures that you have the bandwidth needed for a seamless viewing experience.

Here’s why Northern Lights Fiber is the ideal choice for sports enthusiasts:

Blazing Fast Speeds: Fiber-optic internet provides unparalleled speeds, allowing you to stream games in high definition without buffering or lag, even during peak usage times.

Stability: Unlike traditional copper-based connections, fiber internet is less susceptible to disruptions from weather or interference, ensuring a stable and uninterrupted viewing experience.

Low Latency: Fiber internet’s low latency ensures real-time responsiveness, which is crucial when you’re watching live sports events and want to engage with fellow fans on social media or online forums.

Multiple Devices: With Northern Lights Fiber, you can connect multiple devices simultaneously without compromising on performance. This means you can stream games on your smart TV, laptop, tablet, or smartphone all at once.

To fully immerse yourself in the excitement of Canadian hockey and football, a strong, reliable internet connection is a must. Northern Lights Fiber ensures that you won’t miss a second of the action, making it the perfect complement to your sports streaming experience.

In Canada, our passion for hockey and football knows no bounds. Thanks to streaming services and reliable internet from Northern Lights Fiber, we can indulge in the thrill of the games from the comfort of our homes, cheering for our favorite teams as they chase glory on the ice and the gridiron.

Eight Real-Life Ways Fiber Internet Makes a Difference

Just about any of our customers who have already made the switch from older forms of internet (like cable) to fiber broadband will tell you that fiber’s advanced technology is vastly superior to anything else they’ve used.

From downloading files at near-lightspeed, to voluminous amounts of available bandwidth for handling multiple applications simultaneously, to more reliable material components that provide pristine streaming TV and movie experiences, fiber is simply heads-and-shoulders above cable, DSL, and satellite internet.

But those are just technical specs—and that doesn’t tell even half the story! Fiber internet, like the kind delivered by Northern Lights Fiber can genuinely enhance your quality of life in a myriad of ways, including the following eight use cases we’re proud to support.

1. Telehealth Expedites Critical Health Interventions

We begin with everyone’s top priority—keeping their family healthy. And the internet now plays a significant role in delivering healthcare to millions. Telehealth, which allows physicians and other medical professionals to provide initial consultations (and other healthcare) from a patient’s home, has expanded massively in recent years.

Telehealth helps doctors and patients assess when more urgent in-person care is needed (and when it’s not). Prescriptions can get filled faster with telehealth, and consultations over the internet can even assist in properly applying first aid to injuries.

Telehealth consultations can be performed quickly and reliably thanks to fiber’s bounty of bandwidth, which lets audio and video data transfer between doctor and patient seamlessly. Many doctors won’t make a diagnosis when a poor internet connection causes choppy video calls, but that’s not a problem when the patient has fiber!

2. Remote Work Improves Convenience and Productivity

While remote work isn’t for everyone, it can be life-changing for caregivers who need a little more flexibility. Plus, while avoiding the hassles of commutes and traffic delays, remote workers also save money on gasoline and reduce their carbon footprint.

While many workers and employers decide to go fully remote, even partial remote work flexibility can be a blessing. But it takes a particularly robust internet connection to facilitate remote work (especially video conferencing), which isn’t always supported by inferior connections like satellite.

Fiber’s symmetrical downloads and uploads let workers send and receive large files and transmit data during long meetings and conferences, making a remote staff member genuinely feel part of the team!

3. Distance Education Allows Students to Gain Skills and Get Ahead

Access to higher education is more attainable than ever, thanks to the multitude of online distance learning opportunities available through colleges and universities around the country.

From undergraduate and graduate degrees to technical certifications, the internet puts education within reach for many who thought it was impossible or beyond their means, while helping them achieve the skills necessary to meet their career goals.

Fiber internet’s enormous bandwidth facilitates reliable distance learning and even genuine classroom experiences. It allows students and professors to share large files like presentations or lectures in real-time and enables video conferencing to foster learning and growth, including one-on-one student-faculty interactions—all without sweating frequent distortions or outages that frustrate students on older internet technologies.

4. Lifelong Learning Keeps the Mind Active and Engaged

Beyond bringing official degree and certificate programs to students, fiber internet also facilitates a less formal but still highly valued form of education: lifelong learning. Lifelong learning provides opportunities for the curious to understand their world—and even the universe—well after college ends.

Several companies and major universities, such as Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses), edX, Harvard, and Yale have developed extensive online course offerings. You can find classes from prestigious professors spanning topics like ancient Greek history, Renaissance art, classical music, modern astronomy, and more.

And many courses are available free of charge! Through fiber’s near-lightspeed downloading, these courses can be streamed and enjoyed right from your home.

5. Virtual Reality Lets You Explore the World from Home

Fiber’s hefty bandwidth and vigorous download speeds also brings the wonder of Virtual Reality to your home—and with it, the travel experiences many have only dreamed about! Unlike traditional forms of entertainment, VR’s wonderous technology envelopes a user in multiple dimensions of visual and sound effects.

VR—through fiber internet—makes viewers literally feel like they’re wherever VR is showing them, whether it’s a tour of the Grand Canyon or an Amazon rainforest, an astronaut’s view from outer space, or a sonorous symphony hall.

Fiber’s speed and bandwidth combined with VR technology allows you to explore Paris’ Louvre Museum one day, and the Colosseum in Rome the next without ever leaving your living room!

6. Smart Homes Save Energy, Time, and Money

Fiber internet and its spectacular speeds and enormous bandwidth capacities make it possible to power a genuine smart home—a place brimming with tech and devices to cut energy usage and costs and make life better and more efficient.

From smart refrigerators that let you know when it’s time to get a new gallon of milk, to smart lighting that cuts off when you leave home, to smart speakers playing music (or soundscapes) throughout every room, smart home technology can turn your dwelling into the home of your dreams.

Remember that fiber can keep these devices and smart home features running smoothly, while still letting you stream TV and movies, upload videos, and enjoy everything else about your internet. Unlike other forms of internet, with fiber, you’re not forced to choose which online activity to sacrifice at any given time!

7. Smart Home Security Makes for Safer Homes and Neighborhoods

One smart home feature everyone should take advantage of is improved real-time safety and security delivered by smart lighting, smart cameras, smart doorbells and related tech. Fiber-powered devices can monitor your home for security threats at all times, whether you’re tucked in your own bed upstairs or thousands of miles away on vacation.

Additionally, outdoor smart lighting and doorbell systems help make your neighborhood safer too, deterring “porch pirates” and other crime. Fiber has the power to keep these crucial smart home safety and security systems running strong while still allowing you to stay productive and engaged in other online activities simultaneously.

8. Video Calling Keeps You Connected Face-to-Face

Lastly, fiber’s impressive speeds and incredible bandwidth make video calling crystal clear and convenient. Grandparents can easily have face-to-face conversations with their grandchildren, and both sides of the call can see faces as well as hear voices.

Video calling is simply a much more intimate way to stay in touch than by phoning or emailing. And fiber enables this improved communication without the distortions and interruptions that plague other types of internet.

The eight examples above are just a small sample of the way fiber internet’s innovative technology enhances your life. From practical matters like health, work, and security, to broadening your worldview and sharing knowledge and world cultures, fiber can improve your well-being, inspire your mind, and uplift you.

To learn additional ways that Northern Lights Fiber’s service can make a real difference in your life, follow our social pages!

Six Online Payment Options for Your Small Business

Small businesses and their leaders have way too much going on to spend time tracking down invoices or waiting for the bank to process payments. Fortunately, advanced internet-based payment systems have substantially cut down paperwork processing, as well as the time it takes to receive funds.

Below we highlight six of the best online e-commerce and in-person payment options available for small businesses today. When connected to Northern Lights Fiber’s fiber network, your small business can use the technology it needs to grow and thrive—and you can get back to doing the actual work of your business instead of worrying about receiving payment for your efforts!

1. Square

We start our list with Square, an overwhelmingly popular payment service that continues to attract new vendors and customers alike.

Square is an excellent fit for businesses that are mobile or whose clients often pay on-the-go rather than in a brick-and-mortar business establishment. At the same time, Square’s in-person point-of-sale options are still well-respected and its software and app are noted for their ease of use.

2. Stripe

Stripe is a sophisticated online payment processing app with versatile features many savvy small business owners love. Highly customizable with numerous options to aid in bookkeeping, databasing, and generating revenue reports, Stripe excels well beyond basic payment processing.

Its software fully integrates payments and invoicing as well as other essential business needs, including tracking accounts receivable and processing refunds. Given these extra features, however, there is a steeper learning curve for Stripe than with other simpler payment processing options on our list.

3. PayPal 

Perhaps the most well-known payment service on our list, PayPal has been a part of e-commerce culture since 1998 and is particularly useful for vendors that prefer sending and receiving online invoices.

Its near-universal name recognition also means customers know and trust it. However, compared to other options on our list, PayPal is relatively sparse in terms of features and versatility, and does not offer businesses as much in the way of in-person transactions as other services.

4. Shopify

Like PayPal, Shopify is another familiar name in online shopping. Shopify’s ecommerce ecosystem encompasses vendors both large and small, offering a significant advantage to many online retailers.

That advantage comes with a cost, however, as Shopify charges a monthly fee in addition to per transaction fees, which can be a drawback to many small businesses. Still, its seamless and simple interface and many features have drawn many happy small businesses to Shopify.

5. Clover

Next up is Clover, an exceptional in-person payment processing program with many online features as well. Industry experts are impressed by Clover’s vast library of fully-integrated third-party apps that do much more than just accept payments.

With Clover, small businesses can get accounting, tax, databasing, marketing, and other critical business features all in one place, making it a solid value. Clover’s pricing is notable for its flat rates, but be sure to check out the differences between plans, which can vary based on sales volume and other factors. 

6. Lightspeed

Our last recommended option is Lightspeed, one of the leading cloud-based in-person and retail-oriented point-of-sale payment services in the industry. Popular both for its simplicity and competitive pricing, it also offers a range of features from simple retail purchasing to online shopping and e-commerce.

For businesses with extensive inventory to track, Lightspeed’s acclaimed inventory management systems are a huge timesaver, even helping you reorder when stock gets low.

Fiber’s Speed and Power Lets You Process Payments and Run Your Business Simultaneously!

Now that you’ve checked out the above six payment options, small businesses should remember that to be truly productive and efficient, they also need the fastest, most reliable internet they can get. After all, the systems above, along with all their many benefits, are only as effective as the quality and speed of the internet that delivers them. And fiber internet is quite simply the best internet a small business can get today.

Contact Northern Lights Fiber today to get the speed you need to power your business. And for more helpful hints to keep your small business productive and efficient, follow our social pages!

Connecting Community Anchor Institutions: Why Local Matters

At Northern Lights Fiber, we’re proud to be known around Valley View as the best internet provider for residents and businesses. But did you know that we also support a third group with our high-speed fiber internet network? Today, we’re taking a moment to celebrate local community anchor institutions.

Read on to learn more about this important group—and how, as a local company ourselves, Northern Lights Fiber is committed to keeping them connected.

What Are Community Anchor Institutions?

Anchor institutions are mission-based, publicly-oriented organizations that provide services essential to our area’s economy, health, safety, culture, and general well-being.

Anchor institutions include hospitals and other medical facilities, emergency services like fire and police, universities and other institutions of higher education, and public services like libraries.

These institutions all play a critical role in our society, and they all depend on reliable access to the internet to function effectively in the 21st century economy.

Hospitals and Medical Clinics

Universally appreciated by everyone fortunate enough to have one close by, a hospital is an anchor institution that many of us depend on in the starkest moments of our lives. Whether they’re treating chronic illnesses or responding to life-threatening injuries, hospitals and other medical clinics provide critical services every day.

And in a true health emergency, every second counts. Rapid access to medical records, keen and swift analysis of radiological and similar medical imagery, and urgent consultations among experts—these are often matters of life and death. Thus, perhaps more than anywhere else, having internet as reliable and fast as fiber in our community hospitals and health clinics is most critical.

Beyond the immediate health needs of patients and the broader community, hospitals and medical clinics regularly communicate with both patients and other health professionals. Maintaining a solid internet connection to transmit medical files and even hold telehealth follow-up visits is crucial to the missions of hospitals and medical centers.

Fiber’s bandwidth capacity is substantially larger than other types of internet and can make indispensable communication and data transfers quick and seamless, helping health providers fulfill their calling—and keep our communities healthier and safer at the same time.

Fire, Police, and Other Emergency Services

Local first responders–the good people of our fire stations, paramedics, and police departments–are our community’s heroes, often putting their own lives at risk to help others. And they are regularly on call at every minute of every hour of the day.

Without the brave and resourceful men and women in fire, police and other emergency services, our community would be far less safe. Thus, it goes without saying that our first responders are anchor institutions in our area, and everyone is grateful for their service.

Reliable communications and connectivity is an absolute necessity for these essential services. Fiber internet keeps emergency service providers informed about hazards, real-time traffic information, hazardous weather and natural disasters, and other problems our community faces. And fiber keeps fire, police, and paramedics connected to everyone in our community–including to hospitals and emergency rooms–providing an instant connection when and where help is needed most.

Local Schools and Educational Facilities

The quintessential anchor institution in Canada is the educational facility or school. Centers of learning employ talented and skilled individuals in many fields who educate children and young adults and provide them with skills and knowledge for success.

But local schools and educational facilities do far more than just teach students. They also serve as learning, cultural, artistic, and athletic centers for our entire community, greatly enriching our lives with special events, art exhibits, dramatic performances, musical concerts, and sports.

And given the beehive of online activity generated at centers of learning, a steady and fast internet connection is a veritable requirement for 21st century education.

The broader community, which often has access to a school’s sporting events, fine arts exhibitions, and even certain library materials also benefits from fiber’s high speeds and greater bandwidth, multiplying the benefits to our region even more.

Libraries and Museums

Often overlooked, but nonetheless invaluable, public libraries and museums of all kinds provide educational, artistic, and cultural opportunities offered almost nowhere else. They bring together resourceful, knowledgeable experts and support staff that create experiences that both inform and inspire.

Groups as diverse as toddlers, school children, book clubs, tourists, and seniors are enriched by the facilities and programs libraries and museums provide. Without fiber internet, however, neither of these anchor institutions can fulfill their unique niche in our community, including facilitating beloved programs like story hour, reading clinics, film nights, visiting exhibitions, club meetings, and guest experts.

And the community can often access many of these features—including e-books and other electronic materials—from home through remote and online access. Thus, fiber keeps each of us better connected to our area’s libraries, museums, and related curated institutions and their bevy of information and collections that set them apart.

Fiber Internet Keeps Our Anchor Institutions Well-Connected to Our Community—and to You

As much as our community depends on anchor institutions to improve our daily lives and make our region a better place to live, anchor institutions in turn rely on dependable and fast internet to get their jobs done. And they also look to the local team of experts and technicians that keep Northern Lights Fiber’s fiber network running strong and efficiently—and with the local knowledge and care to respond fast and effectively to any technical issue that may arise.

Indeed, the team at Northern Lights Fiber are more than just internet service professionals. We’re also your neighbors. Like you, we live and work in our community, which means we rely on and appreciate the work of our community’s anchor institutions.

As a local company ourselves, we’re highly committed to responding swiftly to emergencies like outages, which in turn lets the good people at our local anchor institutions do their jobs serving our community and keeping it healthy as well.

When you choose Northern Lights Fiber for your residential or business internet, you support our business—enabling us to turn around and support our community. Thank you for shopping locally for your internet. We’re proud to keep Valley View connected!

Is Starlink Right for Rural Communities?

Is Starlink Right for Rural Communities?

Xpay.com, Tesla Inc., and SpaceX are just a few of Musk’s brainchildren, and the latter was founded in 2002 with the mind-boggling goal to colonize space. No matter how you may feel about him, you’ve certainly got to hand it to Musk: when it comes to ideas, the sky truly is the limit! This brings us to the matter at hand: In 2019, SpaceX announced its latest projects, one of which was Starlink. But what exactly is Starlink? And is it really everything it’s cracked up to be?

What Is Starlink?

Satellite internet technology has been around for decades. Internet connectivity is transmitted by radio waves emitted by satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the Earth’s atmosphere. Those radio waves are received by ground stations and then sent right into your home. Plenty of people already use satellites to connect their homes to the internet.

 

For example, one of the leading satellite internet providers, HughesNet, has satellites that sit 22,000 miles above the Earth. Starlink is also a satellite internet service, but the company is utilizing low-orbiting satellites that operate only 300 miles above the surface. This translates to improved internet speeds and reduced latency when compared to other satellite providers. Moreover, SpaceX plans to continue the launch of these satellites in the coming years. There will be as many as 40,000 new satellites arranged in what the corporation refers to as a ‘constellation.’

 

Satellite Internet Challenges

Getting Starlink in your home starts with a hefty investment right off the bat. The initial $760 fee gets you the satellite dish and the Wi-Fi router, and you can expect to pay $140 per month for internet services. That’ll get you 1TB of usage during the day, with overage fees of $0.32/GB (About $30 to download a newer game, or $5 to stream a movie!) Compare that to Canadian Fiber Optics $89.99 for a symmetrical 100Mbps, with unlimited usage, with options for free installation!

 

There also comes the obstacles of maintenance. We monitor our network consistently and have prepared our techs to be able to react to, and fix a large scale issue should it occur within only a few hours. If a satellite goes down leaving you in the dark with no network, it takes a little bit longer to get into orbit for repairs.

 

Choose Reliability and Scalability with Fiber

These days, reliable internet is more important than ever, especially for those living in rural areas. It helps keep us connected, employed, and entertained. Interrupted connectivity—even a short one—can make a world of difference for those who depend on it. Fiber is a buried infrastructure, meaning the weather won’t take away your reception, and it’s built to last. We’ve designed our network to work consistently, and scale with your communities’ needs. Our services currently scale to 10,000Mbps (that’s almost 1,000x faster than what many residents get today!) and is built to grow beyond that without extensive work and repairs. 

While Starlink will be a welcome option for customers who only have traditional satellite internet—or none at all—it simply can’t compare to the reliability, functionality, and future proofing of your community that a fiber network does.

For guaranteed fast, reliable, and affordable internet services, fiber from Canadian Fiber Optics and Northern Lights Fiber is the way to go.

 

Best Things to Do After Getting Fiber Internet

Best Things to Do After Getting Fiber Internet

You’ve Made the Change To Fiber Internet

So you’ve made the right choice, switched to Northern Lights Fiber’s high-speed fiber internet, and already experiencing faster downloads and improved reliability while you’re online.

You may be wondering about some of the best ways to enjoy your new fiber internet connection.

Well, there are several things you can do to make the most of Northern Lights Fiber’s fiber service and improve life in your home. Faster, more reliable internet opens doors to great entertainment, more efficiency, and even cost savings.

From getting rid of cable TV and enjoying streaming entertainment to living more efficiently through smart technology and staying better connected to loved ones, fiber internet provides a new world of convenience and amenities right in your home.

Below we discuss some ideas and suggestions to make your new fiber internet work for you!

Cancel Cable and Cut the Cord

Now that you’ve switched to fiber internet, you no longer need cable—or any additional devices, wiring, and clutter that takes up valuable space in your home. And you certainly don’t need its extra bills, either. So you can now cancel cable for good!

And we’re not just talking about canceling cable internet service, but cable television service, too. Many streaming services are available for watching your favorite shows and movies online, even live news and sports. And with fiber’s quality and dependability, you can enjoy streaming them as you did with cable TV.

Sign up for Streaming Services

Since your internet connection through fiber-optic technology is faster, more consistent, and more reliable than ever, it’s time to take advantage of streaming services and outstanding entertainment available to you.

Hulu keeps you up-to-date on your favorite shows, both current and classic, while Disney+ streams old Disney films and new entertainment hits.

You’ll be hard-pressed to exhaust the number of movies and TV shows available to stream today.         

You can select one of many live TV streaming apps available, too.

With a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, FUBU, or Sling TV, you can watch live television programs, real-time breaking news and analysis, and live sports and games.

Stream Music Anywhere in Your Home

Streaming entertainment includes more than just movies, TV shows and live sports.

 

Today’s technology lets you fill your home with music through streaming music apps such as Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music. These apps let you create playlists of all kinds. Mix your personal “greatest hits list” from a particular artist, or select a playlist from a specific music genre, whether yours is rock, classical music, country, or all of the above!

These apps can also introduce you to new artists and songs you may have never heard. They also create lists of music the app “thinks” you may enjoy based on your prior selections and preferences. And you can ask these apps to shuffle songs from your favorite bands to listen to while you multitask!

Use Smart Devices and Set up a Smart Home

You’ve made the smart choice to switch to fiber internet—so why not use more smart devices?

“Smart devices,” even inexpensive gadgets like Amazon’s Echo Dot with Alexa, can really make your home more pleasant than before. For example, when you pair your Echo Dot to your Spotify account, you can say, “Alexa, play songs from The Eagles.” Before you know it, you’ll be living it up at the Hotel California!

But don’t stop with these smart devices!

You can make your entire home a “smart home” and far more efficient. For example, smart thermometers can monitor air temperature and even humidity in different rooms in your house.

They can also adjust their temperature based on times of the day and other conditions, saving you around 30% off of your energy bills, according to the EPA!

Also, consider smart lighting devices, which do more than save you money—they can also make your home’s atmosphere more appealing.

Use Video Conferencing Apps to Talk to Friends and Family

Having a phone conversation can be rewarding, but it cannot beat the joy of seeing a loved one’s face and smile.

With faster internet through fiber technology, you can experience more than just a person’s voice through conversation. Using apps like Zoom or FaceTime can make you feel like you’re in the same room with your friends and family. You can stay in touch and remain better connected no matter how far apart you may be.

The above suggestions and recommendations are just some of the many ways fiber internet makes life more convenient and fun. So try them out and keep exploring!

And for more helpful tips about how Northern Lights Fiber’s high-speed fiber internet can make your home more livable, follow our social pages or visit our website HERE!

Fiber Increases Valleyview Homes’ Value

Fiber Increases Valleyview Homes’ Value

Post Covid Landscape

In the wake of COVID-19, more people than ever before want to work, learn, and access telehealth applications from home. Modern rural lifestyles require modern internet powered by a fiber network—and homebuyers know it. In fact, a 2015 study showed that fiber-delivered internet access could increase a home’s value by up to 3.1%. And that was before a pandemic increased the demand for fast, reliable home internet.

What’s the Data Saying?

A 2015 study, conducted by our neighbors to the south, experts from the University of Colorado and Carnegie Mellon University, was based on national real estate market data collected between 2011 and 2013. It found that fiber internet could boost the value of the average American home by as much as $5,500—a payout on par with adding a brand-new fireplace.

Beyond that, there is an ever-growing body of research linking the investment in broadband networks with accelerated economic performance. Communities with fast and reliable fiber networks often exhibit higher rates of per capita GDP. This is because they can grow, adapt, innovate and support higher flexibility in careers that require critical functions such as remote work. These aspects are invaluable when creating a workable, adaptable town wherein community members have the opportunity to thrive.

The Online Superhighway

Because cable internet and wireless technology is significantly slower and far less reliable than fiber, remote workers who depend on a fast, reliable connection are looking for fiber internet.

Cable internet speeds typically range from 10-250 Mbps for downloads and 5-50 Mbps for uploads. Fiber internet, however, can provide 250-1,000 Mbps each for download and upload—a critical benefit for those looking to use video conferencing tools at home.

The 2015 study found that in homes where 1,000 Mbps (equivalent to 1 Gbps) broadband was available, real estate sale prices were over 7% higher than homes with available speeds of 25 Mbps or less! The need for broadband services in rural communities is even greater than in that of cities and developed metropolitan areas. This means that your properties value is even more likely to benefit from that of fiber infrastructure!

The Future of Fiber

Agn, it’s worth noting the time frame of this study, which was conducted almost ten years ago now. Over the past decade, residential internet access has only become more critical and considerably more valuable.

With over 30% of Canadians working from home as of January 2021, fast, secure, and reliable internet has become an invaluable asset. Not only is the internet a prime source of communication and entertainment, but it’s also essential for the Canadian white-collar workforce.

Even those who don’t work from home are more likely to want high-speed internet for telehealth applications than they were ten years ago. Data show that utilization of online medical services is now a staggering 38 times higher than it was at the beginning of the pandemic.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, better broadband equals more opportunities for remote work and the delivery of digital services. And, of course, better opportunities yield subsequent innovation, including job creation, upward mobility, entrepreneurship, expanding local businesses, and attracting new ones.

Fiber brings massive benefits to communities, so it’s no wonder fiber increases individual home values, too! Sign up HERE to get your home connected to fiber infrastructure so you can work and play faster, easier and better.

Four Websites Every Work-From-Home Employee Should Check Out

Four Websites Every Work-From-Home Employee Should Check Out

Over the past several years, the remote working and work-from-home movement has boomed. Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic forced millions to work out of their homes, more and more employees were making the switch from the commute-and-office lifestyle to the improved flexibility of remote work. It is estimated that 25% of all professional jobs could be remote by the end of 2022, with the numbers only building upward from there.

As the work-from-home trend gathers steam and more people enjoy the conveniences of remote working, innovative ways to increase productivity and improve staff connectivity and team-building are growing, too.

And with the reliable high-speed fiber internet delivered by Northern Lights Fiber and Canadian Fiber Optics, work-from-home employees can be confident that their internet will support their careers just as well as if they were in an office complex.

So how can you maximize your work-from-home efficiency? And what online tools and applications are available to improve your remote work experience?

Below we present several websites and applications that may help any remote work employee make the most of their at-home workspace and environment.

Brain.fm

To help fill up the silence that can build up over the course of a work-from-home day, Brain.fm provides unique music and soundscapes to play in the background as you work away. But Brain.fm is more than just a streaming radio station or playlist. It utilizes neuroscience for its offerings to facilitate more concentration, focus, and even stimulation, so you can keep working productively while you’re on your own.

Evernote

Evernote takes the seemingly mundane tasks of note-taking and scheduling to savvy new heights. Its innovative document search and organization features greatly improve efficiency and the quality of your drafting. More than just a productivity or project management app, Evernote is loaded with features that connect you to fellow app-users and facilitate and maintain teams to help keep everyone on task and on time!

OmniFocus

With its sleek interface and powerful features, OmniFocus breaks new ground in task management and team organization software. We’re most impressed with OmniFocus’s cool to-do list, which helps keep you focused on your progress (and detects delays) for your most time-sensitive tasks at hand. OmniFocus also keeps you connected across all of your devices (both Windows and Apple products), as well as to your fellow team members from wherever they happen to be working.

We Work Remotely

There are numerous websites that help remote workers find jobs, and you can and should search through many of them for your next gig or career move. But we believe We Work Remotely (WWR) stands out for its enormous jobs posting board (around 25,000 all-remote job listings!) and its connections to some of the pioneers of the work-from-home movement. Job seekers can create a free account to access all of WWR’s listings, which are conveniently broken down into many categories of remote work—a feature that makes searching for new jobs much easier.

One thing we know for certain: the work-from-home trend is here to stay. So be sure to check out the above apps, programs, and websites to see how you can make your remote working experience even better.

And for additional tips on being more productive while working remotely, follow Canadian Fiber Optics and Northern Lights Fiber on our social pages!

Better Connected: A 2021 Year-End Review

Better Connected: A 2021 Year-End Review

How The Year Began

Beginning our design and planning phase for building fiber infrastructure in Grande Cache represented a huge milestone for our business and a turning point in Grande Cache’s efforts to find better connection, both in business and in every day life. Although our industry told us that the project was not possible we were determined to find success where others could not. We began construction on our first official large scale project to completely connect a community to fiber. we began by connecting with community members, working with businesses and government to find solutions and the best paths forward. The excitement took off after finding a deep connection to the community spirit through our amazing Community Ambassador, Danielle. Throughout the project we discovered so much more about what makes this mission so valuable to us and those we’re serving. However, Grande Cache was just the beginning of our push to make 2021 the biggest year ever.

The Summer Rush

While construction raged on in Grande Cache we found real traction in other projects, specifically Wembley and Valleyview. These projects came about in rapid fashion, with intense efforts to put fiber in the ground as soon as we could – hopefully before the frost of winter. The summertime was an incredible season of momentum, building and connecting communities – with our new projects breaking ground in record time we saw both Wembley and Valleyview have their first official connections up and running well before fall came about. One of the chief successes we saw, was officially launching Valleyview as Canadas first 10G community with Canadas fastest residential internet! The summer was full of these rich experiences and so many lively events in each of our communities. From ice-cream tents, pancake breakfasts, and rodeos, to parades, clay shoots and coffee shop hangouts, we truly got to see some of the best that each of our communities has to offer.

Embracing Colder Seasons

As winter loomed over Alberta, we looked further into our plans for connecting our communities in the fastest possible timeline. We continued to host events, receiving more customer questions and their hopes of a connection early in the new year – a solution became clear. We committed to build throughout the winter, in the cold and snow. Winter construction will be key to our progress – we’ve already built the most rural residential fiber of any company this year, but our goals require us to build even more and even faster to meet the needs of our communities! We are building Canada’s fastest network the only way you can, with the hard work and determination of an incredible construction team, paired with the passion of our communities to see these projects completed.

Looking On To 2022

Work in 2021 may have come to an end, but 2022 holds so many new and exciting opportunities, with plenty more work to be done to connect our current communities to world-class, absolutely essential, fiber infrastructure. New and exciting projects have come to fruition, with Sturgeon County becoming our newest and most recently announced endeavor. This project will fulfils our mission of not only connecting rural communities, but also connecting farms to world-class fiber infrastructure. There is so much to look forward to in 2022. To celebrate where we’ve been and how far our communities and their vital projects have come, we have created a brand new page, highlighting some of our favorite moments of the last year. We made sure to include a few details of these new projects coming in 2022 and we’re sure it will be very exciting news to many. We cannot wait to bring these new communities onto the right side of this new digital landscape we enjoy in Canada. If we have not built in your community, you can let us know by filling out the invite us form – we’re always looking for new communities to connect! We believe every community, big and small, deserves digital equality and the freedom to access the world around them without hinderance. 2022 will be a year of new connections, rural development and growth in rural communities that Canada needs. Visit the new “Our Communities” page and invite us to our community if you have not already!

What is ProtectIQ?

What is ProtectIQ?

What exactly is it?

Northern Lights Fiber is committed to providing the safest browsing and connectivity possible. We achieve this through our ProtectIQ software in the Northern Wifi App. ProtectIQ is a network-level security service which protects ALL devices connected to your Wi-Fi. If it’s connected, it’s protected!

What does ProtectIQ do to keep my home network safe?

  • Proactively monitors your home’s incoming traffic and automatically blocks anything suspicious.
  • Blocks attempted visits to known harmful websites, presenting users with a browser message indicating that the website is not available.
  • Provide an active security monitoring service that uses a large and constantly growing database of threats (database is updated weekly).
  • Uses IPS to monitor, notify, and prevent activity like hacking. It will stop a device from trying to gain access to technology like Wi-Fi connected doorbells or baby monitors, virtual meetings, and streams.
  • Actively terminates data transfers before a malicious payload is delivered to any network device.
  • Notifies users whenever security is triggered, with details about the device that was attacked, where the attack came from, and when the attack occurred.

Northern Lights Fiber is commited to providing its customers with the safest, fastest and most reliable connections possible. ProtectIQ is just one more way that we strive to provide a world class experience to our customers. By providing ProtectIQ as a service we ensure safety and security for everyone using their in-home network. Sign up with Northern lights Fiber now and download the Northern WiFi App so you can enjoy premium, managed WiFi today!

 

What is ExperienceIQ?

What is ExperienceIQ?

What exactly is it?

ExperienceIQ is a service that protects children or grandchildren from harmful or inappropriate content, limits screen time on devices or applications, and displays online usage through our enhanced parental control app.

How is this going to benefit my family?

  • Block inappropriate categories like pornography or violence
  • Block applications that you deem inappropriate (e.g. gaming applications like Call of Duty, or social applications like Snapchat
  • Set time limits for specific applications, like TikTok to cap screen time
  • Set Safe Search and YouTube Restriction to block harmful or inappropriate content with searching on Google, Bind or YouTube. YouTube restrictions also
    blocks all comments on videos which often include inappropriate language.
  • View usage for all devices to better understand HOW the internet is being used in your home.
  • Prioritize application groups or specific devices to ensure the best possible experiences for your most important needs.
  • Set schedules so that work applications get priority during the day, and streaming applications get priority in the evening.
What is Northern WiFi?

What is Northern WiFi?

Northern WiFi is an app that allows you to have absolute control over your homes network, commonly referred to as managed WiFi. With the Northern WiFi app you have a vast array of controls, personalizations and safety measures to customize your network to work best for how you like to connect.

Core Functions

  • Change or reset your Wi-Fi network name or password directly from the app
  • See the devices currently using your Wi-Fi
  • Categorize your devices (e.g. personal devices, work devices, mobile devices, gaming devices.)
  • Pause the internet for any device, at any time.
  • Run a speed test (GigaSpire only) to verify the speed you are getting is the speed you are paying for.
  • Receive updates about any planned network maintenance, or upcoming community events

Advanced features

  • Create routines for scheduled downtime (i.e. bedtime or limited access to gaming devices during school time).
  • Create a temporary or shareable guest network without sharing your main network name and
    password. Great for house guests, visitors, babysitters, house sitters, or pet sitters.
  • Text the guest network login information directly from the app.

To download the Northern WiFi app head to the App store or the Playstore on your mobile device. Simply download the free app and scan the QR code on the back of your Gigaspire Modem to connect your services and begin enjoying premium managed WiFi!

Construction! What to expect with our investment?

Construction! What to expect with our investment?

(And r!hat To Expect

Northern Lights Fiber is excited to bring you fiber optic internet, with speeds up to 10,000 Mbps (10 Gigabit symmetrical service!). To future proof your community, these types of speeds and reliability is an absolutely necessity. But it would not be possible with the infrastructure that exists today.

To prepare your community for the future, new fiber-optic infrastructure will be required and we will burry this infrastructure.

If you want to register for service now, check out our world-class products and services HERE! (And remember, you are NOT charged anything until the service begins). 

Click HERE for reasons it’s important to sign up NOW. 

Main-Line

The first part of our construction is called “middle-mile” or “main-line” construction. You will see large equipment of ours, including “hydrovacs”, directional drills, dump trucks, front end loaders, skid steers, and even vibratory plows. Our design in Valleyview dictates that we will be digging in public easement, and most of our design, in the area, will be in back lanes.

There are some places that this is not possible. There may be a few places where our design determines that we will use front lot easement. This means we will have to dig along the curb of your front yard.

The Drop

Having fiber infrastructure will future proof your home for generations to come. And while cities already have this infrastructure, it is very rare for rural communities in Canada.

If you sign up for services during this process, we will also need to burry new infrastructure to your house. We call this “the drop.” We will also install a small box on the side of your house. 

Can I get fiber to my house, even if I don’t want internet?

Yes! We want to future proof your community, and that includes building to as many houses as possible. You can sign an access agreement HERE, and pay a small fee to future proof your house (and very likely increase the property value)!

This will not only be good for your household and local businesses in Valletyview, but real estate studies strongly suggest the increase of property value when having this infrastructure to your rural home. In other words, many people now want to move to a quieter community but cannot sacrifice internet speed to do so. Now, Valleyview will be able to attract them!

If you have any questions, contact us at info@canadianfiberoptics.ca and we can walk you through the process! 

What About My Property?

This is a big private investment to futureproof the Town of Valleyview, and it requires heavy duty construction. We will try to be as respectful as possible to everyone’s property and we will restore all landscaping to the best of our ability, properly backfilling, and replanting grass.

We have invested in specialized machinery to get this job done fast and as discreet as possible, especially when we leave public easement to get to your house. If you have any questions about our proposed route, please call us at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 1) or email at info@CanadianFiberOptics.ca

All services such as electric, water, and other utilities are professionally located to prevent damage. If you are aware of any private underground utilities (like underground sprinklers), please let us know at onecall@CanadianFiberOptics.ca

How Long Will it Take?

Our main-line construction in Valleyview will carry on through the spring (and maybe summer) of 2022. And like many big infrastructure projects, the project timelines will largely depend on weather conditions. That said, we should only be on each street for about a week at a time!

Burying the drop to each house will only take about half a day.

What if I Have Questions?

Please call us at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 1) or email us at info@CanadianFiberOptics.ca.

How do I future proof my house and get internet that is 100% fiber?

Visit our Products and Pricing page or Sign-Up page! Or give us a call at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 2 , for Sales)