The history of the Times News Inc. dates back more than 120 years to a newspaper called the Mauch Chunk Daily Times, established in 1883. Over the years, this newspaper evolved and merged with other local papers to eventually form the Times News Record and Courier. In 1971, the name of the paper was changed to the Times News-the name it is known by today.

What some may not know is that Times News Inc. is not only a series of eight weeklies and one daily newspaper published under the Times News header, but it is a printing company as well. The printing side of the company is appropriately named TN Printing and is the focus of this feature.

TN Printing is capable of printing everything from wedding invitations to pamphlets and even multi-lingual newspapers. At the main Times News office in Mahoning Valley, they have a printing press that is three stories tall and can print over 50,000 newspapers in one hour.

TN Printing chose PenTeleData for its entire network, data and Internet service needs for many reasons, the most important of which is the availability of reasonably-priced, high-speed data and Internet services to connect its five offices to each other. More specifically, they needed remote access to each office to provide software support as well as electronic file transfer from office to office so that tighter deadlines could be met.

With more than 2,000 printing customers with time-sensitive newspapers, documents, and other printing-related jobs, TN Printing requires the most reliable network possible. Interoffice communications are crucial for TN printing to complete jobs in a timely, efficient manner-and to the satisfaction of its customers.

What types of service does TN Printing receive from PenTeleData?

EtherPoint is Times News Inc.'s primary data and Internet service, which allows them to connect all five offices to each other without the extra costs associated with T1-type connections. EtherPoint gives TN Printing all the bandwidth they will ever need with EtherPoint speeds now available up to 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) in many areas.

TN Printing has approximately 125 employees, all making use of the technology services provided by PenTeleData. Primary uses for these services include "Remote access to our other offices, Virtual Private Network (VPN) access from home, file transfer via FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and web access," explains Robert Miller, Director of Pre-Press Operations at Times News Inc.

TN Printing also uses the technology to hold WebEx seminars-web-based meetings that can allow for online, interactive multimedia presentations and conferences-all through a web browser.

PenTeleData's services allow TN Printing to provide fast, reliable software support to all employees in every office. "PenTeleData's network, combined with remote software, allows our IT department to control and troubleshoot computers and install software without leaving the main office!" says Scott Masenheimer, General Manager of Times News Inc.

Network reliability is the most crucial element for the Times News. It depends heavily upon being able to electronically transfer large graphics files between offices and also its need to receive large graphics files from customers. An extended network outage or downtime would be disastrous to their time-sensitive business, so they rely on PenTeleData's stable, redundant network to keep them up and running smoothly.

Data transfer speeds and bandwidth are another major concern for TN Printing-which typically works with large files and graphics on a constant basis. EtherPoint service gives them access to speeds up to 1 Gbps - the actual bandwidth received is fixed according to the needs of the customer, but is easily scalable at any time and almost never requires an equipment change.

With speeds from 2 Mbps to 1 Gbps, EtherPoint allows TN Printing to easily work with, transfer, and receive large files and graphics within or outside of their private network. "The printing and newspaper business depends on graphics and large files-our network enables us to work on large files," explains Scott Masenheimer.

With EtherPoint service from PenTeleData, TN Printing is able to rely on PenTeleData's network-monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by PenTeleData's staff of trained professionals. PenTeleData takes care of the network so TN Printing can take care of their business.

Dear valued customers,

We hope you had a safe and happy holiday season-and now that the new year is officially here, we at PenTeleData have some exciting news to talk about! So, kick off those boots, put down your snow shovel, and take a few minutes to look over the latest edition of the PTD Chat.

Our feature this quarter is TN Printing-the printing side of Times News Inc. (a local newspaper located in Carbon County). Read on to find out how they have put the latest technology to work for them!

PenTeleData and our partners have been working hard over the years to bring broadband Internet service to everyone within our footprint. Today, we are very close to reaching that goal of making broadband available to all. Check out Building Broadband to learn more about our amazing partners and how they're bringing broadband to your neighborhood!

Even though we're just getting into the thick of the winter season, why not take a moment and warm up with Think Spring, and find out how PenTeleData already has it's mind on spring with outdoor wireless hotspots.

And finally, to wrap up this quarter's newsletter on an exciting note, we bring you more PenTeleData in the News. Find out how our first large outdoor hotspot in Kutztown is helping the college and high school students, and learn how PenTeleData was able to provide wireless Internet access for President Bush at the Tobyhanna Army Depot on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2005!

We hope you enjoy the newsletter, and please, stay warm and be safe this winter-we'll chat again in the spring!

Sincerely,
John H. Williams
PenTeleData - General Manager

PenTeleData is giving one lucky winner a Family 4-Pack of ski lift tickets to CamelBack ski Area in Tannersville, PA. The tickets are free passes that are valid throughout the 2005-2006 operating season.

Rules of the Game:

- Give the correct answer to all three questions listed to the right.

- Then figure out the theme (what they all have in common).

To enter you must answer all three questions to the right and what the theme is between them. Send an e-mail to chat@corp.ptd.net with the following information: your name, address, daytime phone number (where we can contact you), three answers to the questions and the theme. All entries must be received by 1/31/06.

Questions:

1) What is the longest-running animated television series in American TV history?

2) What animated series was an adaptation of the comic book series featuring a bat like, DC Comics superhero?

3) What Warner Brothers cartoon featured characters such as Tasmanian Devil, Hippety Hopper, and Foghorn Leghorn?

Good Luck! PenTeleData

It's cold and snowy outside and spring is still several months away, but over here at PenTeleData, we're thinking about those warmer days already as we continue to plan outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots. Yes, that's right - wireless Internet access isn't just an indoor service anymore!

Since last year we have been developing, planning, and rolling out new outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots to add to our ProLog Unleashed hotspot service. Some already completed outdoor locations include: the Palmerton, Pa. Borough Park (near PenTeleData's offices), the train station in Jim Thorpe, Pa., Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre, and an entire downtown stretch in Kutztown!

Even more outdoor hotspots are in the works to bring you the reliable high-speed Internet access you've come to trust from PenTeleData. One municipality that will likely be included by spring is the city of Wilkes-Barre encompassing a several block radius on each end of town that will provide the residents a nice complement to the existing fiber optic infrastructure that our partner Service Electric Company has in place throughout 100% of the city. This project is in addition to the current outdoor capabilities PenTeleData has already built into the city with Kirby Park and the Downtown Square among those outdoor Wi-Fi locations on our map. And like the other ProLog Unleashed hotspots, these will be FREE for ProLog Express Broadband Internet service customers.

Just imagine being able to sit down and surf the Internet outside while enjoying a beautiful spring or summer day. You'll no longer have to spend your entire day indoors tethered to your Internet connection. Just grab your laptop, PDA, Wi-Fi phone, or handheld device and head out to one of PenTeleData's new outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots.

These hotspots have equipment specially designed by PenTeleData's engineers for the sole purpose of providing wireless Internet access to large outdoor areas. Our engineers were able to design these outdoor Wi-Fi units that house all the components necessary, and keep those components protected from all types of weather.

If you think the outdoor Wi-Fi is great, you'll probably love what else we've been up to with ProLog Unleashed. We're not only working outdoors - we're also working on areas like the malls throughout our service footprint.

As of this writing, PenTeleData has added the Columbia Mall in Bloomsburg, PA, and we're working harder than ever to give our valued ProLog Express Broadband customers even greater mobility. Your Internet connection isn't just at home anymore-you'll soon be able to take it with you, even to the mall!

Imagine you're waiting for an important e-mail, but you have to get out to run some errands at the mall. You'll soon be able to take any Wi-Fi Internet capable device with you, and you can check your e-mail from a ProLog Unleashed mall hotspot.

ProLog Unleashed Wi-Fi hotspot Internet access from PenTeleData continues to grow - we've been adding new hotspots at an ever-increasing rate. Be sure to check the www.prologunleashed.com website for the latest list of hotspots and information!