Meet NTI's Owners & Staff: Open House Welcomes the Public June 12th

The new owners of the Nehalem Telecommunications, the Martell family of Rural Telephone Co. in Glenns Ferry, Idaho, will be here in Nehalem on Saturday, June 12th to introduce themselves to the community. “We are looking forward to meeting our Nehalem customers,” says Mark Martell. All NTI customers are invited to visit from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More than just a “meet and greet”, the NTI Open House event will include giveaways, gifts, special service deals, prize drawings for a DVD player and much more! There will be balloons for the kids, cake and cookies for everyone, too. Customers will have an opportunity to tour the NTI offices and switch rooms, and view demonstrations of DSL Internet service.368-4500

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You’ll get prizes and surprises at NTI’s June 12th Open House, and a good deal on new services. Sign-up for a service that’s new to you, such as voice mail, caller ID, simultaneous ring, or other custom calling features, and we’ll give you ONE MONTH of a new service FREE.

NTI’s high quality and variety of services help make your life easier by making your telecommunications services do more for you.

Sign-up for new services at the NTI Open House, or by June 30th to get one month FREE.

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Nehalem Telecommunications Receives Customer Satisfaction Award, Recognition of Company's Commitment to Customer Service

Thank you for responding to our survey about Nehalem Long Distance service offering “Blocks of Minutes”. The lucky winner of the drawing was Edward Morse of Nehalem. We are reviewing the survey information and will introduce any long distance program changes soon.

We value customer input and appreciate any comments, requests for services or questions. NTI is committed to customer satisfaction and providing the best service. For more information about NTI Long Distance, Internet or other custom calling features, call our office at 368-5116 or go to www.nehalemtel.net.368-7993

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As part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress directed telecommunications companies to allow customers to keep their telephone number when switching local or wireless carriers. Local number portability (LNP) means two different things:

1. A customer can switch from one wireless carrier to another wireless carrier and keep the same telephone number.

2. A customer can switch carriers, from “landline” to “wireless” and keep the same telephone number they had with their landline carrier.

However, a customer cannot switch from wireless to landline and keep the wireless telephone number. If you are moving from one geographic area to another, you may not be able to port the number.

If a customer wants to “port” a NTI number to their wireless carrier, it may not be available. LNP or “porting” will only be available to the wireless carriers who have requested such a service with Nehalem Telecommunications. A wireless carrier must make a “Bona Fide Request” or BFR. There will be an additional line charge on the monthly bill to help reimburse the costs for implementation of LNP. The rate is yet to be determined.

Since larger areas began "porting" there have been many snags and delays since the federal rules went into effect. Many wireless/mobile phone customers decided to change providers, but wanted to keep their existing cell phone numbers, and have found that the process that’s supposed to take just a few hours has been taking several days to more than a week.368-7808

If you have any questions about Local Number Portability, please call our office at 368-5116 or go to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website, www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/wirelessportability.html for more information.

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Webmistress Keeps Local Business Connected

Webmistress is a small company offering original web site design, custom graphics, digital photography, e-commerce solutions, database and internet applications (shopping carts, reservation systems, mortgage calculators, etc.) We provide two local destination nets – www.neahkahnie.net and www.tillamookbay.net to help small, local businesses achieve an affordable internet presence.

When asked about Nehalem Telecommunications services, Webmistress owner Ari Yoder says, “As a web designer, my livelihood literally depends on being and staying connected to the internet at a high speed. Moving from the city, I was concerned about the quality of access in a remote area. I have had excellent service from NTI since the day I came. They offered DSL before many areas of Portland and Seattle had it (many still don’t), and at a higher speed, too. Service (which is rarely needed) is immediate, and I always feel like they are truly concerned about getting the internet and my business back up and running as soon as possible.”

Ari Yoder has been in the Nehalem area for 6 1/2 years. Her main business, Webmistress, Inc., is 8 1/2 years old, and Neahkahnie Net, just celebrated its 5th year anniversary in February of 2004. She is a retired psychologist, county director of mental health and she was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1992. Ari has four grown sons and six grandchildren.368-5462

Located in downtown Manzanita, local companies can contact Webmistress at 368-4900 for more information about web sites and the many services Webmistress and neahkahnie.net can provide.

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