How will this affect me?
No one currently with a 918 Area Code will need to change their existing phone number when the 539 Area Code numbers are introduced.  All customers within the 918/539 geography, which generally covers the eastern portions of Oklahoma  and serves communities such as Bartlesville, Clayton, Cushing, Fairfax, McAlester, Miami, Muskogee, Okemah, Poteau, Sallisaw, Tahlequah, and Tulsa, will need to dial the appropriate Area Code followed by the 7-digit telephone number when dialing a 918 or a 539 number.  Please see the map below for an outline of the 918/539 Area Code region.

When will the 539 Area Code be Assigned?
Customers seeking new telephone numbers in the affected region may be assigned a new telephone number with the new 539 Area Code as early as April 1, 2011.

What is the Dialing Change?
Because of the addition of the 539 area code, you will be required to dial 10-digits (Area Code+ 7-digit phone number) when making local calls.  Long-distance calls will require 1+10-digit dialing. Operator assisted calls will require 0+10-digit dialing. Remember to use the new 539 Area Code as needed.

When will the changes go Into Effect?

• Beginning August 7, 2010, you should dial a local 918 number with 10-digits (Area Code+ 7-digits).
• As of March 5, 2011, you must dial 10-digits to complete all local calls.  If you don’t dial all 10-digits, your call will not complete.

What needs to Change?

• You will need to dial 10-digits (Area Code+ 7-digit phone number) for every local call.
• You may need to reprogram or upgrade your equipment if you use specialized communications equipment like a PBX, electronic telephone sets, auto-dial systems or multi-line key systems.
• Some automatically dialed calls may require reprogramming to 10-digits. These calls may include: life safety systems, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, speed dialers, call forwarding settings, voice mail services, and similar functions.  Remember that you need to dial a “1” if these numbers are long distance.
• Check your business stationery or any other advertising materials or logos to be sure they include the area code.

What will Remain the Same?

• Your telephone number, which includes your area code, will remain the same.
• The price of a call, local and long-distance calling areas, and other rates and services will not change. What is currently a local call will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed.
• You should still dial just three digits to reach 911 and 411.
• If 211, 311, 511, 611, 711 and 811 are currently available in your community you will still dial them with just three digits.

Questions?
If you have any questions regarding information provided in this notice, please call 918-366-8000 or contact the following websites for more information: www.btcbroadband.com or the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) website at www.occ.state.ok.us

Blake Spring is a 2010 graduate of Liberty Mounds High School and is on both the Oklahoma and Principal Honor Rolls. Blake has participated in FCA, football, baseball, and basketball. Blake plans on attending East Central University to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. BTC Broadband has provided $1,500 to further his education.

Contact:
Kelly Wilkerson
Marketing Manager
BTC Broadband
918.366.0266
kwilkerson@olp.net

BTC Broadband President and CEO to Retire

Bixby, OK – BTC Broadband announced today that Lynn Pike, current President and CEO, has announced plans to retire by the end of 2011. Effective June 1, 2010, Pike will assume the position of COO at BTC.

The BTC board has chosen Robert Rozell, currently CFO/COO, as its new President and CEO. Rozell has been with BTC Broadband for six years in his present position, and has more than 26 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Rozell is a member of the Oklahoma Telephone Association Hall of Fame and the Bixby Chamber of Commerce.

Rozell will assume overall responsibility for BTC Broadband. As COO, Pike will be in charge of Special Projects, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing.

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About the Company

BTC Broadband is a cutting edge, broadband communications company offering intelligent communication and entertainment products in Oklahoma. The company provides a variety of services to both residential and business customers, including local telephone and long distance service, telephone equipment and services, High Speed Internet, networking, Digital Television (BTC TV), wireless service (BTC Mobile), computer repair (TechXPerts), WiFi, voicemail, message management systems and more.

Since 1914, the company has provided local telephone and various telecommunications services to both residential and business customers in Bixby, Tulsa and surrounding areas. Today BTC has more than 10,000 customers and is privately held and family owned.

In continuing commitment to providing its customers with growing technology needs, BTC Broadband continues to deploy Fiber-To-The-Home (or Business) in order to provide High Speed two-way video, voice, and data services. Visit www.btcbroadband.com for more information.

The Festival is held in downtown Bixby, south and east of 151st and Memorial. Charley Young Park is the site of the Gazebo stage, and games, surrounded by food and crafts booths. Just a hop and skip over is the Youth Stage and Carnival. Cool off during the heat of the day by joining in a few rounds of bingo in the building at the corner of Charley Young Park.

What could be more traditional than an afternoon or evening in the bright summer sun, with lemonade to sip, an array of crafts and gifts to purchase, music to enjoy listening to, with your friends all around? Only a ride on the ferris wheel as the sun sets and the sounds of carnival music drift up in the evening air…

The Festival is held in downtown Bixby, south and east of 151st and Memorial. Charley Young Park is the site of the Gazebo stage, and games, surrounded by food and crafts booths. Just a hop and skip over is the Youth Stage and Carnival. Cool off during the heat of the day by joining in a few rounds of bingo in the building at the corner of Charley Young Park.

What could be more traditional than an afternoon or evening in the bright summer sun, with lemonade to sip, an array of crafts and gifts to purchase, music to enjoy listening to, with your friends all around? Only a ride on the ferris wheel as the sun sets and the sounds of carnival music drift up in the evening air…

For more information, email or contact the following:

Vendor, Booth, or Food Services

Jacquie Young

366-6305

or

Music, Talent Show, Entertainment

Don Crall

906-9540

The BTC Broadband Chili Cook-off takes place annually at the BTC Broadband’s downtown Breckenridge office where BTC Broadband employees submit their best chili and/or dessert creations which are judged on smell, color, consistency, taste and aftertaste.  BTC Broadband started the Annual Chili Cook-off in 2000 and since its beginning it has raised over $68,000 for Bixby charities and organizations.

This year’s entries did not disappoint with more than 20 contenders vying to be this year’s chili and dessert champions.  Helping with the event were Lisa Remy of the Remy Company, Kelley Maricle of the BCOC, Debbie Wolfard of Grand Bank and Jessica Pittman of the Bixby Chamber of Commerce, who acted as chili and dessert judges and needed no persuasion to assist in tasting this year’s entries.  In addition to the chili and dessert competition, drawings were held for various prizes with ticket sale proceeds also contributing to the above organizations. 

In regard to the overall success of the fundraiser, BTC Broadband President and CEO Lynn Pike said “As in years past, the BTC Broadband employees and the owners, the Daily family, have stepped up and given generously to our local charities. The Daily family have a tradition of matching the annual employee donations. I am proud to be associated with such a selfless group of owners and coworkers.”

Once the chili settles, winners for the chili and dessert portions of the cook-off will be announced at the BTC Broadband employee meeting on November 7th.

Sponsored by the OPASTCO Roundtable magazine, the Indy Awards honor communications excellence in independent telecommunications companies. Entries for the 2008 contest were accepted from independent telephone companies throughout the United States and Canada.

The Indy Awards were presented on July 15 at a ceremony during the 45th Annual Summer Convention of the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO)in Quebec City, Canada.

OPASTCO is a Washington, D.C. – based trade association that represents nearly 600 small, independently owned, local telecommunications companies, serving primarily rural areas of the United States and Canada. OPASTCO membership includes both commercial companies and cooperatives, which range in size from fewer that 100 to 100,000 access lines and collectively serve more than 5.5 million customers. OPASTCO represents rural telecommunications interests before federal regulatory and legislative bodies and provides educational programs and publications. The association also has an affiliate nonprofit organization, the Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED).

The Preventative Maintenance plan includes hardware maintenance, disk cleanup, anti-virus updates and more. Our technical experts will take an intricate look at business networks for possible issues and suggest alternatives that will help safeguard the network.

The service will be of tremendous value to small business owners, who have no time to learn how to deploy and/or maintain an extensive computer network, and lack an internal information technology (IT) department. Lynn Pike, President/CEO of BTC Broadband remarked “Our new preventative maintenance plan will allow even the smallest business to have access to a highly trained IT staff at a fraction of the cost of having them on the payroll. Let our TechXperts take care of your network so you can take care of business.”

As a high-tech, telecommunications company, BTC Broadband continues with their ongoing commitment to provide the most innovative technology and services to Bixby and surrounding areas. BTC Broadband listens to the needs of the business customer: fast, reliable and customized communications services at an affordable cost.

The Preventative Maintenance plan is now available for new or existing business customers. Customers can call the TechXPerts at 366-4040 for more information on their services (including residential pricing), or visit http://www.btcbroadband.com/business/techxperts.

BTC Broadband will supply fiber optic connectivity to the premises. Products offered will include: telephone systems, local and long distance telephone services, broadband High Speed Internet via fiber optic cable to the premises, wireless connectivity and wireless hot spots throughout the entire complex, BTC TV, and TechXPerts services (telecommunication and Information Technology support services) for all attendees of events and conventions.

As stated by The Remy Companies, the Regal Plaza Shopping Experience will be “The Premier Place to Be” by 2008 and all signs indicate they are going to deliver on that promise. (from http://theremycompanies.com/)

With construction in progress, The Regal Plaza will be ready for your “Regal Experience” by Fall of 2008.