February 2024

		As a local Vermont, family owned business, we understand how important your communications services are to you and your family. We continue to invest in our network to maximize the number of customers we convert to fiber-optics. If you are included in one of our 2024 fiber projects, we will be reaching out to let you know that fiber is coming to your location as our builds progress. Building a fiber-to-the-home network in rural areas is extremely expensive, and takes time to engineer, construct and build. While we can't get to everyone overnight, we are making progress each and every day converting more customers to fiber. We are by no means complete and there is a lot of work left to be done. We are also working with several of Vermont's Communications Union Districts (CUD's) to help bring fiber to more of Vermont's unserved and underserved communities. Our employees and contractors have been doing an amazing job engineering, constructing, and converting customers on a daily basis. Thank you for your continued support and patience as we continue to evolve our network. All of us at Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom are committed to providing exceptional service and the latest technology to our customers. Thank you for being a customer of Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom. Sincerely, Eric Haskin President and CEO Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom Reminder - Take Our Annual Survey and Be Entered for a Chance to Win a $500 Visa Gift Card If you haven't already done so, please take a few minutes and complete our annual online customer satisfaction survey. We really appreciate your feedback and we are constantly making improvements to our services based on the feedback we receive from our customers. Just for filling out the survey, you will be entered for a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card. The drawing will be held on February 9th, so be sure to complete the survey and get your name entered. Thank you! Complete Survey Contest rules Win a $50 Gift Certificate to Sweet Simone's in Richmond We've got another great prize from a local business to raffle off. This month, we're raffling off a $50.00 gift certificate to Sweet Simone’s in beautiful downtown Richmond. Sweet Simone’s offers the freshest, most delectable pastries, cakes, pies, fresh bagels, and seasonal baked goods - all made from scratch. Of course there is coffee and espresso too! To be entered into the raffle, simply click the link below and leave your name and contact information. The drawing will take place on February 15th. Click here to enter for your chance to win! Important Notice to Customers Enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will be ending. Without additional funding from Congress, the allotted $14.2 billion to fund the ACP is projected to run out in April 2024. As a result, the FCC has begun taking steps to wind down the ACP, which means: ACP applications and enrollments will not be processed after February 7, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time). Households who have applied, been approved, and are receiving the monthly internet discount before February 8, 2024 will continue to receive their ACP benefit until ACP funds run out, as long as the household remains enrolled in the program. After the ACP funds run out (projected in April 2024), households participating in the ACP will no longer receive the ACP discounts. What this means for current ACP Customers: Your Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom internet account receives a $30.00 monthly credit for ACP. When the ACP funding ends, your account will have the ACP credit removed and the amount invoiced to you will increase by $30.00. Please note, your service will remain at the existing service level at the full undiscounted price when the ACP credit is no longer available. If you do not wish to receive internet service after the end of ACP or would like to change your service plan, please contact or Customer Service Department at 800-496-3391 to discuss your options. What is the future of ACP: Congressional lawmakers have jointly proposed new funding that could keep the ACP credit in place for the nearly 23 million households receiving the benefit. If the proposed funding is approved, the ACP credit will continue. For additional information regarding the ACP, please go to: www.fcc.gov/acp. Apply for other assistance programs: If you do not already participate in Lifeline, we encourage you to apply. The Lifeline Program is another federal program that makes phone and internet service more affordable. If you qualify for Lifeline, you can get a monthly benefit of up to $15.70 (state and federal benefit combined) off the cost of phone, internet, or bundled services. For more information, visit: getinternet.gov. We realize the importance of ensuring that all households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. We will continue to keep you informed on the status of ACP as information becomes available. If you would like additional information, please visit our website at www.wcvt.com/assistance. Deadline to Apply for 2024 College Scholarship Program is Approaching WCVT is proud to partner with the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) in the 2024 College Scholarship Program. The foundation annually awards scholarships to an exceptional group of rural students for their first year of college or vocational school. FRS has awarded over $1 million in scholarships since its inception, empowering rural students throughout the country to advance their communities with invaluable skill sets and experiences. All applicants require sponsorship by an NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association member company, which includes WCVT. As your local telecommunications service provider, it's our pleasure to offer this national scholarship program in our service area. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior and an active customer or whose parents or legal guardian are active customers of WCVT and reside full-time in the WCVT service area. Application deadline is February 16, 2024. For more information and to apply online, visit the FRS website at www.frs.org or contact Lorraine M. Keener at 802-496-8379 or lkeener@corp.wcvt.com. Google Chrome Webmail Users May Experience Issues Accessing Zimbra Webmail Folders This is only impacting a very small subset of Zimbra Webmail users that access webmail via Google Chrome browser. We have determined that the recent Google Chrome update, coupled with outdated or incompatible Chrome extensions, has caused the issue impacting a small number of webmail users using Chrome. If you are experiencing issues with your webmail in Chrome, please ensure all extensions are updated. Once extensions have been updated or disabled, access your webmail account and make sure the issue has been resolved. Another option is to use another web browser like Microsoft Edge or Firefox. Both browsers can be downloaded from the Internet for free. At this time, the email platform is fully operational. Step-by-step instructions: Launch Google Chrome on your computer. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the dropdown menu, hover your cursor over "Extensions" and then click on "Manage Extensions". You will be redirected to the Extensions page, where you can see a list of all the extensions currently installed in your browser. Look for the "Developer mode" toggle switch on the top-right corner of the page and make sure it's turned off. With developer mode disabled, you will see an "Update" button appear next to any extensions that have an available update. Click this button to update the respective extension. Now test to see if your webmail is working. [Only proceed to this "disable" step if an "update" is not available.] If you don't see an "Update" button next to any extensions, it means the installed extensions are already up to date and you will need to "Disable" the McAfee WebAdvisor extension instead by turning off the toggle switch in the bottom-right corner of the extension box. Since this issue is the result of the latest published Google Chrome update, there will be no patch released by Zimbra to address this issue. No other Web Browsers (Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, etc.) are experiencing these issues. Please don't hesitate to contact Technical Support with any questions.

		Mad River Valley Easter Egg Hunt – Saturday, March 23rd – Mad River Park! Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 23rd - rain, shine (probably snow), it's time for the annual Mad River Valley Easter Egg Hunt. Once again, the event will take place at the Mad River Park located at 236 Airport Road in Waitsfield due to parking constraints at Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom (WCVT) where the event has historically been held. The egg hunt will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. Refreshments will be served under the pavilion starting at 9:30 a.m. The egg hunt is open to children of all ages and is free of charge. WCVT is very excited to be partnering once again with the Mad River Valley Recreation District and thankful for the use of their fields. A reminder of the important Mad River Park rules for attendees: no dogs, pack-in-pack-out all trash, parking in the parking lot only or in designated areas per parking attendants at events. For more information, please contact Lorraine Keener at 496-3391 or lkeener@wcvt.com. We look forward to seeing everyone at this year's event.

		Specialty Foods Day - Wednesday, February 14th - Mad River Glen Ski Vermont and Vermont Specialty Foods team up at Mad River Glen on Valentine’s Day to offer up samples of their fine products. Participating specialty food producers include Cabot Cheese, Vermont Maple Syrup, Cold Hollow Cider and others. For more information, visit: www.madriverglen.com. Fireworks and Torchlight Parade - Saturday, February 24th - Sugarbush Resort Make sure to find your favorite spot to view Sugarbush’s spectacular torchlight parade on Spring Fling followed by a fireworks show! Celebrate the end to Presidents Day week with an awesome light show up on the mountain. Remember please leave all pets at home. For more information, visit: www.sugarbush.com. Trivia Night - Sundays Through March - James Moore Tavern/Bolton Valley Resort Join Joe "The Commish" Direnzo for weekly Trivia Nights at Bolton Valley Resort. Face off against skiers, locals, and brainiacs of all types every Sunday through the end of March this winter at Bolton Valley Resort. For more information, visit: www.boltonvalley.com.

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