CHRISTMAS FOR KIDS COMING SOON!
christmas.fsr.com
The Christmas for Kids organization has been providing children of low income families with Christmas gifts and warm clothing. Each year over 250 families and at least 600 children are furnished gifts of clothing, toys, blankets, and more by businesses, clubs, church groups and individuals on the Palouse who join forces to meet their needs.

If you are interested in helping local families with needs, there are plenty of opportunities. You can contribute by adopting a family or a child or donating cash and other donations to the many families that don't get adopted. Every gift donated goes directly to the recipient. Every Dollar donated goes directly to buy coats, shoes, pajamas, toys, and books, etc.

Please show your support by visiting the “Giving Tree” which will be located in front of the First Step Internet offices starting the Monday following Thanksgiving.
Tech Side

Check out our new web email system. We went through a large upgrade to our mail servers this Spring and encourage customers to log in and take a look. You'll find an improved interface over the old webmail system as well as the ability to preview emails that may be too large to download over slower connections. This can be a great way to weed out junk email before you download it to your computer.

You can reach our webmail system by going to http://www.fsr.com and clicking the Web Email link at the bottom of the screen. Log in with your email address and password to see the new system.


As mentioned in April, First Step Internet acquired Connect Wireless earlier this year.  Since then, we have been busy upgrading speed capacity and adding new access points on the Camas Prairie.  One area of expansion has been the town of Winchester where the entire network has been updated. 

This has improved service to clients and increased the bandwidth available throughout town.  In addition to Winchester, some upgrades have been done in Grangeville, Craigmont, Kamiah, Nez Perce and Cottonwood, though there is much more work to be done.  Expect to see more improvements in the upcoming months.

Another significant network expansion has been the extension of the FS microwave network to Cottonwood Butte.  This is a strategic site that links the Camas Prairie to the rest of the network in Moscow and Lewiston.  As a part of the Rural Utilities Service broadband grant project for Ferdinand, there is now a 100mbps FCC licensed backbone link to this site.  This will enable FS to leverage the high capacity fiber links in Moscow and Lewiston and bring that bandwidth to users on the Prairie once the new backbone links are built to each community.

The first to benefit is the town of Ferdinand.  Previously there was no high speed Internet available and now they have joined their fellow Prairie towns with access to 21st century broadband service.  A special thank you goes out to the City of Ferdinand, Fred and Randy Arnzen and Ralph Schwartz for their partnership in this project.
Elk River Cable TV Internet Acquisition
First Step Internet Cable

Over the summer First Step Internet acquired the rights to cable internet from Elk River Cable company.  Elk River Cable will retain the TV service part of the business.  Current service areas include Deary, Fairfield, Garfield, Rockford, and Rosalia, with more coverage areas coming soon.

Dave McGraw, General Manager/Owner, of Elk River TV Cable Company stated, "We are excited about this new agreement with First Step. It will strengthen the Internet service in Rockford, Deary, Fairfield, Garfield and Rosalia. It will also leverage the technical service and extensive bandwidth that First Step brings to the table."

For more information about this exciting new service, contact First Step sales today.
Expansion in Weippe
www.firststepwireless.com

Weippe wireless coverage has recently expanded with a new access point to the southeast of town on Dairy Road.  Thanks to a partnership with Grant Miles, First Step has utilized his grain elevator to extend service to this rural area of Clearwater County.  Area by area, the march goes on to bridge the digital divide and get high speed microwave wireless service to every nook and cranny of our rural countryside.  600+ miles of point to point microwave links and 3000+ square miles of wireless coverage and counting.
Do you have Dish Network yet?
dish.fsr.com

Stop by First Step Internet today and learn how you can get free standard professional installation, with a free DVR upgrade, and HBO & Showtime free for your first 3 months (2 year commitment required).  Also for fans of KLEW, Dish Network has recently added KLEW to their local channels lineup, so if you’ve ever worried about missing out on KLEW programming by switching to Dish, you no longer have to worry.
Santana website gets a facelift
www.Santana.com
First Step Internet web developers in collaboration with WebSight Design, Inc. developed a brand new, content-rich, user friendly Santana.com. The new site features past and current videos, audio tracks, podcasts, links to all social networking sites, mobile widgets, an iPhone app and much more.

As part of the redesign we made improvements to the content management system which allows Santana management to easily make changes to their website content.
Have you seen what is happening in your community?
www.MoscowChamber.com
The Moscow Chamber of Commerce approached First Step Internet earlier in the year to streamline their website. Our developers welcomed the opportunity to update the functionality of the website and create a design that expresses simplicity and improved usability.
The Community on the Go!
www.LewistonChamber.org
The Lewiston Chamber of Commerce came to First Step Internet seeking a better way to manage their website. We provided them with a complete content management system solution along with a brand new look and feel.
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First Step Internet Newsletter
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First Step Internet
208) 882-8869
1420 S. Blaine St. Moscow ID 83843
http://www.fsr.com | services@fsr.com