Winter 2020 Newsletter

Cornerstone Group © 2020 Connecting to the Internet with a Modem and Router February is “Extra” Special Since 2020 is a Leap Year You’ll soon have an extra day to enjoy, thanks to the fact there aren’t 365 days in a year, but rather 365.242190. To compensate for this extra time, the bonus day of February 29 is added to the calendar every four years. Let’s leap right into some leap year trivia: • A person born on February 29 is known as a “leaper” or a “leapling.” • February 29 became the official leap day because of the ancient Romans, who figured out their calendar didn’t work without a leap year added. • The people of Greece believe getting married on a leap year will bring bad luck. • In 5th century Ireland, St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for men to propose. He set aside February 29 as the day allowing women the right to ask for a man’s hand in marriage. Ready to leap up to a higher internet speed? Call All West at 866.255.9378 to take advantage of our “Roar into 2020” promo- tion and upgrade to any speed (up to 1 Gig) for just $19.95/month for three months. New customers who sign on will also receive a free install (a $50 value).* *Restrictions apply. The internet is a public network that allows you to access various webpages such as Google or any website such as AllWest.com. Digital devices and the internet speak different digital signals, so the first piece of equip- ment you need to connect to the internet is a modem. A modem is the translator between the digital signal of your device and the analog signal the internet uses. It converts digital data signals into radio signals and back from your device to the internet. When using All West’s internet services, our modem is what establishes and maintains a connection with internet service and your device. A connection to our services can be made several different ways, depending on the infrastructure available in your area. The most common connections are made through Fiber, Coax (cable) and DSL (phone line). These connections also have different speeds to help transfer the data from the internet to your device. Once you have a modem, you will need a router if you are trying to connect to more than one device. The router takes the signal from the modem and distributes it to both wired devices and wireless (Wi-Fi) devices. The router also controls the area in which you can receive a wireless signal. Not all routers are created equal. Your router signal needs to sync with your modem connection, and your modem and router need to be able to handle the speed of your internet plan. For example, if your internet is provided through a Coax cable, your router needs to be compatible with a Coax connection. If you’ve purchased a 1 Gig plan, your equipment needs to be Gig-capable. All West offers GigaCenter and GigaHub routers to provide you with the proper connection and security protection. By choosing one of them, you’ll also gain peace of mind, since All West will trouble- shoot any connection issues that may occur. To learn more, call us at 866.255.9378, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 :30 p.m. Internet Modem Router Wired Desktop Wired Printer Wireless Smartphone Wireless Laptop