Wheat State's August 2019 Newsletter

Cornerstone Group © 2019 Wheat State Technologies • 1/800 442-6835 • www.wheatstate.com Everybody Wins When You Choose Our Local Team Wheat State Technologies knows you have options when it comes to choosing communications service providers. So we thank you for your loyal support. It’s truly a win-win decision for these reasons: • Our local economy wins. Wheat State Technologies employs area residents and the dollars you spend with us stay close to home. In addi- tion, we provide the advanced communications services, such as high-speed internet, required for businesses to grow. • Our local nonprofit organizations and community events win. We’re actively involved in the communi- ties we serve through membership in local chamber and civic clubs as well as through volunteer work and financial donations. • Our local students win. Wheat State Technologies supports our local schools through event sponsorships, donations to school organizations, and offers opportu- nities for community service hours for high school senior projects. Thanks again for choosing Wheat State Technologies. Everybody wins when we work together. If you have the feeling people are on their smartphones all day long, you’re almost right. According to bankmycell.com , the average user will tap, swipe, or click their smartphone 2,617 times a day, and the average combined time spent on smartphones and tablets is 4 hours 33 minutes a day. 1 Internet-connected devices have clearly become integral parts of our lives, and smartphones and tablets are only part of the picture. Pew Research Center reports that nearly three quarters of U.S. adults now own desktop or laptop computers. 2 The popularity of smart homes and the Internet of Things (IoT) is also increasing the number of devices in use. Check out these statistics from NCTA – The Internet & Television Association: 3 • 71 percent of U.S. broadband households own a connected entertainment device. • Streaming video made up 76 percent of all consumer internet traffic in 2017. • Currently in the U.S. there are approximately eight networked devices per person, a number expected to climb to 13.6 per person by 2022. • In the U.S. smart speaker market alone, adoption grew from 66.7 million devices in December 2017 to a staggering 118.5 million just one year later. What do all these numbers mean to you? Well, they provide a number of things to con- sider when choosing the speed of your home’s internet connection. For example, think about how many internet-connected devices are now in your home. Has the total number gone up recently? Then maybe your internet speed needs to go up as well. You’ll also want to keep in mind that streaming video requires more bandwidth, so if your family is frequently frustrated by buffering, it may also indicate the need for an internet upgrade. Wheat State Technologies can help you assess your household’s internet usage and determine the best internet plan to meet your needs. Talk to one of our local Customer Service Representatives at 1/800 442-6835. 1 https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/smartphone-addiction/#chapter2 2 https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/ 3 https://www.ncta.com/whats-new/iot-has-quietly-and-quickly-changed-our-lives Devices are Filling Up Our Days and Our Homes