NCKCN’s response to the COVID-19

NCKCN Customers, Members and to the local communities NCKCN serves general public,

Due to the rapid development and spread of the COVID-19, and local businesses, employees, NCKCN customers / members feeling the effects of it (ie: working and/or taking classes from home remotely), NCKCN would like to help those in need as much as possible and NCKCN’s response to this world-wide pandemic is as follow:

General Public at local communities that NCKCN provides Internet at:
- NCKCN is offering free computers that have Ubuntu Desktop as its operating system with Open Office installed on it. These computers are in very limited supply and donated “AS IS”. If you are in need of a computer to be able to work or attend classes from home, please contact us via: customersupport@nckcn.com.
  - Pick-up at our Main Office is required so please send us an email first so we can let you know if we have any left as well as a time-frame to pick up. Also, since these computer are on a very limited basis, we humbly ask for those in need, to pick up only 1 per household so that we can help others in need as well.
NCKCN’s Current Wireless Internet Customers/Members:
- NCKCN is offering a free upgrade on speeds to help with remote working and for those to continue their education online! If you are currently on NCKCN’s AirSpan system with speeds up to 3Mbps download by 1.5Mbps upload (our Basic Package listed for $50/month), NCKCN will upgrade your speeds to our Premium package ($70/month) with speeds up to 6Mbps download by 3Mbps upload for free – meaning, you receive double the speed at no additional cost! Simply contact us at: customerservice@nckcn.com and ask if you are on this current package if you are unsure what you have. If you are on our Basic package, we will bump your speeds up to our Premium package at no additional cost! This offer is for NCKCN’s Beloit & Lincoln locations only.
  - Alternatively, if you think you need higher speeds than that, contact us and let us know – If able, we can get you onto our newer system that allows speeds much higher than that. At no additional cost, and on our lowest package (Standard Pack) on our newer system, you can receive speeds up to 10Mbps download by 2Mbps upload. We would waive the install fee ($100 savings) if under a 2-year contract. Our newer system is perfect for working or taking classes at home remotely and needing that extra oomph of speed!
- NCKCN is also taking the pledge to not disconnect their Internet service for all their Wireless customers/members during any hardship times. If you are unable to make your payments due to any hardship, please email us at: customerservice@nckcn.com and explain in the email your current situation. At this time of posting, NCKCN will not disconnect anyone – This “No Disconnect” program ends June 30th, however, we will re-asses things at that end-date if the pandemic is still going on and may extend this time-frame.
For those with no Internet Access – NCKCN Internet may be available along with our Public hotspots: NCK-WiFi:
- NCKCN Internet
  - NCKCN is working diligently with all schools within the areas we serve in hopes to provide free (temporary) Internet service to those who have no Internet access. We are calling this initiative the “Kids Connect” initiative. Partnered with Cunningham Telephone & Cable (CTC) – both organizations are working as quickly as they can to provide this free service to students homes who are underserved with no Internet access to continue their education online.
    - Parents of these students: You should hopefully soon receive information from your students school on how to contact either NCKCN or CTC.
- NCK-WiFi – a project established back in 2015 by the partnership between NCKCN & CTC.
  - Please note that NCKCN and CTC have deployed permanent public hotspots across our service areas. These hotspots allow free Internet usage with speeds up to 10Mbps download by 10Mbps upload. Perfect for those in need of Internet access to continue working and taking classes remotely. Locations of these hotspots are as follow:
    - Belleville:
      - Rocky Pond (Coming Soon)
      - City Park/Pool (Coming Soon)
    - Beloit:
      - Public High School Football Field (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
      - Public High School Gym (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
      - STJ Football Field (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
      - STJ Gym (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
      - Sports Complex
    - Concordia:
      - Broadway Plaza
      - Public High School Football Field (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
      - Sports Center/Complex
      - City Pool
      - Blosser RV Park
    - Downs:
      - Public High School Football Field (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
    - Glen Elder:
      - City Pool
      - Waconda Lake
    - Jamestown:
      - City Park / Baseball Field
    - Jewell:
      - Maag Park
      - Emerson Lake
    - Mankato:
      - Public High School Gym (however, this one may be inaccessible due to school closing for the rest of the year during this pandemic)
    - Scandia:
      - Still being discussed on a permanent location as NCKCN now provides Internet service to this great community as of: March 12th, 2020

- - A final note for these Public hotspots. Please make sure to follow any state & local community guidelines during this pandemic. We understand that local communities are being quarantined for a duration of time. Some of the requirements, as of the date this article was published, is to be at least 6 feet away from other individuals, to limit people in the same room to 10 people and under, and to wash hands or self before/after any use of common items. Common items for this type of public gathering may include: Public benches, tables, playground equipment such as a swingset or monkey bars, etc…and/or the use of mobile devices that may be shared amongst individuals.
    - If needed and may be advisable, to please stay within your vehicles to access the NCK-WiFi hotspots as we have amplified the signal to extend out as far as possible and staying in your vehicle may qualify as being quarantined. Just make sure you are parked and NOT driving while accessing the Internet.