Message from our CEO. Special Recognition for 40 Years of Service. Owned by those we serve. Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

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1 Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. CALLER NEWSLETTER Fall 2011 Message from our CEO Hello everyone, I hope your summer went well. We ve been lucky with no storm damage thus far and I hope that luck holds, but we sure could use some rain! In this issue, I would like to give you some updates on our Television Entertainment offering and our plans for the upcoming months. First the changes then the new stuff! As for changes, we recently introduced a locals only video package for $16.00 and that now includes the HD locals! There are some additional channels, e.g. home shopping, C-SPAN, and some religious channels, but the big news is more local channels. We now offer the side channels that the major network affiliates have, and some of those are in HD. In the San Antonio video area (our northern districts), we actually have more local channels than DirecTV, DISH or Time Warner! So the $16 locals only package is a great deal lots of local channels both in SD and HD. If you ve been holding back because of price, you don t have to wait any longer! On the Enhanced package, we have always wanted something less expensive than $60.00; however, that is the only package we have been given by our content provider until recent announcements. A new, mid-range package is in the works that will come in around the $35-40 price point with a scaled back channel selection. That will give TV Entertainment a well-rounded offering with three high-value packages a locals only with HD and SD local channels, a mid-range package, and the current channels Enhanced Package. Continued page 2 Owned by those we serve Congratulations to Award Winning VTCI Relay for Life Team recognized as the Top Fundraising Local Business, Best Team Theme and Best Decorated Campsite at the 2011 Relay for Life of Willacy County. Keep up the great work! Special Recognition for 40 Years of Service Charles Fred Hillje was recognized by Valley Telephone Cooperative s Board of Directors for his 40 years of service with the Cooperative. He proudly represents District 7 Artesia Wells and Annarose. Mr. Hillje is an active member of our community and we thank him for his commitment, dedication and support. Pictured from left are award recipient Director Charles Fred Hillje and VTCI s CEO Dave Osborn.

2 VTCI CALLER Fall 2011 Select TV Entertainment Basic TV Service For only $16.00 a month, get 30 channels that include your local news, Hispanic (Univision & Telemundo) and cable channels (QVC & ETWN) to name a few! Pay Per View (PPV) Get PPV and watch the latest live sporting events. Watch the big Boxing, UFC and WWE events from your living room. Call our Customer Service Department and we can get you set up! Digital Video Recorder (DVR) Never miss your favorite TV program, movie or sporting event again. DVR lets you record your favorites and lets you watch them when you are home or when you are ready. Never miss that critical play in the game, scene from a movie or show! Streaming TV is now available! * Eligibilty is based on service address. As for new stuff, we have just rolled out some exciting new video services which will enable viewers to access some new video channels that are on the Internet. These streaming television channels are referred to as Over the Top video and are becoming more and more popular throughout the country. In fact, our industry association just published a survey that showed that as many as 10% of viewers would be watching just streaming television by The streaming video channels are easy to access on your television no computer or mouse is required to access and navigate the screens! Just click away with your TV remote! So if you ve held back from getting Internet because you don t have a computer, you now have a great reason to get streaming service! What makes the Over the Top video offerings so popular and so compelling is the ability to now have more specialized programming that appeals to very small audiences with a wide variety of entertainment topics. This is possible because the cost of production and distribution of streaming TV video is so much less expensive than with regular TV. It is feasible from a business perspective to target very small and varied audiences. There is no charge for the streaming TV service per se; however, a few of the streaming TV channels require paid subscriptions. Here s how it works: You use your TV remote to tune to the streaming TV channel and what you get is a sub menu of Internet TV channels. Still using your TV remote, you then can select from literally dozens of streaming TV channels on a wide range of interests. Some of the channels a movie channel called VUDU for example require a subscription; however, the movies are pay as you go as opposed to a fixed monthly fee like Netflix. One of the music channels like Pandora allow free listening for so many hours, then require a paid subscription to listen more. This channel is very interesting because it lets you enter your favorite artists or type of music then Pandora finds matching music on the Internet highly customized to your listening tastes! The good news is that none of the subscription types of channels are very expensive, and there is more than enough free stuff to keep you channel surfing for hours. These viewing options are all available now! If you ve thought about getting Television entertainment, but just haven t made the call, you now have some great reasons to give it a try! We know you ll like it! Dave Osborn CEO & General Manager Board of Directors James H. Mann... President J.T. Mayo, Jr... Vice President Margie Pollock... Secretary George Bennack... Treasurer Hilario Alvarado, Jr... Director Arline Harris... Director Charles Fred Hillje... Director Matthew L. Kiefer... Director Sidney Spear... Director Flavio Villarreal... Director Business Office *300 or Technical Support *321 or Repair Service 611 or INL Calendar 2011 A TRAIL OF FESTIVALS Concepcion Trail Riders - Fiesta Del Rancho 2011 Calendar awarded 1st Place Thanks to our communities and their successful events, VTCI was awarded 1st Place at the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association TeleChoice Awards for the production of the 2011 Calendar. Don t forget to nominate your favorite ranch, nature park or other local attraction to be included in the next issue of our calendar! Send us an to lcruz@vtci.net or call Please provide the following information by November 1st: the name of the location, an address and your reason why this unique place should make it in our calendar. Proud to be Accident Free Congratulations VTCI Corporate Offices in Raymondville for 5 years, Dilley office for 1 year and our affiliate company VTX Communications in Harlingen for 3 years accident free. 2

3 VTCI CALLER Fall 2011 Congratulations 2011 VTCI Scholarship Winners! Community Events OCTOBER Oct. 28th & 29th Wild in Willacy Boot Fest L.E. Franks Tourist Center 501 South Seventh Raymondville, TX Call Raymondville Chamber or visit Erwin Barrera District 1 Cari E. Klostermann District 2 Celeste Garza District 3 Oct. 29th Fall-o-ween Celebration and Drug Awareness Week Dilley, TX Call Dilley Chamber Oct. 31st Safe Haven HEB West Parking Lot Raymondville, TX Call Raymondville Police Department Shawn P. Kiefer District 3 Eloy Rodriguez District 6 Amanda Hernandez District 10 Matthew E. Morales District 4 Landen R. Gulick District 9 Juan Gonzalez District 5 Marshall W. Teal District 9 Attention 2012 High School Seniors Applications for VTCI Scholarship Program are now available at or your local high school guidance counselor s office. Deadline for application is March 16, For more information contact Carmen Kolenda at NOVEMBER Nov. 5th Pan de Campo Cook Off Hargill, TX For information call Veteran s Day Celebration Call Dilley Chamber of Commerce Nov. 19th Champions of Catching Krap Tournament All Men Tournament Pelican s Pub, Port Mansfield, TX Call Pelican s Pub or holybuckets2000@ yahoo.com Nov. 26th Alzheimer s Walk Pavilion, Port Mansfield, TX Call Port Mansfield Chamber or visit Nov. 29th Downtown Christmas Tree Lighting Raymondville, TX Call Raymondville Chamber or visit www. raymondvillechamber.com Send your community events to lcruz@vtci.net to be announced in our newsletter!

4 Rural Broadband: Essential to Prosperity. Vital to America High-speed broadband Internet access has become today s essential service, but new government rules being proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could impact your access to broadband Internet service. You can help by lending your voice to the debate. At the onset of telephone service back in the 1950s, the federal government created a universal service policy to ensure that all Americans including those in rural areas have access to affordable communications services. The government decided these were essential services that required financial support to build and maintain. As a result, it created something called the Universal Service Fund (USF). Like many rural companies, Valley Telephone Cooperative has been the recipient of USF and invested millions of dollars over the years to build advanced networks to meet the needs of customers. We ve done this with the understanding that the government would continue to support our efforts through USF. Without receiving support from the federal government, it would be impossible for us to maintain our existing infrastructure as well as expand our capabilities to meet our customer needs in the future. As with our national highway system, the information highway costs money to sustain. Federal support has made it possible for our company to deliver the network that spurs economic opportunity, supports educational options and increases our ability to attract new businesses to our area. Now the government is thinking about changing the fund. But if this federal support gets cut, our town and outlying areas could get stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. The FCC wants to do away with USF and other financing methods that support rural, high-cost telephone and broadband services. It wants to create 4 VTCI CALLER Fall 2011 something called the Connect America Fund. While this is a good idea to help facilitate the transition to support for increased broadband services in rural communities, FCC officials need to ensure that they don t destroy the funding that now delivers telecommunications services to the rural areas of America. All rural consumers need to get educated about the proposed policies and communicate to members of Congress and the White House about the negative impact this could have on our community. The current FCC proposal would penalize rural broadband providers such as our company, and put existing affordable, high-quality broadband service for rural areas in serious jeopardy. Also, it would undermine our ability to upgrade that service in the future. The current USF structure has been a great success story for our country. It has enabled our country to stay connected. It has allowed our company to deliver on the promise of affordable, advanced communications services for rural consumers and business. But the job isn t done. As consumers, you can make a difference in this debate. Your contact with policy-makers will ensure that the FCC makes the right changes to USF so that rural communities remain connected to the global world and may reap the rewards of an accessible, affordable and sustainable broadband network. To support this effort, send a letter to your members of congress and the White House by visiting www. saveruralbroadband.org. Tell us your broadband experience for a chance to win $25 Is broadband important to you? Why? How do you, your family, school or business use broadband? Send us your comments to mycommunity@vtci.net by November 1st to enter a chance to win a $25 gift card.

5 VTCI CALLER Fall 2011 Congratulations 2011 Graduates Valley Telephone Cooperative s commitment to education begins with our own employees and extends to the communities we serve. We proudly support the personal and professional development of our employees and congratulate the following individuals for their outstanding achievement. Congratulations to Customer Service Supervisor Chris Soto for receiving her Bachelor of Applied Technology at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Way to go! Known for her cheerful and charismatic personality, Chris Soto has gained the respect and friendship of many of her customers and colleagues at VTCI. Throughout her 12 years of service at the Cooperative, Chris has served as Customer Service Representative, Business Development Account Executive and is currently leading a team as Customer Service Supervisor. At an early age, Chris was determined to finish high school and continue her education at Texas State Technical College. Chris received her Associate s Degree of Applied Science in She worked as a Secretary at Su Clinica Familiar for some time, and then began working at VTCI as a Customer Service Representative. Motivated to grow and develop a professional career at VTCI, she enrolled at the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she received her bachelor s degree this past June. There were times I struggled to manage work, school and family life, explained Chris. It was difficult to begin college once I had been out of the school routine for a while, but in the end, all your hard work is worth it! I have to thank my family and Dave Osborn for helping me reach my goal of finishing college, said Chris. I am very thankful to my husband Isaac for his patience and support, to my daughter Ember for cheering me on and helping me care for her little sister Emily. I am grateful to our General Manager Dave Osborn for his words of encouragement and VTCI s Employee Educational Assistance Program. I couldn t have done it without Dave encouraging me along the way and this valuable program. In her spare time, Chris enjoys reading a book, watching a movie and going fishing with her family. She has two pets an Australian Shepherd named Rusty and a Red Heeler named Penny. Congratulations to our Network Manager Peter J. Vasquez Sr. for obtaining a Master of Science in Computer Science at the University of Texas-Pan American this past May. Peter knew early on that he wanted to be a scientist, but it wasn t until he was exposed to QBasic on an old MS-DOS computer his dad bought, that his desire narrowed to become a computer scientist. Eleven years ago, Peter was offered a chance to develop software and to build and design networks here at VTCI. He took the opportunity and has grown significantly since. Most people would probably be surprised to know that I can speak, he jokes. I m usually quiet, but can be very talkative once there s a topic I feel I can contribute to. I am very comfortable presenting in front of a large audience, provided the topic is one of my choosing. Peter enjoys researching computer forensics and information security. He has been a regular guest panelist and co-author at the annual IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy/Systematic Approaches to Digital Forensics Engineering Conferences in Berkeley, CA. He is also a member of the FBI s Infragard program, and regular attendee to the annual Blackhat information security and Defcon hacker conferences. His advice to those thinking about going to school is not to spend too much time considering it. If you have the resources, and can make the commitment, go back to school now, he said. An education can never be taken away from you. I am a computer hacker at heart and that is why I enjoy the challenge of discovering something new, explained Peter. I also like drawing, painting, sculpting, or really any form of creative art and expression, a sentiment my kids seem to share. We can literally spend hours on creative tasks and not feel the time pass by. My most beloved treasure is the love of God and my family. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, said Peter. I love my wife Anna, and our kids: Allison, Alfredo, Victoria, Peter, David, and Catherine. 5

6 Enable Television Entertainment Select the Television Applications You Want Local, Premium and High Definition channels Pay Per View: Boxing, WWE, or MMA events Digital Video Recorder (DVR) Service On Screen Caller ID Broadband Links Streaming TV is now available! Connect. Select. Enable. * Eligibility is based on service address or *300 from home phone 480 South 6th Street Raymondville, TX Presort Standard U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 333 McAllen, TX