In this ‘Golden Age’ of streaming entertainment, scores of apps and channels are available to enjoy utilizing high-speed fiber internet like Trailblazer Broadband’s network. Whether you’re a die-hard sports fanatic, a fan of British television, or in the market for quality children’s entertainment, there’s a streaming app for just about every taste. But, with all the choices and apps out there today, it can get confusing—and even intimidating—just to search for new series to binge or movies to unwind to at the end of a long day.
Fortunately, with Trailblazer Broadband’s independent partnerMyBundle, streaming doesn’t have to be an aggravating experience! Below, we highlight some of the best ways MyBundle streamlines your streaming experience. From finding new apps and channels to keeping up with the latest episodes of your must-watch TV series to tracking and managing the content from your (probably many) subscriptions, MyBundle’s tools take the stress out of streaming!
Finding Streaming Platforms
With the dizzying number of streaming apps and channels available, it can be easy to get bogged down in a search for must-have platforms—and that’s before you’ve even started looking for your favorite show or scoping out your next obsession. MyBundle organizes streaming platforms in one easy-to-use dashboard. NavigatingMyBundle’s Marketplace page eliminates much of the legwork needed to find apps.
And by using MyBundle’s Advanced Search option on the Marketplace page (located just to the right of the Marketplace’s search bar), you can hone your search by genre. This helps you seek out apps and channels you want (or have yet to discover) while weeding out the ones you don’t need. You can look for categories such as “Health” in the dropdown menu or “History” and “Documentary” categories in the Advanced Search tool. MyBundle has around 30 genres and categories to help you refine your search for apps and channels.
Discover New Streaming Content
After exploring streaming platforms, the real convenience—and fun—of MyBundle’s search tools comes in: finding great content! Just as MyBundle helps you discover new apps, it can assist you in picking out fresh TV series and movies to stream.
Simply click on MyBundle’s TV Shows and Movies page and browse the extensive content list! And just as you did while researching apps and channels on MyBundle, don’t forget to use the Advanced Search feature. Again, you can choose from over 50 different and wide-ranging content categories and genres to help you diversify your content. For example, if you want to sample fine cinema from the mid-20th century, select “Classic” and be instantly transported to another era. Sci-fi fans can get their fill, too, as can those who crave a good Western or just need a fun rom-com (which you can find by selecting both “Comedy” and “Romance” in the Advanced Search).
The possibilities go on and on, so when you’re ready to binge, hop on MyBundle and start exploring! Best of all, MyBundle lets you search for new content across all your subscriptions. This means you don’t have to log in and out of all the innumerable apps you have just to find new content.
MyBundle’s Watchlists
After perusing the vast amounts of content, take advantage of another of MyBundle’s features—its Watchlists.
Unlike other streaming apps and channels’ watchlists, which only let you include content on their apps and channels, MyBundle lets you add TV series and movies from all your apps and channels into one, simplified watchlist for TV series and another for movies.
It’s a handy organizational tool that helps you plan and prioritize your streaming time. Even better, you can review your MyBundle watchlists in one place without remembering which app or channel has the show or movie you’re eager to watch or wasting precious viewing time transiting between apps to find them!
Live TV
As you probably know by now, streaming services aren’t just for movies, series and podcasts. LiveTV with local stations is included in a number of streaming platforms such as HuluLive, YouTube TV, Sling, and DirectStream (DirecTV’s streaming service), just to name a few. Some of these live streaming services are targeted to a particular type of content, such as FuboTV for live sports.
Keep up with your spending
Streaming providers change plans and costs often. You may want to change your subscriptions based on what’s new and what you’re watching. And with all those subscriptions, it can be difficult to keep up with everything. With MyBundle, you can track all your streaming spending in one place.
Or perhaps it’s better to take advantage of free trial periods or discounted rates just to binge a particular series before deciding to join for longer. Seeing it all in one place on MyBundle helps you track your streaming budget and make better financial choices. With MyBundle, you can easily track all of your streaming apps and how much they cost. With all that information in one place, you can decide which platforms to keep and which to cut—potentially saving you hundreds every year.
The above are just some of the ways MyBundle helps make streaming a painless experience. To discover more reasons why MyBundle improves streaming,click here. And check out Trailblazer Broadband’s social pages to stay on top of the latest streaming entertainment news!
READER NOTE: Bookmark this page where we will be posting additional progress updates in the future. If you or someone you know is not already registered in our system, please do so HERE. There is no obligation whatsoever to register, and you will be the first to know of any changes that impact your neighborhood.
Triumphs and Challenges in Rural Connectivity
As Trailblazer Broadband celebrates its 5th anniversary, the community-owned internet provider reflects on significant strides in connecting Estes Park and surrounding areas. With total fiber internet now available to 90% of the planned service area, Trailblazer has become an essential utility for over 4,000 clients, with installations now booked into January 2025 due to high demand. Providing service to the remaining 10% of proposed service locations, of the project presents some challenges that are currently being addressed. The Town Board of Trustees and Mayor Gary Hall were updated recently on the Trailblazer Construction status.
Remaining Challenges
Geographic Area
Trailblazer’s geographic footprint covers an area larger than Longmont, Fort Collins, and Loveland combined, and the remaining 10% of proposed service locations are spread across a large, sparsely populated area. This last phase of the project, dubbed “Phase 4,” encompasses the most challenging areas to build, including areas along Highway 34, Highway 66 (out to the YMCA), and the Highway 7 corridor to Allenspark. Logically, this area is more expensive to build because of terrain, size distance between service locations, and lower revenue yield because of lower population. Further, based on utility usage, over 50% of potential clients in these sprawling areas are seasonal, part-time residents based on their utility usage.
As Phase 4 residents and businesses know (this includes you, Allenspark!), Trailblazer has been “Coming Soon” for more than a year now. Many folks have noted that our crews have run fiber along main routes in their area such as Highway 7 to downtown Allenspark, so service should be available, correct? Unfortunately, just because main fiber has been built to a certain area, does not mean the network is complete and ready to offer service to individual locations. Think of it this way:
Imagine a massive oak tree representing the fiber network. The thick, sturdy trunk and main branches have already grown strong – this is the backbone of the fiber network that’s been built. However, the smaller branches that extend out to the very edges, along with the twigs and leaves, are still missing. These represent the connections to individual neighborhoods and homes. Just as it takes more energy and resources for a tree to grow its outermost branches and leaves, it’s more complex and costly to build the final connections of a fiber network.
In town, it’s like growing branches in rich, fertile soil:
Many homes are close together, like leaves clustered on a branch
The infrastructure (conduits, poles) often already exists
Higher population density means more potential customers per mile of fiber
In rural regions, it’s like trying to grow branches in rocky, sparse terrain:
Homes are spread far apart, like isolated leaves on long, thin twigs
New infrastructure may need to be built from scratch
Fewer potential customers per mile of fiber laid, and in this case, many homes that are seasonal and may not need service year-round.
The rural component of a buildout like this often accounts for a disproportionate amount of the total network cost:
In urban areas, it might cost $500-$1000 per home to connect
In rural areas, it could cost $5000-$10,000 or more per home
This is why internet service providers often prioritize deployments in high population density, where they can connect more customers for less investment, similar to how a tree naturally grows more leaves where branches are densest.
Finally, before we can bring service to the rest of Allenspark and some other less densely populated areas, we must fulfill our existing obligations and installations which have slowed as you read in the blog above. At this time, we simply don’t have the resources to open those areas and fulfill our existing obligations.
In the meantime, using the main fiber lines that are currently in place, Trailblazer has piloted service in a couple of places in Allenspark, including Wild Basin. By the end of the year, public Wifi service will be available at the Allenspark Firehouse to ensure that the community has a reliable location to provide emergency communication and Wifi services for the winter. This is similar to the free Wifi central access point that is available at Estes Park Town Hall and at the Glen Haven Firehouse. With grant funding anticipated, we plan to being installations in Allenspark in late spring or early summer 2025.
At the outset, Trailblazer promised not to use any tax dollars to fund this project, and it continues to make good on that promise. Construction is currently on hold pending additional funding. Trailblazer is actively pursuing BEAD grant funding to complete rural area constructions in these costly, less densely populated zones.
Rising construction costs and supply issues have exhausted the original bond and grant funding. Trailblazer is actively pursuing BEAD grant funding to complete rural area constructions in these costly, less densely populated zones[2]. If successful, main-line construction work could potentially resume by mid-2025. Since rural construction and the associated rising costs are not feasible for most service providers, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has established a $42.45 billion grant program to date to provide funding for ISPs to be able to expand service to these high-cost, often challenging locations. The State of Colorado has been approved to receive funds for CO internet expansion through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) grant program.
Even better, The Town of Estes Park/Trailblazer Broadband was selected to receive no-cost professional assistance to support our BEAD grant writing efforts to ensure the best chance of receiving the necessary funding through this grant to complete the grant-eligible locations covered in this funding opportunity.
Staffing Adjustments
As originally planned, Trailblazer shifted to 100% of construction, installations, and maintenance work done in-house at the end of 2023. This plan unfortunately coincided with losing 2 key staff, which has slowed the progress of our buildout.
With the current limited staffing, Trailblazer field technicians are managing all projects, including any main & service line construction/maintenance/repair; this also includes the loop project, roundabout construction, Cleave St, WAPA support, all installations, replacing damaged lines and any other main or premise maintenance required. Trailblazer management looked at the cost of bringing in contractors to assist with the backlog, but would not have had a significant impact by the time they were onboarded and would have cost a whopping $25,000-$30,000 per week.
Recent positions were filled with existing contracted staff members, and Trailblazer continues to seek additional staff, which proves challenging in the existing job market for Estes Park. Meanwhile, the team is working on assessing the upcoming schedule to see how we can best accommodate the schedule backlog.
Ahead of the Curve
Despite these challenges, Trailblazer remains committed to its goal of providing high-speed internet to the entire community. While many rural and mountain communities across the country are just beginning to source funding and prepare a high speed internet rollout, Estes Park is far ahead of the curve having recognized the need for this essential service long ago. The project stands as a testament to the power of community-owned broadband initiatives, and the forethought of Estes Park in particular, in bridging the digital divide and connecting our community.
Shopping locally online for the holidays in Estes is a fantastic way to find unique gifts while supporting your community. Of course, every shop owner in town would love to welcome you into their establishment, but sometimes weather, time and holiday activities have other ideas. So whether you’re looking for handcrafted items, delicious local treats, or beautiful floral arrangements, here’s how to make your holiday shopping experience both easy and enjoyable from the comfort of your own home!
Unique Local Gifts
Handcrafted Artistry
Estes Park is home to over 300 shops, many of which feature locally made crafts that are perfect for holiday gifting. From elk-inspired collectibles to handmade jewelry, you can find treasures that reflect the spirit of the Rockies. Stores like the Estes Village Shop offer a curated selection of souvenirs that capture the essence of the area, making them perfect for sharing with friends and family near and far
Sweet Treats
Don’t forget to indulge in local culinary delights! The Original Taffy Shop, established in 1935, is a must-visit for those with a sweet tooth. You can order their famous saltwater taffy online to send a taste of Estes Park to loved ones. Additionally, consider local gourmet foods from nearby Longmont or Loveland, where you can find artisan chocolates and preserves that make delightful gifts.
Art Galleries
Estes Park is also home to a thriving arts community with several galleries that showcase local talent. Many galleries feature a variety of artwork from local artists, including paintings and photography inspired by the natural beauty of the area. Many pieces are available for shipping worldwide.
Floral Arrangements and Decor
Beautiful Blooms
Floral arrangements can brighten anyone’s day during the holiday season. Local florists in Estes Park provide custom arrangements tailored to your needs. Opt for seasonal flowers or unique arrangements that incorporate local flora. This personal touch makes for a heartfelt gift that shows you care.
Home Decor
For those looking to spruce up their homes or give a thoughtful gift, local artisans create stunning decor items that reflect the beauty of Colorado. Items like rustic wooden signs or mountain-themed artwork can be found in various shops throughout Estes Park.
Experiences
Instead of traditional gifts, consider giving experiences.
Many local artisans offer workshops where recipients can learn skills like pottery or painting. This not only supports local businesses but also provides memorable experiences that last longer than physical gifts.
Restoration and Wellness abound in the mountain air and surroundings. One early adopter of the wellness in Estes Park was Isabella Bird, who was prescribed travel to aid her insomnia and blues. There are many choices for fitness, yoga, beauty, massage and more to be found.
And of course, when in Estes, everyone wants to soak up the beautiful vistas and natural beauty year round. There are so many outdoor experiences to choose from including hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing, guided tours and more.
Convenient Online Shopping
Shopping locally online means you can enjoy all these benefits without stepping foot outside your home. Many shops in Estes Park offer online ordering with options for delivery or curbside pickup, making it easy to get your holiday shopping done efficiently. For groceries and meal prep, Safeway in Estes Park provides grocery delivery services, allowing you to stock up on essentials without the hassle of crowded stores.
Benefits of Shopping Locally Online
Support Your Community: Every purchase helps sustain local businesses and artisans.
Unique Finds: Discover one-of-a-kind gifts that reflect your loved ones’ personalities.
Convenience: Shop from the comfort of your home without the stress of crowds.
Last-Minute Options: Many local shops offer quick shipping or curbside pickup.
Neither snow nor rain nor dark of night will keep you from your holiday shopping when you embrace the ease and joy of shopping locally online in Estes Park. So pour yourself a warm cup of cocoa, cozy up at home, and let the holiday shopping begin!
This post is excerpted from https://www.ready.gov/power-outages, an official website of the United States Government. Launched in February 2003, Ready is a National public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies and disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement.
Extended power outages may impact the whole community and the economy. A power outage is when the electrical power goes out unexpectedly.
A power outage may:
Disrupt communications, water and transportation.
Close retail businesses, grocery stores, gas stations, ATMs, banks and other services.
Cause food spoilage and water contamination.
Prevent use of medical devices.
Power Outage Tips
Keep freezers and refrigerators closed.
Use a generator, but ONLY outdoors and away from windows.
Do not use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.
Disconnect appliances and electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges.
Have alternate plans for refrigerating medicines or using power-dependent medical devices.
Check with local officials about heating and cooling locations open near you.
How to Protect Yourself During A Power Outage
Go to a community location with power if heat or cold is extreme. Remember that Free #WapitiWifi is available in the Downtown area for communications.
Preparing for a Power Outage
Take an inventory of the items you need that rely on electricity. Plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs when the power goes out, such as a portable charger or power bank. Have flashlights for every household member. Determine whether your home phone will work in a power outage and how long battery backup will last.
Using Appliances During Power Outages
Install carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup in central locations on every level of your home. Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Generators, camp stoves or charcoal grills should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows. Never use a gas stovetop or oven to heat your home. Turn off or disconnect appliances, equipment, or electronics. Power may return with momentary surges or spikes that can cause damage.
Know Your Medical Needs
Talk to your medical provider about a power outage plan for medical devices powered by electricity and refrigerated medicines. Find out how long medication can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for any medications that are critical for life.
Food Storage
Have enough nonperishable food and water. Keep freezers and refrigerators closed. The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. A full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours. Use coolers with ice if necessary. Monitor temperatures with a thermometer. Throw out food if the temperature is 40 degrees or higher.
Generator Safety
Generators can be helpful when the power goes out. It is important to know how use them safely to prevent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and other hazards.
Generators and fuel should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and attached garages.
Install working carbon monoxide detectors on every level of your home. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can kill you, your family and pets.
Keep the generator dry and protected from rain or flooding. Touching a wet generator or devices connected to one can cause electrical shock.
Always connect the generator to appliances with heavy-duty extension cords.
Let the generator cool before refueling. Fuel spilled on hot engine parts can ignite.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
Returning After A Power Outage
When in doubt, throw it out! Throw away any food that has been exposed to temperatures 40 degrees or higher for two hours or more, or that has an unusual odor, color or texture.
If the power is out for more than a day, discard any medication that should be refrigerated, unless the drug’s label says otherwise. Consult your doctor or pharmacist immediately for a new supply.
Reprinted with permission from the Allenspark Wind, December 2023 Vol. 50, No. 11, June 2024 Vol. 51, No. 5, by Edward Yagi
As Allenspark’s snowbirds return to our area and the annual rituals of opening up cabins, repairing snow and wind damage, and checking up with friends and neighbors are in full swing, a new item should be on everyone’s checklist this year: keeping abreast of the Trailblazer internet rollout.
In order to be good consumers, it is incumbent on all of us to do our homework and understand the terminology. It is with this in mind that the Wind has compiled this handy list of high-speed internet terms.
Broadband: In the distant past this referred to music groups like the the Bangles, the Go-Go’s, and Bananarama. Now it refers to high-speed data access, and by “high” we mean really high:10 gigabits per second (10 Gbps), which is 100 times faster than DSL – and 178,571 times faster than the old dial-up you used when the internet first came out.
DSL: An increasingly obsolete form of internet connection that uses existing telephone lines. Dial-up simply hijacked voice bandwidth and replaced it with data (which was why you couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time in 1994). DSL uses “black box” software and equipment that separates voice from data on the same line at different frequencies. We told you this before.
ONT: OK this is new one. An Optical Network Terminal is the device in your home that converts optical signals from the FOC into the electrical signals used by your computers, phones, WiFi routers, etc. You can think of it as a fancy, advanced modem but you won’t be very “with it” if you do.
FOC: Fiber optic cable. C’mon, you should all know this by now.
EPP&C: Estes Park Power & Communications. Trailblazer is an ISP (internet service provider) that operates within EPP&C. Abbreviated to just “P&C” by cool people. The only people up here who have and are bringing you FOC.
UPS: This could either be the folks who deliver pack-ages to your doorstop or Uninterruptable Power Supply. In the latter case, a UPS is a kind of fancy battery that you install between the electrical outlet and the device you want to power or protect. A UPS can provide voltage regulation, surge protection, and backup power from anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. This last part is important because you might suffer from a….
PSD: This is as bad as it sounds: Power Supply Disruption. Basically, a blackout, due to either equipment failure, an accident, or probably the most common in Allenspark, weather factors such as high winds or heavy snow. But if you were an Xcel customer a few weeks ago, you probably got it with a…..
PSPS: Public Safety Power Shutoff. This is where a utility intentionally shuts off electricity to prevent power lines from sparking fires in potentially dangerous conditions. According to Estes Park Director of Utilities Reuben “Bomb.com” Bergsten, EPP&C is reluctant to do a PSPS, since this tends to mess up your morning, afternoon, or evening. But since anything is better than a Maui or a Marshall (fire), it will always be a possibility.
BTW, Trailblazer has its own internal emergency pow-er sources. This means that even if the electrical grid goes down, assuming you have EPP&C Trailblazer FOC and a UPS hooked up to your ONT, even with a PSD or PSPS you should still have internet connectivity long enough to at least access EMER INFO.
Just FYI. M.O.N.E.Y.: In 21st century Colorado, a series of zeros and ones in electronic financial ledgers that greatly deter-mines in what month, probably this year, Trailblazer service will reach our homes in Allenspark.
Vault covers & non-service impacting lines: Forget it. You don’t need to know.
Shock: A powerful but not-unpleasant emotion of surprise such as that felt by “Sean E” when Trailblazer hiked 1/8 of a mile through three feet of snow to do an installation at their home on March 15. If that date rings a bell, it was the day after Snowmageddon 2024. A “great bunch of dudes,” according to Sean, spent most of the day shoveling in order to do the installation. The dudettes, presumably, had the day off.
So unless you really enjoy having your internet crash frequently or waiting five minutes for your cat videos to download, you should have Trailblazer’s phone number on speed-dial and start making tentative preparations now, especially if you’re not a year-rounder, to get hooked up as soon as the service is available at your location.
And one more btw, Estes Park just had a new Town Board and new Mayor sworn in recently. Maybe they can help Trailblazer complete its roll-out by finding some M.O.N.E.Y.
It’s time for a community update as Trailblazer, with your invaluable support, continues planning the final phase of its fiber broadband buildout.
The project has reached a pivotal milestone by completing the majority of the main construction in our designated service areas. These areas include most parts within the Estes Park Town limits, extending north to Glen Haven and progressing along Highway 7 towards Allenspark. While this is the backbone of the fiber network, we still have a long way to go to bring service to everyone, particularly those in more remote locations. The desire for service has been overwhelmingly positive. Our installation calendar is currently booked well into the fall.
Meanwhile, we are re-strategizing our fiber construction to the remaining unbuilt areas of our community. With the shift to internal staff completing all new construction and installations, the remaining buildout takes additional time and careful consideration. These areas are challenging because of their distance, lower density, and, in most cases, difficult terrain. As you might expect, these challenges also make this final portion of the buildout more expensive.
In short, all main construction has been placed on hold as the original funding for the project has been exhausted due to the rising costs of construction materials and supply issues. While Trailblazer is thriving as a business, we haven’t been open long enough to generate a large enough revenue pool yet to use for mainline construction, though we are covering costs and meeting bond obligations without raising rates or using tax dollars as we originally committed to. We do prioritize where to put our efforts and resources based on the rate of return possible compared to the cost to build and the interest we have in Trailblazer based on the number of registrations from residents and businesses in a location.
Inflation has exponentially increased the cost of doing business for Trailblazer, as it has for most other companies and families in recent years. As a result, Trailblazer is actively seeking broadband funding through various grants to assist with rising material and construction costs in rural buildout areas. Trailblazer received a small amount of grant funding; however, most grant efforts proved unsuccessful with intense competition for too few dollars. The good news is that more grant money is available in 2024; however, those dollars are only applicable to “rural” buildouts. Other funding sources are not an option at this time, so we are focusing on generating additional revenue by building the outlying locations that qualify for grant funding first.
Waiting for a good thing is never easy – whether it is grant money or better internet service – and we appreciate the patience of our neighbors who do not yet have access to Trailblazer Broadband service. While there is no timeline at present, Trailblazer is working diligently to deliver this vital service as quickly as possible.
What can you do to help? Please take a moment to email Congressman Joe Neguse, your 2nd District Representative, describing your internet experience and asking for his support for broadband grants in our community.
Generators can be helpful when the power goes out. It is important to know how use them safely to prevent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and other hazards.
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