In Estes Park, CO, where breathtaking mountain views meet the charm of small-town living, more and more residents are embracing the convenience and peace of mind that comes with a smart home. At the heart of this modern transformation is Trailblazer Broadband—Estes Park’s community-owned, 100% fiber-optic internet service.
With ultra-fast, reliable internet as the backbone, homeowners can take full advantage of today’s smart technology—whether you live here full-time or just during part of the year.
Fiber Internet: The Backbone of a Smart Home
A smart home is only as strong as its internet connection. Devices like smart thermostats, cameras, lighting systems, door locks, and sensors all rely on steady, fast, and responsive connectivity to work as intended. Trailblazer’s fiber network provides the kind of high-speed, low-latency internet that allows these systems to operate smoothly—whether you’re streaming real-time security footage, adjusting your thermostat remotely, or getting alerts about an open window.
Seasonal Hold: Stay Connected, Even When You’re Away
One of the unique challenges of mountain-town living is that many homeowners only spend part of the year here. Trailblazer recognizes this and offers a seasonal hold option that keeps your connection live with just enough bandwidth to support essential smart home functions while you’re away.
This means your security cameras can continue monitoring, your smart thermostat can protect your pipes from freezing, and motion sensors can send you alerts if something’s not right—all without having to fully disconnect your service. It’s a quiet, behind-the-scenes way to maintain peace of mind when your home is sitting empty.
Smart Home Functionality: Beyond the Basics
Most people are familiar with the basics of smart homes—voice-controlled lights, smart thermostats, security cameras—but the possibilities go far beyond that. With a strong fiber connection like Trailblazer’s, here are some lesser-known and surprisingly useful things you can do with smart home tech:
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Remote Pet Monitoring: Set up cameras and treat dispensers that let you watch, talk to, and even reward your pet while you’re away.
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Smart Leak Detection: Water leak sensors can notify you of potential issues before they become major damage—particularly helpful in vacation homes.
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Automated Blinds: Smart shades can adjust based on the time of day or sun position, improving energy efficiency and protecting furniture from UV rays.
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Geo-Fencing: Your home can respond to your location—unlocking the door and turning on lights when you arrive, and adjusting energy settings when you leave.
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Voice-Controlled Appliance Integration: From ovens that preheat on command to washers that text you when the cycle’s done, smart appliances can streamline your routine.
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Smart Plugs & Energy Monitoring: See how much energy specific devices use and automate when they turn on or off to reduce waste.
- Health & Wellness Features: Devices like Alexa or Google Assistant can offer medication reminders, daily wellness checks, and even emergency calling features—making them especially helpful for seniors aging in place. And with a stable internet connection, telehealth appointments are smoother and more accessible than ever, even in a mountain town.
Energy Efficiency: Smart for Your Wallet, and the Planet
One of the biggest benefits of a smart home—especially one connected through a fast, reliable fiber network—is energy efficiency. By learning your habits and making real-time adjustments, devices like smart thermostats, lighting systems, and irrigation controllers help reduce overall consumption.
You can monitor and optimize your energy use room by room, day by day. Not only does this lower your utility bills, but it also reduces your environmental footprint—an especially meaningful choice in a place as beautiful and ecologically sensitive as Estes Park.
A Smarter Way to Live in the Mountains
Trailblazer Broadband gives Estes Park residents the digital infrastructure to support the kind of smart home living that was once only a futuristic dream. Whether you’re automating your home for everyday convenience, monitoring it remotely from across the country, or just trying to reduce your impact on the environment, fast and reliable internet is the foundation that makes it all possible.
Smart, secure, sustainable living isn’t just for big cities anymore—it’s right here in the Rockies, powered by the community and connected by Trailblazer.
Check Out FAST Streaming Platforms
The world of streaming entertainment is no longer just about on-demand movies and television shows. Live streaming TV is everywhere and available on several different platforms.
One of the best ways families can enjoy live streaming TV is through FAST streaming platforms. FAST—short for Free, Ad-Supported Television—is a budget-saving, live streaming TV option for cost-conscious consumers.
With MyBundle, you know you can already build a package of apps and channels you and your family will most enjoy—while saving you money. And now, MyBundle offers its very own FAST streaming platform—another great way to cut costs while still enjoying outstanding home streaming entertainment! Combined with the high-speed fiber internet delivered to your home by Trailblazer Broadband, FAST streaming, including MyBundle’s option, may offer the ultimate, most efficient home entertainment package possible so that you can cut the cable cord (and the bills) for good!
Below we explain more about FAST streaming TV, including how it works and how you can use it for maximum savings. We also detail MyBundle’s FAST streaming platform. Read on to learn more!
What is FAST Streaming?
In a nutshell, FAST streaming TV offers you live entertainment, news, sports, and more streamed over the internet for free.
Like broadcast television served over an antenna, FAST’s programming is free because ads support it.
With FAST streaming TV, you don’t need a new “box,” more wires, or any additional equipment beyond what you already use to access the internet on your devices. And ad-supported FAST streaming TV means you don’t have to shell out more money each month to enjoy live television.
FAST’s advantages extend beyond the cost savings. FAST streaming also brings a deep library of streaming entertainment, including live TV. And high-speed fiber internet creates pristine picture quality, something you won’t always find on traditional broadcast television. Beyond paying your monthly internet service bill, FAST streaming TV is free for you to enjoy.
FAST Streaming Platforms
The growth of FAST channels and platforms over the past few years is stunning.
Today, more than a thousand FAST channels are available in America! As are other leading streaming tech companies, all the major channels are in on the action.
Major broadcast networks offer FAST options, like CBS, which provides Pluto TV through its streaming platform, Paramount, while Fox has Tubi. NBC’s Peacock also features its own FAST service, while Amazon offers the recently re-named Freevee (formerly IMBd TV).
Both Roku and Samsung—major producers of Smart TVs and streaming devices—have FAST streaming services. Other networks are expected to launch FAST streaming services soon, including A&E and AMC, offering their popular and prestige content to stream free with ads.
MyBundle’s FAST TV Option
And coming soon to MyBundle, you’ll be able to enjoy the cost-savings of FAST streaming TV right in the MyBundle dashboard! MyBundle’s fully integrated FAST option will provide many advantages you’ll love.
First, MyBundle’s sleek and intuitive design makes its Live-TV button accessible. You’ll see it at the top right of your screen when you log on. So you’ll quickly start streaming content anytime you want.
Second, your MyBundle account works seamlessly across all your logged-in devices. You can watch MyBundle’s FAST streaming live TV on your mobile phone, tablet, or laptop—anywhere you can connect to the internet!
Third, MyBundle’s unique search and recommendation tools can help you find content across many genres, including top network shows, live news and sports, kids’ entertainment and educational programming, home improvement and design, travel and nature, and Spanish language shows.
Fourth, with its easy alternation between live FAST TV and on-demand apps in one space, MyBundle users don’t have to decide what to watch. Instead, they can simply surf to find something new and unanticipated—without paying excessive extra bills for live TV.
To learn more about how MyBundle saves you money and improves your streaming experience at the same time, click here. And follow Trailblazer Broadband ‘s social pages for more helpful advice on enjoying your high-speed fiber internet!
Let’s face it, managing finances isn’t typically considered a thrilling activity for most people. However, having the right tools can make a significant difference in reducing stress and improving your financial situation. High-speed internet is one of those essential tools that can transform your financial management experience, helping you save money, earn more, and enjoy a more peaceful financial life.
If you’re still wrestling with your 2024 tax filing, don’t stress! With fast internet, you can e-file your taxes quickly and securely, ensuring faster refunds and fewer errors. Plus, you can access free filing options and affordable tax software from anywhere! 📈 Then use these tips to organize for an even easier tax filing next year!
TRAILBLAZER TOOLBOX: What Is a Digital Footprint?
Did you know that nearly everything we do online leaves behind a trace? Whether web browsing, posting on social media, or shopping for deals online, almost every click and interaction contributes to a record of our digital lives. Collectively, this massive mélange of data about each of us is known as a “digital footprint.” But what exactly is a digital footprint, and why is it so significant?
Understanding what constitutes a digital footprint and how it’s amassed over time is crucial to protecting privacy and security online, so Trailblazer Broadband has prepared this quick guide. Below, we walk you through the details of digital footprints, including the two main types, and the steps you can take to better safeguard and improve your internet experience on Trailblazer’s high-speed fiber network.
Digital Footprint Essentials
At its most basic, a digital footprint is the collection of data you leave behind when you use the internet, whether you do so knowingly or not. You’ll often see it referred to as a “digital shadow” because the collected data closely follows you as you utilize the internet without realizing the trail you’ve left behind.
Your digital footprint includes a vast record of all the websites you visit, usually in the form of “cookies” that a website collects from each unique visitor. Additionally, you directly contribute to your digital footprint whenever you share information (e.g., your name, address, phone number, or Social Security Number), post content (i.e., social media photos and posts), interact with individuals or company websites, and download apps.
Digital footprints can be active or passive. Next, we’ll explore the distinctions between active and passive digital footprints and their impact on online privacy and security.
Active and Passive Digital Footprints
The deliberate actions you choose to take online create an active digital footprint. This includes sharing, posting, or writing content on social media, websites, and blogs. It also means that you’ve added to your active digital footprint any time you post photos, videos, reviews, and comments or interact in almost any way on the web.
For example, when you post or comment on Facebook or Instagram—your own page or anyone you follow—or simply update your LinkedIn profile, you add to your active digital footprint. Even the emails you send or receive can contribute to your digital footprint, as email providers may use tools to digitally analyze the content of your messages for targeted ads and other purposes. Note that each action is intentional on your part—posting content, sending emails, etc.—and, critically, you can control what is shared and how it is presented.
On the other hand, a passive digital footprint is generated without your direct involvement (and often without your knowledge). It includes the data collected automatically about you while you browse the internet. Websites and apps follow your activity using cookies, analytics tools, and other tracking technologies to gather data on your preferences, location, and online behavior—all of which are passively collected and contribute to your digital footprint.
So, when you visit a website, it might automatically track which specific pages you viewed, how long you stayed on each page, or your overall search history. Your physical location—i.e., your city, town, and state—is also frequently tracked. But unlike your active digital footprint, you did not intentionally input information about yourself or post content—you simply clicked, and tracking technology collected the data and added it to your passive digital footprint.
Why Does Your Digital Footprint Matter?
Your digital footprint is not a mere “collection” of digitized information about you—it has considerable real-world implications for your privacy, security, and reputation online and offline.
- Protect Your Privacy: Millions of people use social media to post about themselves daily, and a substantial amount of personal information can be inferred from a digital footprint. From interests and relationships to everyday habits, companies, marketers, and advertisers can access this data and create targeted ads and offers.
- Prevent Identity Theft and Fraud: Unfortunately, savvy cybercriminals can find ways to access your digital footprint and use it for nefarious purposes if it’s not been adequately protected—including the biggest risk: identity theft. This means that cybercriminals could potentially access your name, address, phone number, Social Security Number, or even bank account and credit card details through your digital presence and exploit them.
- Defend Your Reputation: Be mindful that employers, coworkers, friends, and family may search for you online to learn more about you and what you’re up to. Posts or controversial content taken out of context or inappropriate can negatively impact your personal and professional reputation for years—or even lead to termination.
Managing and Protecting Your Digital Footprint
Now that you understand your digital footprint, how it’s created, and its potential implications, you need to learn how to manage and protect it. Below are several simple but often overlooked steps to safeguard your digital presence effectively.
- Reduce Personal Information Shared: First, and most obviously, avoid oversharing personal details online, whether in posts, emails, or online forms. The more you share about yourself, the more data is available for others to see (and use).
- Employ Strong Passwords and Security Tools: Use strong, unique passwords for every account you use. When available, use multi-factor authentication to access your accounts, and install security tools to protect your data from malware and viruses that insidiously collect it and lead to breaches.
- Customize and Enable Privacy Settings: Don’t forget to regularly check the privacy settings on your social media accounts, apps, and other online platforms, as well as the websites and online stores you use. Many apps and websites allow you to adjust your settings to limit who can see your posts and personal information and what data they collect about you.
- Research Apps and Websites First: While trying out a new app or browsing a trendy website can be tempting, it’s advisable to tread cautiously before diving in too deeply or sharing information about yourself on them. Many apps require permission to access your data or online profiles before you can use them, so carefully review their permissions and privacy policies to ensure they are transparent and trustworthy.
Understanding and managing your digital footprint is essential for maintaining privacy, security, and a positive online reputation. Armed with this knowledge and our recommended steps to protect your digital footprint, you can take control of your online presence and feel more confident while using the internet.
For additional tips to help keep you and your family safe online, follow Trailblazer Broadband’s social pages.
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 partner MyBundle, 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. Navigating MyBundle’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!
Tired of feeling like your online life is as secure as a house made of straw? In today’s digital age, internet security is more important than ever. While there are many options available, fiber internet stands out as the most secure and reliable choice.
Let’s take a look at how fiber compares to its internet connectivity counterparts, and why it’s the closest thing to a “vault” for those who prioritize online safety.
Fiber vs. The Rest
You can’t just waltz into Fort Knox for a tour. It’s not a museum; it’s a fortress! Fiber internet uses pulses of light through thin glass strands to transmit data, making it inherently more secure than it’s connectivity counterparts:
Satellite Internet: The Space Cadet of Internet Connections
Sure, it sounds cool – “Ooh, my cat videos are coming from space!” But if aliens wanted to steal your data, they’d have a front-row seat. Plus, with all those space rocks floating around, your connection is about as stable as a Hollywood marriage.
Cellular Data: The Gossip of the Internet World
It’s like that friend who can’t keep a secret, broadcasting your data to every cell tower in sight, practically begging for eavesdroppers. It’s convenient, but it’s also the town crier of the internet world, shouting your personal information from the rooftops.
Cable Internet: The Nosy Neighbor of Connections
It’s like living in an apartment with paper-thin walls. Sure, you’re connected, but so is everyone else on your street. It’s a digital block party, and everyone’s invited – including that guy who still uses “password” as his Wi-Fi password.
Fiber Internet: The Fort Knox of Internet Connections
Only Trailblazer provides 100% fiber connections to the Estes region. With fiber, your data is encoded into pulses of light end to end, making it harder to intercept than a vault door sealed tighter than a drum. It’s so secure, even James Bond would be jealous.
Speed and Security: A Perfect Pair
One of fiber’s biggest advantages is its speed. This isn’t just about loading web pages faster – it also contributes to security. Faster speeds mean:
- Quicker software and security updates
- Faster threat detection and response
- More efficient encryption processes
All of these factors combine to create a more secure online environment.
The Wi-Fi Factor
It’s important to note that you can still use Wi-Fi with fiber internet. Many people assume that fiber means a direct, wired connection to all devices, but that’s not the case. You can set up a wireless network just as you would with any other internet type.
However, it’s worth mentioning that a wired connection is always the most secure option, regardless of your internet type. When you connect directly to your router with an Ethernet cable, you eliminate the risk of someone intercepting your data over the airwaves.
The Bottom Line
While no internet connection is 100% secure, fiber internet provides the strongest foundation for online safety. Its physical properties make it resistant to many common forms of interference and hacking attempts.
Remember, though, that security isn’t just about your internet type. Always use strong passwords, keep your software updated, and consider using a VPN for an extra layer of protection. In the end, fiber internet is like a high-security vault for your data. It’s not impenetrable, but it’s certainly the toughest to crack.
So if you have the option, choosing fiber is a smart move for both speed and security. In the end, fiber internet is the way to go for protecting your internet “gold” from hackers and snoopers.
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