Storms or cars colliding with an electrical cabinet can cause inconvenient electric outages. Trailblazer Broadband customers can stay connected and receive outage updates thanks to our modern fiber network. Customers must install a readily available Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to ensure uninterrupted internet service. A “battery in a box,” a UPS is a backup power supply for essential electronics to provide power for periods ranging from minutes to hours during a power outage. This device can provide backup power to your WiFi equipment during power outages, ensuring you stay connected to the internet even during an outage.
On the morning of Sunday, October 29th, galloping on the new Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) 115 kV transmission lines caused a system-wide outage. Line galloping occurs when temperature, wind, and ice combine, causing them to gallop or jump. If the lines touch each other, safeguard mechanisms called relays de-energize the lines to protect the grid from damage, resulting in an electrical outage. That morning, Journey Lineworkers from Estes Park Power and Communications and operators from Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) immediately got to work with WAPA to restore power. They restored power to Estes Park shortly after noon, and WAPA returned the new 115-thousand-volt lines to service later that day.
Many people wonder how they can stay connected to the internet during an electric outage. Trailblazer Broadband uses a modern Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) infrastructure. It is called “passive” because it does not rely on any electrically-powered equipment in the path between us and our customers. We have backup batteries in our offices for the network optics. Our customers must install a readily available Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to ensure uninterrupted service. This device provides backup power to your electronics during power outages, ensuring you stay connected to the internet even during an outage. You must also connect other electronics, cell phones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, or computers to the UPS. Many UPS products have multiple outlets, like a power strip, for other essential electronics in addition to your Gateway. The costs and capabilities of UPS backups vary greatly across various potential purchase options.
When considering a UPS purchase, first determine which devices besides your modem you may want to power during an outage, keeping in mind that some devices, such as TVs, take a great deal of power and will drain your UPS more quickly. Some devices may already have battery backups of their own. For example, Medical Device Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems (Medical Device UPS Systems) are designed to provide uninterrupted power precisely for your particular medical device. Most home security systems are programmed to switch to backup battery power during a power outage. In both of those examples, it is essential to double-check your system’s unique requirements.
Power and Communications continuously work to improve reliability; however, we have all learned from experience that fires, floods, and severe weather happen, and it is advisable to have an emergency contingency plan for you and your technology! Trailblazer internet service combined with a UPS will allow you to access our public information maps to get outage information. Customers can also sign up for automated notifications and receive updates through text messaging. We continuously share information on our internet network reliability on our Trailblazer website. Go to www.trailblazerbroadband.com, and click “Status” for the latest internet connectivity information.
If you don’t have a UPS, you can follow these steps once power is restored to ensure that you’re connected and your fiber internet is working:
- Make sure your router is on by checking the signal.
- Try restarting your router if it appears to be off.
- Call Trailblazer Broadband’s 24 x 7 x 365 Technical Support at 1-970-577-3770, Option 1.
Trailblazer is here to help area residents prepare for the unexpected and know what to do to stay connected.
Trailblazer Broadband is municipally owned and is Estes Park’s only modern fiber optic service, operated and maintained by Estes Park Power and Communications, formerly Light and Power. The Town of Estes Park provides information only and does not endorse any listed companies, their views, or the products/services they offer. For more information about internet service, contact Trailblazer Broadband at info@trailblazerbroadband.com or (970)577-3770. More Trailblazer news is available at www.trailblazerbroadband.com and https://www.facebook.com/TrailblazerBroadband/
Reprinted with permission from the Allenspark Wind, December 2023 Vol. 50, No. 11, Pg. 22, by Edward Yagi
One chapter in the 30-year, saga of internet access in Greater Allenspark is about to end. A new, game-changing chapter – the expansion of fiber optic cable broadband to any home on the Estes Park power grid – is about to begin.
As 2023 comes to a close, the big question on everyone’s mind is “Why is the world still at war? Wasn’t globalization and economic integration supposed to put an end to this nonsense?” One thing is for sure: most of us are happy to be in Allenspark rather than Kyiv or Gaza City…despite Allenspark STILL having worse internet than either one.
This raises another big question which, happily, doesn’t involve war (at least, not yet): when, exactly, will Estes Park Power & Communication’s “Trailblazer” high-speed fiber optic cable service reach Allenspark? Are they late? Are they behind schedule? Have they forgotten about us? Are they unaware that Allenspark even exists?
It turns out that the answer to all these questions is “yes” and for more details this reporter contacted its spies, er, contacts in Estes Park for the latest details. Only Kim agreed to speak on the record.
I obtained the following insight from someone we will identify only as Insider #1: “Well we never really expected to get to Allenspark before around 2025 in the first place. This is what we in Estes Park call a “forever project,” meaning that, like the electricity we have provided since the 1930s, it takes us forever to get up there. But once we ARE up there, we’re there forever, and once the basic infrastructure is all set up, it also takes forever to change anything. You only have one chance to do it right the first time. That’s what we’re doing.”
Insider #2 had a slightly different take. “A lot of people don’t know this, but since 1983 we’ve only had one person willing to go up to Allenspark at all. Allensparkionians can be, like, kinda crazy or ornery, you know? Our guy was Ralph, and a couple years ago, right in the middle of the Trailblazer roll out, we found out, sadly, that Ralph was dead. He was just sitting at his desk, all quiet, but there was nothing at all unusual about that. So it’s taken us some time to onboard a few new bright-eyed kids right out of school who didn’t know anything about Allenspark and aren’t afraid to go up there. But they have to be trained, and splicing internet fiber isn’t like pouring milk on cereal, you know what I mean?”
Insider #3, who clearly went to college, had this to say: “Say you build a railroad from Big City A to Small City B. The only way you can do this is to start running trains along the track you first build between A and the first stop, build more track, service the second stop, build more track, service the third stop, and so on. How long it takes to build the final stretch of track, to Small City B, depends in part on how much service you have along the intervening stops. The simple fact is, Allenspark has always been the last stop on the choo-choo line for pretty much any service, public or private, you can think of. Look where it is. It’s just simple geography.”
Insider #4 blamed it all on the weather: “If it was always summer we could have had Allenspark lit up a year ago. But surprise! it’s not always summer in Allenspark. We only have so many snow tires, oxygen tanks, and hazmat suits – hey, we’re a public utility, right? And the timing has just been horrendous – every time Allenspark was next on the list…BAM! winter hits, so hello Glen Haven. Sorry Allenspark…I guess it just sucks to be you.”
Insider #5 claimed that minor administrative error has played a role, if not a decisive one: “We sent two people do to a survey of Meeker Park…and they just vanished. I mean, like into thin air. Turns out that they went to Meeker, Colorado on the other side of the state. They ran out of gas, found a weed dispensary, and have been living there high and happy ever since. The paperwork we had to fill out on that one took months.”
When contacted for verification of the above insider intelligence, Trailblazer Customer Experience Manager Kim Smith replied: “I can neither confirm nor deny any of these reports. I can say that Allenspark’s wait is almost over. Most of Glen Haven, which was a very challenging area for us, now has service, and we will finally bring Trailblazer broadband to Allenspark in 2024. We’re saving the best for last! In the meantime, we are sending an email to all Allenspark folks who have registered in our system to inform them of our latest plans, and we are working to coordinate a Town Hall meeting in Allenspark in early December to answer the community’s questions. All we’re waiting for is Ralph to wake up. I swear that guy sleeps like he’s dead.”
Many internet users experience a sluggish connection even with “high-speed internet.” They’ve invested in a good Wi-Fi router, perhaps a range extender, and may have even upgraded to a faster internet plan.
So why do they find themselves frequently frustrated by slowdowns and freeze-ups? What about their devices—or internet plan—causes this underwhelming performance? And what, if anything, can people do to reduce or even eliminate these issues?
The most likely culprits behind poor internet performance are bandwidth hogs—devices and online activities that gobble up too much bandwidth and slow down everyone’s internet access.
The good news is Trailblazer Broadband’s advanced fiber network provides exceptionally high upload and download speeds (1 Gbps or 1000 Mbps) and the much-overlooked bandwidth capacity that only fiber internet can offer. Combined, fiber’s high speeds and excellent bandwidth can end internet sluggishness.
We discuss bandwidth in greater detail below and explain why every internet customer needs to understand it.
Then, we turn to the most common bandwidth hogs in most people’s homes—devices and online activities—and then explain how Trailblazer Broadband’s best speed tiers can help resolve any bandwidth issues.
What Is Bandwidth—and Why Is Higher Bandwidth So Important?
Bandwidth can be confusing. Put simply, bandwidth is the amount of information an internet connection can manage per second.
Bandwidth doesn’t measure a particular internet connection’s rate (or speed). Instead, it’s about the volume of online data a connection can “carry” and transfer at any given time.
High bandwidth levels let internet users accomplish activities like streaming TV shows, participating in video calls, playing online games, and posting to social media simultaneously without any slowdowns.
More bandwidth is indispensable for keeping an active online household productive—and happy!
What Exactly Is a Bandwidth Hog?
A bandwidth hog is a colloquial term for a device or online activity that eats up more than its fair share of bandwidth. It hogs too much bandwidth and greedily takes it from other devices or activities. Keep in mind that everyday web browsing typically has little impact on overall bandwidth use.
Some devices are famous bandwidth hogs. So, just by turning on and connecting to a bandwidth hog, a huge amount of available bandwidth on your internet connection will be used.
And certain activities require excess bandwidth to carry out your needs. So when even one (or more) bandwidth hogs are activated, the dreaded slowdowns and freeze-ups can occur, leading to frustration and anger in your home!
Common Household Bandwidth Hogs
Smart TVs
Today’s smart TVs feature enhanced technology that displays amazing picture quality.
High-definition, 4K, and 4K Ultra-HD TVs produce stunning imagery and hog lots of bandwidth in the process. Using your smart TV will devour an enormous slice of your home internet’s bandwidth. If you have limited bandwidth capacity, your smart TV could impact other devices and online activities or even slow down a show you want to watch.
Video Streaming
By far the activity with the most excessive use of bandwidth is streaming video.
Netflix tends to be the top offender, in part due to its popularity and vast library of content. Many people stream shows and movies on other devices like their tablets rather than just their smart TVs. And if you have more than one person in your household—and multiple tablets and phones in use—your bandwidth can easily be hogged just by streaming shows and movies.
And Netflix isn’t the only problem.
Streaming services like TikTok and YouTube also use lots of bandwidth. Posting TikTok videos also compounds the bandwidth problem because it involves sending information from the device to a server, consuming even more bandwidth in the process.
Video Calling
During the Covid-19 pandemic, video conference calling became a daily part of life for many people. Zoom, FaceTime, Skype and other services allowed people to stay connected face-to-face, even across long distances. But video calls are notorious bandwidth hogs.
Voice, text, and video all combine to devour bandwidth—and that’s why you’ve experienced those ridiculous freeze-frame faces during the call!
And remember, with video calling, you are not just receiving data—you are also continuously sending it back to the server (and then to your loved ones’ devices). That accounts for video calling’s massive appetite for bandwidth and why so many video calls end up frustrating people (unless you have fiber internet!).
Online Gaming
Another big-time bandwidth hog is online gaming.
Online gaming is incredibly problematic from a bandwidth perspective because, like video calling, information is shared—from the player back to the server and the server back to the player. It often jams the internet connection for gamers and others in the house.
Higher bandwidth – again with the same speed for uploads as well as downloads – allows this excessive volume of data to transfer with far less latency or other delays. So gamers experiencing lag or freezes will benefit from internet plans and tiers that provide more bandwidth.
What’s the Best Way to Get More Bandwidth?
Well, apart from eliminating bandwidth hogs—the devices and activities you already have and love—your best solution is to upgrade to fiber internet.
DSL, cable, and satellite internet don’t have fiber’s high speeds or bandwidth capacity because fiber’s innovative design and cutting-edge materials allow for data to transfer faster and in much higher volumes.
If you already have Trailblazer Broadband, you have 1 gigabyte per second for upload and download speeds with no data caps and no throttling back of speed. A 1 gigabyte per second tier provides plenty of bandwidth to allow a steady flow of online activity like streaming TV and movies, video calling, online gaming, and social media posting. Just by using fiber internet and upgrading your internet speed, you should easily get all the bandwidth your household needs.
To sum it all up, the more bandwidth an internet connection has, the more information it can send out and get back at any particular moment.
And with fiber’s advanced technology and higher speeds, you’ll have additional bandwidth to disburse throughout your home and among your devices. With fiber’s higher bandwidth capacity, your household can avoid the freeze-ups and slowdowns that still plague so many internet users today.
Keep in mind that internet and WiFi are not the same thing. Speeds are always slower through WiFi than on a wired connection. Older devices and interference around your home from other electronic devices can also slow speeds. Check out Trailblazer’s Internet Troubleshooting Guide for optimization tips.
If you have more questions about how fiber internet and it’s maximum speeds and higher bandwidth can make a difference in your internet connection, feel free to reach out to the helpful experts at Trailblazer Broadband. All Trailblazer customers have access to round-the-clock technical support 365 days a year, and anyone can check out Trailblazer Broadband’s Help and Support pages and Video Library for more information.
During the pandemic, we learned to do virtually everything, well, virtually. By far one of the best experiences you can have online is virtual travel to places all over the world that you may not have an opportunity to see in person. Leave the reservations, money and luggage out of the equation. Put your feet up on your sofa in your comfiest clothes with some popcorn, a beverage, and maybe a friend, and transport yourself to exotic locales – without a TSA agent or a speed trap in sight!
According to CVENT, a software solutions and event planning company, “virtual tourism presents you with an immersive experience of an activity, location, or destination through the use of technology. There are tons of different types of virtual tourism offerings, but there’s usually a combination of virtual reality, still images, video, audio, narration, interactivity, and other multimedia formats to provide an experience of a destination that a user cannot get through images or websites alone.”
With Trailblazer Broadband’s high-speed internet, virtually unlimited trips are only a few clicks away! The content is available on the internet just like streaming services for movies and shows. To find your dream designations, simply type “Virtual Travel Destinations” in your browser, you can visit cities, resorts, historical sites, natural wonders, and even museums. Many options are free and all are a fraction of what you would pay to visit in person! You can view the content on a normal computer or even a mobile device, or consider a virtual reality headset for a more immersive experience.
Virtual vacations give you the freedom to explore in most cases because not only can you imagine yourself in the scene, but you can also control what they see of a destination, experiencing 360 degrees of a location. All aspects of a destination can be showcased in high resolution.
When traveling virtually, you aren’t limited by available flights, travel logistics, safety concerns, and whether destinations are open. There’s no need to think about time zones or weather conditions, much less masks, germs or physical limitations.
The other huge benefit is cost. Virtual tourism makes destinations accessible to millions of people who may otherwise not be able to afford to travel to them. Hotels and destinations love highlighting their locations and amenities virtually in the hope that some if not all virtual viewers will want to visit the locale in the “real world” someday. Before making your final decision on where you’d like to actually go, you have the chance to check everything out in advance without safety and health concerns, worrying about whether destinations are open, weather conditions, or time zones. You can enjoy the gorgeous Hawaiian sunset at 3:00 AM in your living room!
This technology is great for showing hotel interiors, artwork, museum exhibits, and anything that can be fully experienced without motion or sound.
Finally, fully immersive VR experiences let you get in on the action by interacting with the environment and discovering more through your actions. This is often a personalized experience focusing on one aspect of the location, like the food scene, music, history, or art. Virtual reality yoga classes, nature walks, stargazing, and bird watching have all become popular ways for a location to show off everything it has to offer.
“A true gift of virtual travel is that we can safely and efficiently access experiences we’ve always wanted to access,” Dennis Watkins, owner of The Magic Parlour in Chicago, said in an article for marthastewart.com. “People separated by oceans can look each other in the eyes and share stories, cultures, and ideas. When I do a show for a single family who logs in from London, Leeds, Norway, or Chicago, I start to see the power of the virtual space … and I think we’re just now starting to understand and leverage that power.”
Trailblazer Broadband is municipally owned and is Estes Park’s only locally supported high-speed broadband service provided over fiber optic lines. The Town of Estes Park provides information only and does not endorse any of the listed companies, the views they express or the products/services they offer. For more information about internet service, contact Trailblazer Broadband at info@trailblazerbroadband.com or (970)577-3770. More Trailblazer news is available at www.trailblazerbroadband.com and https://www.facebook.com/TrailblazerBroadband/
We know the wait for fiber internet installation can be tough. Winter adds to the technical challenges of fiber installation. Frozen ground, shorter days with less sunlight, excessive moisture from melting snow and heavy rains drenching the soil—all of these issues and more can make it exceedingly difficult to bury and install fiber. It’s also a riskier time for our crew of technicians.
While permanent fiber installation may sometimes be delayed during winter and early spring, temporary drops can help deliver the high-speed internet you’ve been waiting for—even if you’ll have to wait for better, safer weather and ground conditions for final installation with buried fiber internet lines.
Below we provide answers to common questions about temporary drops and help explain the installation process so you’ll know what to expect.
What exactly is a temporary drop?
A temporary drop, also referred to as a temp drop, is simply an above-ground fiber internet connection line that provides fiber internet service temporarily to your home until weather and ground conditions are feasible and safe enough to bury the fiber line in the ground.
What kinds of conditions necessitate temp drops?
There are two common reasons why Trailblazer Broadband may not be able to bury the fiber and complete installation during the winter and early spring.
#1: The ground is frozen.
During winter and early spring, the colder temperatures can make the ground too hard to dig and bury fiber or to pull it through frozen conduit. And just because the temperatures warm up for a few days doesn’t necessarily mean the conditions are improved enough to complete the installation. In general, the ground must be fully thawed at least one foot deep, which can take weeks of 60-degree-plus temperatures, depending on the soil’s physical and chemical composition.
#2: The ground is too wet.
The winter and spring can bring heavy precipitation, from heavy snows and snow melts to days of rain. When the soil is over-saturated, it is simply not feasible to install fiber optic lines below ground safely and effectively. Additionally, burying fiber when the ground is too wet can upset lawns, flowerbeds, trees, and other vegetation—not to mention upset your neighbors and their lawns, too!
What are the steps to installing a temporary drop?
After determining that the conditions do not support burying fiber, a temp drop is authorized. Our technicians will then connect the fiber vault near the street that supplies your neighborhood with internet service to your home via a fiber line placed above-ground to your home.
So instead of burying the fiber in the ground, the temp drop keeps the fiber line above the ground and connected to your home, temporarily, until the buried installation can occur when the weather and other conditions improve.
According to Kim Smith, Trailblazer Broadband Customer Experience Manager, “We will make every attempt to run along the best path to bring a temp drop to the location, but please keep in mind that in some cases it is not possible to run temporary line if the fiber run to the home is too long or crosses a drive. We will not leave temp lines across your driveway because driving over it can damage the line.” In some cases, fiber drops cross over neighboring property, but as with other utilities, there is a “right-of-way” that permits this if necessary. Finally, wildlife damage to fiber can also be a concern, so if possible Trailblazer will pull the fiber through conduit that is then laid on the ground for burial at another time.
Is the temp drop line safe?
Yes! While we don’t recommend you handle the line, it is not dangerous. Fiber technology consists of tiny glass strings that transmit light. So unlike live electrical wires, there is no risk of electric shock.
However, we suggest that you do your best to avoid the line while tending to yard work or clearing snow. Although the fiber lines are sturdy, snowplows and other equipment and tools can sometimes harm the line, necessitating more technical support—not to mention the inconvenience of losing internet!
When will my temporary drop be buried?
Temp drops for Trailblazer customers will be addressed and buried as soon as conditions allow. In most cases, the team will need to wait for clear ground and warmer temps to be able to obtain locates and have favorable enough conditions to be able to get the work completed. Since the past winter has been colder than average, we have a number of these to complete later in the spring/summer, so there may be a longer-than-normal wait.
Trailblazer Broadband greatly appreciates your patience as we complete this work and as well as completing the buildout to provide you with fast, reliable fiber internet as efficiently and quickly as possible! As always, feel free to reach out us with any questions or concerns.
Trailblazer Broadband is municipally owned and is Estes Park’s only locally supported high-speed broadband service provided over fiber optic lines. The Town of Estes Park provides information only and does not endorse any of the listed companies, the views they express or the products/services they offer. For more information about internet
service, contact Trailblazer Broadband at info@trailblazerbroadband.com or (970)577-3770. More Trailblazer news is available at www.trailblazerbroadband.com and https://www.facebook.com/TrailblazerBroadband/
By the time fiber optic cable reaches your home and your Trailblazer service is connected, a lot of work has been done, and a lot of fiber has been run. The state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure of Trailblazer Broadband requires an expansive network spread from 4 centralized “huts” to 55 strategically located cabinets and then to thousands of terminals across our valley.
Over 160 miles of fiber optic cable have been run since construction started in Sept 2019.
As with electrical lines, main fiber lines may run overhead or be buried underground, depending on your location. When running fiber underground, we typically follow existing easements which is why we may have to “cut through” a sidewalk or parking lot rather than going around it.
Crews utilize the least invasive trenching methods. Trenches will be filled when work is complete, results vary depending on the location and material. In asphalt, trenches are sealed with high-quality replacement product rated for highways and airport runways.
The fiber network buildout not only provides faster, more reliable internet to the community, but also works in conjunction with Estes Park Power and Communications’ SmartGrid project to help the community reach its renewable energy goals.
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