April 29, 2022 – As part of the ongoing crusade to provide high-speed internet to rural communities, Wisper Internet is pleased to announce the launch of a new wireless broadband tower in Johnson County, Mo., serving households in Knob Noster with Tarana technology. Wisper is one of the first companies nationwide to use the new cutting-edge Tarana technology, offering up to 400 Mbps packages with a greater line of site wireless penetration. The expansion of these towers is part of Wisper’s pledge to provide wireless internet service to rural communities across six states as part of the Connect America Fund (CAF which includes more than $2.5 million focused on broadband in Johnson County. “At Wisper we feel internet service is vital to every home just like water, electricity, and other utilities,” Wisper founder and CEO Nathan Stooke said. “Unlike water and power, residents have a choice which company they trust to provide their internet service. This expansion highlights Wisper’s ongoing commitment to improving the lives of residents in rural areas and small towns across the Midwest.” Wisper has partnered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their Lifeline Program, as well as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Lifeline program offers discounted services for low-income households. If you believe you are eligible for the Lifeline Program and would like to apply, please visit: www.lifelinesupport.org. The ACP offers households monthly service discounts up to $30, as well as credit for the purchase of eligible devices. To apply for the benefit, visit ACPBenefit.org. If you are approved, please contact Wisper and provide your ACP approval letter.   Wisper Internet operates on fixed wireless technology. To connect people via fixed wireless, Wisper mounts a transmitter onto an elevated structure, like a communications/water tower or grain elevator. Customers receive that signal into a small dish located on the outside of their home, which then transmits their signal to their router, where they can connect to all their favorite devices! Tarana was created while trying to solve the issues associated with America’s fixed wireless system. While searching for a way to bring modern speed requirements to remote areas without going over budgets, the team at Tarana developed the Gigabit 1 system. For more information on this exciting service expansion, the new Tarana system, or to determine service eligibility, contact the Wisper Sales Team at (800) 765-7772 or sales@wisperisp.com. Wisper ISP, LLC, based in Mascoutah, Ill., is a wireless internet service provider with more than 200 employees and 20,000 subscribers across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma…. Read More

April 29, 2022- As part of the ongoing crusade to provide high-speed internet to rural communities, Wisper Internet is pleased to announce the launch of a new wireless broadband tower in Ottawa County, OK., serving households in Fairland community with Tarana technology. Wisper is one of the first companies nationwide to use the new cutting-edge Tarana technology, offering up to 400 Mbps packages with a greater line of site wireless penetration. The expansion of these towers is part of Wisper’s pledge to provide wireless internet service to rural communities across six states as part of the Connect America Fund (CAF) which includes more than $770,000 focused on broadband in Ottawa County. “At Wisper we feel internet service is vital to every home just like water, electricity, and other utilities,” Wisper founder and CEO Nathan Stooke said. “Unlike water and power, residents have a choice which company they trust to provide their internet service. This expansion highlights Wisper’s ongoing commitment to improving the lives of residents in rural areas and small towns across the Midwest.” Wisper has partnered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their Lifeline Program, as well as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Lifeline program offers discounted services for low-income households. If you believe you are eligible for the Lifeline Program and would like to apply, please visit: www.lifelinesupport.org. The ACP offers households monthly service discounts up to $30, as well as credit for the purchase of eligible devices. To apply for the benefit, visit ACPBenefit.org. If you are approved, please contact Wisper and provide your ACP approval letter. There are also discounts for households participating in specific tribal programs.   Wisper Internet operates on fixed wireless technology. To connect people via fixed wireless, Wisper mounts a transmitter onto an elevated structure, like a communications/water tower or grain elevator. Customers receive that signal into a small dish located on the outside of their home, which then transmits their signal to their router, where users can connect to all their favorite devices! Tarana was created while trying to solve the issues associated with America’s fixed wireless system. While searching for a way to bring modern speed requirements to remote areas without going over budgets, the team at Tarana developed the Gigabit 1 system. For more information on this exciting service expansion, the new Tarana system, or to determine service eligibility, contact the Wisper Sales Team at (800) 765-7772 or sales@wisperisp.com. Wisper ISP, LLC, based in Mascoutah, Ill., is a wireless internet service provider with more than 200 employees and 20,000 subscribers across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma…. Read More

Do you have a favorite teacher? Not just the cool teacher everyone liked, but a teacher who played a key role in your life. This could be a teacher from grade school, junior high, high school, or even college. Now the real question…Have you ever thanked them? I’m lucky enough to have two teachers like this in my life. They both took a special interest in me and put me on the right path for my future career and life in general. If you’ve read any of these blogs, you know I’m from a small town and obviously went to small schools in my community. On a side note, because of the small community, I was in preschool at the local library through high school graduation with the same people (an aspect I cherish). Now, our kids are in school together and it’s always a treat to see each other at sporting events or other school-related gatherings and events to share memories of growing up and the awkward teen years. I first heard about my favorite teacher Mrs. A when I was in junior high. She taught history, geography, and maybe a few other courses. Her room was in the lower hallway at my school, and she had been a LEGEND for years, meaning everyone, especially lowly junior high kids, was terrified of her. In addition to fears of being stuffed into lockers and actually speaking to a cute girl, the pressure of making it down the lower hallway without Mrs. A yelling at us caused beads of sweat to form on the foreheads of even the coolest upper-classmen. Junior high kids had no chance of survival. Now, obviously, she wasn’t just sitting by her door waiting to prey on unsuspecting children who wander by and get caught in her evil web. She was teaching her classes (and she did not mess around) and if she had to reprimand a student in the lower hallway, they absolutely deserved it. Side note: I was always innocent…weird. Registering as a freshman, the inevitable happened. I had Mrs. A for history and the stomach-churning began weeks before the start of school. Another aspect of the small school (that I did not cherish) was our buildings didn’t have air conditioning until the early 2000s. So, in the early 1990s when we got to pick our seats on the first day of school, we all wanted to sit by the windows to get at least a refreshing breeze of air coming in to break the soupy humidity inside the classrooms. We began the semester learning how to take detailed notes on her lectures. This didn’t seem like a big deal at the time but put a pin in this point for later. We all just knew we hated it. As with any class, bonds began to be formed between Mrs. A and a few of us sitting together in her class. Myself and my best buddies Scott and Shelly all seemed to click with Mrs. A. Don’t get me wrong, we were by no means teacher’s pets. She was just as tough, or even tougher on us as everyone else in the class and expected even more because she saw our potential. Mutual respect formed and as a 13-year-old kid, that felt great and was never forgotten. I ended up having Mrs. A for history classes three years in a row (different classes, I didn’t flunk) and sat in my same window seat as a Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior. Looking back, I should have taken one of her advanced history classes as a senior, but I took home economics instead. Needless to say, Mrs. A was more than disappointed, but “senior-itis” is a thing. Besides, I’ll never need to take notes in my future career (newspaper reporter), or type words on a keyboard (I cheated my way through high school typing class. Sorry Mrs. T). While I was in high school, I always spoke highly of and defended Mrs. A to my classmates and they blew it off, called her mean and too tough (they may have just been jealous). This was when I realized they hadn’t given her the respect she deserved and realized her main purpose in the lower hallway every day was to make us better people and prepare us for the outside world. I literally have tears in my eyes as I type this thinking about the life lessons I learned from Mrs. A during my four years of high school. If I was having a bad day, I could go to her for comfort and advice. She was always there. She did not sugarcoat things and there was a lot of tough love. When we were not being good people, she told us. We always knew she was genuine, she cared and was there if we needed her for anything from life advice to a hall pass when we were tardy. A few years after I graduated from college, I volunteered to help the drama club (which Mrs. A was the long-time sponsor) with the annual spring play. As I was working on my tasks, I watched Mrs. A interact with the kids and could see myself 10 years prior in their same shoes learning to be a “person” with the help of this great lady. She hadn’t changed a bit. Firm, fair, and with their best interests at heart. During one of those rehearsals, she and I had a moment to chat sitting on the side of the stage, and (just like now) with tears in my eyes I got to thank Mrs. A for everything she had done for me and most of all thank her. Then, much to my surprise, I saw a tear run down her cheek. She just smiled and walked over to a group of kids and kept on doing for them what she had always done for me. We celebrate teachers during their own appreciation week each year, but that’s not near… Read More

****The names of some characters have been changed to protect whatever***** Earlier this week, in the middle of a crazy (typical) Missouri spring day, two marketing employees for Wisper Internet made their way to the state capitol in Jefferson City from points east and west. They had top-level meetings with three state senators and one state representative who represent districts and counties where Wisper is doing great work connecting residents to reliable broadband internet. The day for Ronnie began before dawn with about a two-hour drive to the capitol. He was able to make it with no real issues except for a little rain and a very tight parking garage. The rain let up just long enough for Ronnie to make it in the building and take the obligatory (mandatory) selfie with the capitol dome in the background for social media. After meeting with Wisper’s fantastic legislative partners near the rotunda, the first of the day’s tribulations began. Ronnie is not a small guy and his counterpart that day, let’s call her…ummm Maudia, did her best to kill Ronnie making him walk up I’d say about 75 to 80 flights of stairs in a building Ronnie knew for a fact has several working elevators. Short of breath we held our first meeting and were joined by..umm Ray, who did a great job highlighting the great things Wisper is doing across Missouri. The trek continued twisting and turning through the marble halls dodging lawmakers and school tour groups. Making their way to the office of a very high-ranking senator and Ronnie actually welcomed the 10-15 minutes they had to wait to catch his breath and have a few sips of much-needed hydration. Meeting over, Ronnie, Ray, and Maudia moved on to the next meeting (again with the stairs, ironically passing directly by working elevators) with another state senator. This one was a bit shorter and then we had a “break”. Now, Randi enters the adventure. This is where it gets really….interesting. Ronnie’s phone rings as Randi is still driving the streets of Jeff City looking for a parking garage. Ronnie had given Randi some great maps a few months earlier, but, of course, they were lost. Maudia is handed the phone to talk Randi into a garage and then we wait as Randi makes her way to the building. Note: it is now pouring rain with strong winds. Oh, did I mention Randi had only been to the capitol once ever and that was decades ago? After several minutes on the phone, a rain-soaked Randi appears on the “correct side” (the one without the river) of the capitol and finally enters the building to join the team for the final meeting of the day. After a trip down more stairs to the café to grab a soda, we actually used an elevator (don’t get excited. More stairs are in the future) and Randi, Ray, Maudia, and Ronnie were all together for a quick “how ya doing” and scarfing down a granola bar before our sherpa leader again led them into the stairwells to our final meeting of the day, about two hours ahead of schedule. Credit Ray for that one. All of the meetings are a great success and now it’s time for Randy and Ronnie to make their way to their respective parking garages and then home. Thanks and pleasantries are exchanged with the stair masters and Rannie and Randi out into the rain. The pair happily make their way past the MoDOT building and governor’s mansion to the garage Ronnie has parked in for years when he travels to Jeff City. “I don’t know if this is the same garage I parked in,” Randi questioned. “Maybe I’m on the lower level?” An attendant was asked and there was in fact NOT a lower level to that garage. “No problem, Randi,” Ronnie interjects. “We will grab my truck and I’ll give you a ride to your garage, so you can stay out of the rain.” Little did Ronnie know, Randi had NO IDEA which garage she had parked (the company car) in. To keep this brief, what seemed like several miles were driven in circles up and down several blocks in and around the capitol looking for the hidden, forgotten, and maybe nonexistent garage before Randi had another great idea. “Take me back to the capitol circle drive where I came in and I’ll have to retrace my steps,” Randi said. “I’ll use my phone (required internet reference) and It’ll get me back where the GPS brought me in.” Unlike other grand adventures (Moby Dick, Indiana Jones, or even Star Wars), I’m sorry to say there is no dramatic or heroic ending….the garage was a block away! A block away. As Ronnie was again circling the block keeping an eye on Randi (and eventually pulling into a one-way lot) a much-anticipated call came that the “company car” had been located and Randi would soon be safely on her way home. Just as an update, both Randi and Ronnie made it home safely and both reported to work the next day. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too. Maybe some of us should stay in the small towns…I know where my truck is parked…. Read More

What were you doing in 2003? More specifically, do you remember something you bought in 2003? I’m betting, unless you had a major life event (marriage, graduation, children) or made a major purchase like a house or car, the answer to both questions would be…No. Let’s break it down even more. If you answered yes to the question about purchases, do you still have that item or product? And to drill down even deeper, is it still as good as it was (or better) 19 years ago? I may be wrong in assuming (because we all know what that does), but I’ll go out on a limb and say the answers to that last set of questions are also a big…No. In 2003, Wisper Internet was created by Nathan Stooke because his neighbor a couple of miles away needed internet service. This doesn’t sound like such a big deal today when everything we do is connected to the internet. Our entertainment, education, work, and even some refrigerators. Look it up, I’m not sure if I should be excited or terrified. I mean, have you ever seen Transformers? After maxing out credit cards and months of research, wireless internet came out on top as the best option for Nathan’s neighbor, and just a few months later Wisper was born. Also in 2003, as one of Wisper’s first ambitious projects, the community of Fairmont City was equipped with wireless internet, and about half of the households in town have been Wisper customers ever since. In recent weeks, Wisper has doubled down on its commitment to Fairmont City with a $500,000 upgrade and retrofit of equipment on both the broadcast towers and customers’ homes. This also included major work on Wisper infrastructure in St. Louis which serves Fairmont City. Now tell me what other product or service you’ve had for 20 years is going to set you up with all-new, state-of-the-art equipment with no new costs. Not going to happen! Last week I had a great phone conversation with someone who has worked in and with Fairmont City for 20-plus years. She was blunt, frank, and honest about the needs in the community and the pros and cons of Wisper for the people she interacts with every day. As a public relations agent for the company, some of what she said was right in line with what I would want to hear from a community advocate. On the other hand, some of it was quite a gut punch. She was by no means being mean. Instead, she was being real, and to be honest, I am grateful to her. In an industry based on customers and serving them (which Wisper takes very seriously), this type of feedback is good. Any person or company can pat themselves on the back and say how great we are, but who purposely looks in the mirror and comments on their warts? Wisper started with one neighbor who needed internet, and now in 2022 has grown to the top wireless internet service provider in the nation providing service to “20,000 neighbors”. As we continue to grow our network across six states using hundreds of millions of dollars through Connect America Fund, we can not forget our roots and the towns that put us on the map, like Fairmont City. I’ve written before about our love of small towns and I’ve mentioned that Wisper is a company with a soul. Our success in the future depends on not forgetting the past. A customer or community from 2003 is just as important as customers and towns we connect in 2023 and 2033 for that matter. It’s easy to get complacent when things are going well, but it only takes one spark to reignite a fire and help a company, employees, and customers stay focused on the past and the future. As the year progresses the Fairmont City project is just the first of about 40 planned for 2022. Add to that, the launch of as many as 20 new wireless broadband towers each month. The snowball is rolling down the mountain. Wisper and its workforce are growing larger every day. Fairmont City, Wisper is sticking with you, thanks for sticking with us. And we promise…no Transformers.   Wisper’s Towers are located at: 2905 N 61st St, Fairmont City, IL 62201, USA 2553 N 44th St, East St Louis, IL 62201, USA… Read More

Virtual Sleepovers? How do you pillow fight? When you were a kid, was there anything quite as fun as a sleepover, or better yet a slumber party? Now let’s set a few ground rules right away. I understand these are two very different experiences depending on if you are a boy or girl. For boys, it was more like a game of survivor where literally the last man standing would be the only one not to be drawn on with a marker, shaving creamed, or had their hand placed in warm water. It’s normal for pillow fights to draw blood…right…just me and my friends? Nevertheless, the endless hours of fighting sleep, talking about girls, and outright fighting for life were priceless and I’d give anything to do it all over again. Heck, most of us would give anything to stay awake past 9 p.m. much less past midnight and beyond. My couch is a safe space from shaving cream. Now, since I am a boy, I really have no idea what girl sleepovers consist of, but as teenage boys we assumed they were discussing us, boys, all night, doing makeup, and braiding each other’s hair. Oh, and New Kids on the Block and 90210…. right? (Our editor confirms this! And don’t forget the RomComs!) Fast forward a few decades and I’m a dad of a tween who is experiencing her first few sleepovers. Let me tell you they are nothing like the old days. Like it has affected everyday life, work, play, and school, the internet is now part of sleepovers. I had two girls physically at my house, but they were online with who knows how many of their volleyball and track teammates at different times in the evening, not to mention playing games online as well…at least until they fell asleep (more on that in a bit). With social media, face timing, online gaming, and messenger services, what a great time to be a kid. Caution: old man reference forthcoming: In my day, you saw your friends at school and church, maybe an “in town” call in the evening and once summer hit, if you didn’t live within biking distance, you might not see some of your buddies all summer, even though they lived just on the other side of town. This wasn’t a problem in the town I grew up in and live in today. Even if they weren’t technically in biking distance, what your mom didn’t know never hurt her. But if she ever found out…. So back to the slumber party, we went out to a Chinese buffet for dinner and as I do most Saturday nights, despite the extra activity between my daughter’s room and the family room downstairs, I was dozing off on the couch by 9ish. Around 10, I gave it up, said my goodnights, and headed to bed expecting to be kept up all night by giggles and loud music. When I woke up the next morning I shuffled to the living room to watch the news and caffeinate, expecting to have a few minutes of peace and quiet before everyone woke up and I was pressed into breakfast duty. Insert internet reference here: After only about 15 minutes of silent news, weather, and social media surfing on my wireless device, guess what? Two perfectly rested tweens ravenous like werewolves demanding pancakes, despite the empty bag of chips I found on the kitchen counter from the previous midnight snacks. Turns out, they never even made it to midnight, and they were both asleep by 10:40 p.m. No wonder I slept through the night uninterrupted. Oh well, no big deal, there will be dozens of sleepovers to make up for it in their futures and I must admit the pancakes were pretty good for Dad too. Although I do PR for an internet company, I’m compelled to mention one downside of connectivity with friends during a sleepover…. they can connect with boys too! But that’s a subject for another blog…. Read More

The extra mile? When did we forget to be nice? A brighter light is shined on being kind and taking the time to go the extra mile for others. These are great things, but at what point did we as humans deprogram ourselves to not put our family, friends, neighbors, and sometimes total strangers first? During a recent meeting with Wisper associates, the phrase “spoiled customer” came up in the conversation. Why exactly are they spoiled? The easy answer is that our employees put them first and legitimately care about them and the services we provide them to make their lives easier. Wow. What a good problem to have. Right? It’s inspiring to know that I work with more than 200 other people who share the same core values of service and caring for others. Wisper is a company with a soul. Every day on both personal and professional social media there seems to be some post about someone helping an elderly person cross the street or rescuing a stray dog. You all know at I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong, these are great things, most times done without gratitude, recognition, or second thoughts. Hopefully, posting acts of kindness will inspire others to act accordingly. Are those actions and posts for the right reasons? What happened to just being good humans? Are these acts of kindness really so rare that they need to be publicized and documented like a bigfoot sighting? Personally, I wish there were more of both. A great expression I’m sure you’ve all heard is “What do you do when no one is watching?” Can kindness, donations, volunteering, and just generally taking care of each other happen without a social media post? Kind of like working out…but that’s another blog! In a recent magazine interview, Wisper’s Chief Technology Officer Chris Sigley said Wisper wants to provide “not just the last mile, but the last foot” of a customer’s experience. That’s why our customers are “spoiled”. Wisper goes that extra distance and when they do have an issue, they are even more distraught and frankly frustrated because they are used to great internet and customer service. Plus, Wisper brings them something no other companies will….kindness. In addition to my duties at Wisper, I’ve been a first responder for nearly 20 years. A few weeks ago there was a snowstorm in our area which made driving, let’s say, challenging. About two in the afternoon we get a call for a car spinning out in the median on the highway. Long story short, the driver was fine and luckily her car didn’t suffer any damage, she was just shaken up as you can imagine. Her husband quickly arrived on the scene and then something very funny happened. Since the shoulder of the road was a bit treacherous both myself and one of the police officers asked the driver if she’d like one of us to help her to her husband’s vehicle while he negotiated a tow truck. I asked her, “Bet when you woke up this morning, you never dreamed you’d have a cop and a fireman fighting over who got to walk you to your car”. As you can imagine it brought a smile to her face and hopefully put a better spin on what could have been a very bad day. When I got back in the firetruck I took the opportunity to give a non-textbook lesson to one of our “probies” (probationary firefighters). This was an extra mile moment. A little bit of effort from us went a long way. It didn’t need a social post or thank you. It should be organic. It doesn’t cost us a thing to be a good person and to “spoil” everyone we encounter. Take an extra second, open that door for someone, let the other driver go first, or just flash a smile in the store. It goes a long way and it might even be contagious!… Read More

Remember when you were a kid at the county fair, firemen’s picnic, or a big amusement park for the first time? Craning your neck and shielding your eyes from the sun to look up at the top of the roller coaster towering what seemed like hundreds of feet into the heavens. Hearing the screams of riders, feeling the breeze and the sounds of the cars on the tracks as they blurred past at what could be no less than 500 miles per hour. Those roller coasters with names like “Widowmaker”, “The Dragon”, or something to do with screaming or doom. Sounds fun, right? Remember that feeling in your stomach causing the cotton candy and fried garbage you’d been eating all day to do flips flops. It was either from excitement, anxiety, or fear. Probably a combination of all three. You tentatively get in line and try to put on a brave face for your friends, who are probably just as terrified as you are to get strapped into this wood and metal serpent that is sure to bring certain death. The bars come down over your legs and chest and the machine lurches forward. No turning back now. Click, click, click….up the first hill you go. Heart pounding, lump in your throat (definitely the cotton candy), muscles tensed, eyes closed. Whoosh down you go and into the first hills and flips and corkscrews. It was probably at this point you realized you were in fact not going to perish and as the machine winds, turns, and climbs you find your arms raised and screaming not in terror but in pure delight. Delighted that you not only get to keep the contents of your stomach on the inside (hopefully) but delight in the knowledge that you have conquered your fears and in fact can’t want to get back in line and do it all over again. Or better yet, let’s go ride the bigger coaster! So, how does a roller coaster tie into Wisper Internet? You can insert anything you’ve ever been afraid to try in place of the roller coaster. The same fear of trying new things stays with us throughout our lives…Until we conquer it! Over the past few days, spring has arrived in the St. Louis metro area (where Wisper is headquartered). With spring comes renewal, growth, and lots of new things. Spring represents new beginnings. Graduations are in the spring, crops are planted in the spring, love is in the air (yuck, I think I feel the cotton candy coming back up) and the warm weather seems to give us all the desire to start something fresh (Lord knows our New Year resolutions from three months back have long been broken). I’ve said all of that to explain everyone likes to try new things but it’s scary. If you’ve never shopped at a new store or eaten at a new restaurant, that unconscious fear of the unknown is keeping you from doing it. Since our creation nearly 20 years ago, Wisper has focused on bringing wireless internet to areas where services are lacking. In fact, in some areas, Wisper has been the only company that cares enough to provide service. You’ve seen our signs on the road, heard our commercials on the radio, and even overheard your neighbors on the church pews and bar stools talking about Wisper. Spring has sprung and it’s time to try something new. Now is the perfect time to spring into Wisper. Wisper isn’t some faceless, national corporation making empty promises. We have homegrown roots and care about small towns because that’s where we live too. I guarantee just like the roller coaster, halfway through those fears will melt away, you’ll be smiling and wondering why you waited so long…. Read More

Do you like treasure hunting movies? A rag-tag group of kids finds an old map in an attic that leads to a pirate ship, or an invisible message is discovered on the back of the Declaration of Independence launching a search for an ancient cash of riches. As a kid, I loved Indiana Jones and his adventures (except for the snakes) in exotic lands searching for long-lost relics while battling the forces of evil (we will get back to them later). In one scene, Dr. Jones is teaching a lesson to his students at the University of Chicago and at the end of the lecture, he specifically tells them that “X” never marks the spot on the map. With all due respect to Indy, that’s not always true. I know what you’re thinking, how does an Indiana Jones reference translate to an internet company? Stay with me. It’s an adventure. I will get you there. In my role with Wisper Internet, I get the chance to talk to a lot of people and elected leaders of towns, counties, and entire districts of states. As we talk about how Wisper is helping theirs and other rural communities stay connected to reliable internet, I always show them maps. See where I’m going with this? Those maps show tower locations specific to their areas and pinpoint the exact locations in their communities where Wisper is providing quality internet to residents. In this case, “X” truly does mark the spot. Wisper is humbly confident with our network and our “dots on the map.” It’s a no-nonsense, undeniable way to show where Wisper has existing infrastructure and it proves that Wisper is there and already improving life in a lot of neighborhoods. As an ambassador of Wisper, I’m more than proud to show these maps and our X marks on them. They represent 20 years of Wisper’s commitment to connecting people to the world. They also show that Wisper has done the work in the infrastructure, people, and experience to keep promises and commitments. Now, let’s get back to the “forces of evil.” If you had a choice between dealing with a company with proven dots on the map, small-town roots, and employees who care about their customers, or a faceless, national corporation, who would you choose? In many small communities, large internet companies come in and make promises they will never keep. They may have maps, but they don’t have dots on them. Promises like burying cable into communities and low-cost products and customer services. It costs between $25,000 and $100,000 per mile to bury cable to a community. Then they must connect that cable to your home. Think they are not going to pass that cost on to you? Or the more realistic outcome is the big companies will realize they can’t make enough money on the project, so the small town gets forgotten and was basically lied to. Wisper Internet can construct wireless towers, or use existing water towers, grain elevators, and other elevated structures for a fraction of the cost of burying lines, and we connect to your homes through the air. We keep our promises to small towns. In the last part of 2021, Wisper launched 68 new towers across four states. Those towers serve more than 204,000 households in 63 individual communities. Moving forward in 2022, Wisper has plans for 230 new construction projects, which means as many as 20 new towers a month are being built in or near communities just like yours. Even more dots on the map. Wisper is homegrown internet, and we care about small towns because that’s where we live too. We may not have a cool hat or a bullwhip, or be searching for the Ark or the Grail, but we do follow a map every day. The X’s we care about are our customers, present and future, and the towns they live in…. Read More

The smell of popcorn, sounds of bouncing balls, happy voices and squeaking sneakers fill your senses as you walk into the high school or elementary school gymnasium. Athletes are warming up on the floor while parents, friends, and everyone else is precariously climbing the Mt. Everest of bleachers to find the “best” (very uncomfortable) seat in the house to watch their student-athletes perform. This same scenario plays out nearly every night in thousands of schools all over the country. Whether the games are on the home court or at the neighboring rival’s school, parents cheer on their kiddos, and win or lose the unwavering support is always there. While I was attending a recent game for my young student-athlete, I was soaking in the sights and sounds of an unfamiliar gym in a town about an hour away from home. As the girls were warming up I exchanged some pleasantries with a few people sitting near me as they moved by to get to their seats. They were all there to support the home team and clearly saw I was wearing my maroon and white instead of their orange and black. As the first match started, a proud mom with a toddler in tow moved into the row in front of me and quickly pulled out her phone to snap some photos of the game. When I noticed she wasn’t putting her phone down right away I realized she was taking a video instead. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed this as her little guy (who clearly wanted to play with the phone) asked what mom was doing. Her response was “I’m streaming this to grandma.” Since I work for Wisper Internet, and I’m obviously a parent, this struck a chord on two levels. First, here we were in a small-town gymnasium, but we were still connected to the entire world. Second, the internet was responsible for allowing grandma to see their kiddo compete without ever leaving their homes. Once I realized the mom was streaming, I did my best to subdue my cheering, (good luck with that) so I didn’t ruin her video. She smiled and said not to worry about it and she understood that was why we were both there in the first place. We all think of the ‘big picture’ internet: work, entertainment, and school, when we think about the importance of the internet and staying connected. For me, this was “small picture” internet and how Wisper Internet has been connecting communities for nearly two decades. On a personal, everyday level, connections online affect us on the most basic of levels without us even realizing it, like a simple chat with grandma. Man, I wish I could still have those, don’t you? What can be more important than family? Imagine, a set of grandparents being able to cheer on their granddaughter through this amazing thing we call the internet from across town, or across the country. It may not seem like a big deal, but staying connected even on the mini-levels is more important than we can imagine. These connections, big and small, are important to Wisper and always will be. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and sometimes we forget to stop and smell the popcorn. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too. Oh, by the way, the maroon and white won!… Read More

How many stoplights are in your town? It may be an odd question for many, but for many others living in small towns and rural communities, it’s perfectly normal. Just like “where’d you go to high school”. For me and my village, the answer is one stoplight. It’s red almost every time I approach the intersection on Main Street thanks to the railroad traffic. It’s only been there since the mid-1990s. How did we survive without them? That’s a rhetorical question. We all know John Mellencamp’s 1985 megahit “Small Town” (no Cougar back then. I looked it up). It’s loved by millions of city and country folks all over the world. You’re singing it in your head right now, aren’t you? The melody was catchy, the lyrics memorized and if you in fact grew up in a small town, it seemed like John wrote the song about the street you grew up on. He was singing directly to you and your friends. Heck, you could have been Jack and Diane too. I’m sure city folk would argue, but living in a small town has its advantages, but just like the one stoplight, there are limits to what you can do and how you can do them in the small communities. For most this was not a problem when information (with a large helping of gossip) was disseminated in local newspapers, schools, barber/beauty shops, diners, bar stools, and church pews. Today, the need for information and connection in small rural towns and big cities is bigger than ever and the main source for that information and connection is the internet. Commerce, education, and entertainment have moved from offices and classrooms to kitchen tables and offices in bedrooms. Like most things, the internet is easy to get in the city. Unfortunately, it is a different story in rural communities. Since 2003, Wisper Internet has focused on the small towns and communities of rural America. We care about them because that’s where we live too. Wisper Founder and CEO Nathan Stooke started this homegrown internet journey because his neighbor two miles away needed internet. Six states and 20,000 customers and two decades later, Wisper is focused on turning its internet towers to the outskirts, suburbs, counties, townships, villages, and unincorporated communities who need reliable internet access more today than ever before. We often joke about the blessing and the curse of living in a small town. Everyone knows you and everyone knows your business. The pros and cons have and will be debated for generations, and no real answer will ever be agreed on. As important as the small-town connections of diners, barbers, schools, and churches can be, we need more connections than ever before. We simply cannot function in our daily lives without the internet. And we can no longer say our internet works “most of the time”. Imagine turning on the light switch or faucet and nothing happening. Just like Mellencamp singing about his Seymour, Indiana roots, there are millions of us who were born in small towns, live in small towns, and will probably die and be buried in the same small towns. Personally, I would not want it any other way. Wisper will never forget where we came from, and we cannot forget the people who love us. We are small-town…just like you…. Read More

Water is the pathway to communication, now pass the spray paint? Since the beginning of time, human beings have settled on the banks of oceans, lakes, and rivers. For centuries, these bodies of water provided food, commerce, protection, trade, and most importantly, an outlet to stay connected. As the settlements grew from tents and shacks to cities, and canoes transformed into sailing ships, the importance of spreading news and information to one another grew in importance as well. These connections by water could literally mean the difference between life and death in the “old days”. Too bad it took a few months to cross an ocean back then. Moving forward in time as steamships and paddle wheelers moved up and down our coasts and rivers, one of the most important commodities they carried was communications in the form of letters, contracts, messages, maps, and any other information people needed to share for business, entertainment, and simple family life. Let’s fast forward about a hundred years to middle America and a landmark in thousands of small towns across the country. Sometimes on the outskirts on a nearby hill, or smack in the middle of the town square stands a water tower. No matter the natural habitat they are found in, water towers all seem to look the same. Usually painted white or blue or gray with a town name proudly displayed hundreds of feet in the air. Many times they are scarred with graffiti affirming teen love, letting the town know a certain graduating class or sports team “rocked” or marked with areas of mismatched paint covering up some four letters words. No, I don’t mean “love”. One specific water tower located down south somewhere was the subject of a very popular country song in the 1990s. If I remember correctly that teen artist (Billy Bob) professed his love to Charlene with a ten-foot heart and green letters three-feet high. Again, just like the oceans and rivers of old, water is still a key to keeping communities connected. With all due respect to Billy Bob and Charlene, water towers are playing an even more important role in keeping small towns and communities connected to each other and the world with wireless internet service. For nearly two decades, Wisper Internet has been installing wireless broadband equipment on dozens of water towers in small towns across the Midwest. Since they are usually the highest point in the center, or near center of a town they are perfect to connect every household within line of sight. In Wisper’s infancy, it understood the importance of water towers and today has equipment attached to 176 water towers in communities like Waterloo, Ill., Lead Hill, Ark., Orongo, Mo., Bluejacket, Okla., and Riverton, Kan., just to name a few. If the internet was around back in the old days, Wisper would have found a way to attach our equipment to whatever we could to keep information flowing. Just like hundreds or even thousands of years ago, water is still key to keeping people connected and the use of water towers today, shows Wisper’s humbly confident focus on customer service, commitment to serving one another, lifelong learning, and driving to solutions. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too!… Read More

Snow Day! It really doesn’t mean what it used to. Sleeping in, eating your favorite cereal while watching the Price Is Right in your pajamas, all before breaking out the snowsuits, sleds, and shovels. An afternoon plummeting down hills and pummeling your friends with snowballs was topped off by grilled cheese sandwiches, warm soups, and of course hot chocolate. Evenings consisted of video games, crossing your fingers that your snowman would survive the night and school would be canceled again the next day. Oh, to be a kid again. As adults snow days trigger anxiety and stress instead of excitement and anticipation. As the forecast looms, questions of road conditions, where is the shovel, how much gas is in the car, who’s watching the kids, do we have enough food and dozens of other cold sweat-inducing situations flood our brains. Even if the roads are semi-cleared, the effort to dislodge your car from its icy tomb mirrors an archeological dig in ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, instead of being rewarded with untold riches, you get to make a white-knuckled drive into work. And don’t lie, you didn’t completely clear the windshield so, you’re making the treacherous driving begging your defroster to work faster while hoping your car gets warm before you get to your parking spot at work. By parking spot, I mean the small slivers of pavement between the glaciers created by snowplows that only 4×4 Jeep or mountain goat can access. Tiptoe and baby step from your car to the sidewalk covered with ice and just a hint of salt while bundled up like Randy from Christmas Story (I can’t put my arms down!). You made it. Now you get an uneasy and distracted eight hours to panic about how you’re going to get home. And you still won’t clean your whole windshield for the commute. If there is one silver lining to the nightmare we have all faced the past two years, it is the concept of remote work and e-learning. For adults, it is probably one of the best things to happen to them in their careers. No traffic on the commute from the bedroom to the home office, kitchen table, or sofa, except for maybe a dog or cat vying for some attention. Lunches made in your own kitchen, and admit it, pajamas all day, at least from the waist down. With the practice of electronic or remote learning perfected as a necessity in the past two school years, kiddos and teachers no longer have good old snow days, but instead can do their schoolwork at home and not fall behind or add extra days to the end of the school year. The kids and a few parents may not like it, but it really is the best for everyone. Why haven’t we been doing this for years? One word…connectivity. Wisper Internet’s founder and CEO Nathan Stooke explains the pandemic has brought 2030 to 2020. What that means is technology, commerce, and learning that was slowly dipping their toe into cyberspace was instead thrown into the deep end of the online pool. Sink or swim. Most schools, businesses, and small-town households are learning to float and swim pretty well but there are still others who are barely keeping their heads above water and when an unexpected wave comes, they are pulled under. Why? Connectivity. Since its homegrown roots two decades ago, Wisper’s goal was to connect people in small towns, and both rural and urban communities with wireless broadband internet. In the early 2000s internet was a novelty or even a luxury. Today, it’s a necessity. It is needed in homes just like water or electricity. Try doing without one of those on a snow day. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too. We want to connect communities so parents can work safely from home on a snowy day. Kids can do their school lessons before hitting the hills. Ready or not, working and learning from home is the future. Check to see what Wisper can do to help you and your family!… Read More

If you’re thirsty, just turn on the faucet. That’s a pretty easy concept. When it gets dark, just flip a switch and the lights come on. We need these things to function in our everyday lives. Try doing without either one of them, for a day, or even just a few hours. Not gonna happen, right? Now, think about not having internet for a day. You may think it’s no big deal but take a minute and realize almost everything you do, short of talking to someone in person, or the prehistoric concept of reading a real newspaper, book, or magazine, actually made of paper, utilizes some sort of electronic signal. Where do those signals come from? We all pay, or if you’re lucky your parents pay, an electric bill each month that keeps our homes illuminated, warm, and entertained. Water is no different. If we need more electricity for something we simply get into the junk drawer and grab some batteries. If we need more water, stores sell it in bottles, jugs, and cans. We can stock up on both before a snowstorm, party, or trip and can get as much of them whenever and pretty much wherever we want. But what about internet? You’ve gotta have it! In today’s world where everyone is running their lives online, you can’t say your internet “works most of the time”. You can’t produce it yourself in your basement or garage or store it in the kitchen, and you certainly can’t go to the minimart up the street and buy internet in a bottle. In some areas, you don’t have the internet at all, or you’re stuck with one company providing you terrible service, or just making promises and never delivering on a product you absolutely need for your everyday life, just like water or power. You don’t really have a choice who you get your electricity from unless you live off the grid and if so, you’re probably going to burn this for heat as soon as you read it. If you don’t like the water that comes into your home you can filter it or simply choose to drink from those bottles, jugs, or cans. What do you do if the internet connecting your house isn’t any good? Luckily, you do have a choice on which company keeps your family connected to work, school and play. Seriously, if you had to choose between a national, faceless corporation or a homegrown company with employees who grew up, live, and are raising their families in communities just like the one you love, who would you pick? Wisper Internet was born and raised in the cornfields of Illinois and understands real people. Wisper has even been called a “company with a soul”. That soul is what drives Wisper to provide the best products and the best service to the communities we serve every day. Although Wisper has expanded to 20,000 customers across six states, it all started with a neighbor who needed to get connected 20 years ago. If you listen to the experts, wireless internet is the future and Wisper is already decades ahead of the faceless corporations who are constantly bombarding you with commercials. Wisper has connected and loved small towns for years. You know other companies have not kept their promises to your hometown, and the corporations aren’t coming to your neighborhood. Not to worry, Wisper is most likely already there. If not, we will be there soon. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too…. Read More

In the center of many small towns throughout the country stands a grain elevator. Most of us drive by them every day and don’t give them second thoughts. They have just always been there through the heat of summer and the snowflakes of winter. We see the hustle and bustle of workers and farmers. Dust and a roar rising from the machines, tractors, and shovels. We may even get aggravated when we encounter traffic from an old farm truck or an 18-wheeler moving in and out of the bustling lot. For others, the grain elevator is the center of their universe at certain times of the year. It is the reward for countless early mornings, late nights, and going to bed praying for rain. The elevator is the last step on the way to feeding your family for the next few months or purchasing the seeds to plant the next crop to feed your community next season. It is a place farmers visited with their dads and grandpas and now they are taking their kids who are learning the family business. Grain elevators, just like the corner barstool or local church pew, are also communication hubs. A place to stay connected with friends, family, and everyone in between. Stories are told, some true, some questionable, news is spread, information is gained and shared. It is organic and key to local life. If you look to the top of many of these grain elevators, you will see another type of communication that is key to connecting these small communities on a larger scale to the rest of their neighbors, country, and the world. Wisper Internet started in a small community just like millions of Americans live in today. They all look the same to the untrained eye, but they are all unique in their own special ways. One stoplight, a school a bunch of churches, watering holes, a few mom-and-pop stores, and… a grain elevator. Just like farmers, Wisper Internet has been using grain elevators to get our product to market by attaching its wireless broadband internet equipment to what is usually the highest structure in a community, or even an entire county. Since 2003, Wisper has been connecting communities and currently has wireless internet equipment on 63-grain elevators and 176 water towers connecting hundreds of communities across Illinois and Missouri. Little towns many of you have never heard of like Cisne, IL., or Jasper, MO. You may have driven through and barely slowed down, but to the families in those communities, the farms and Wisper Internet are vital to their everyday lives. In the words of Wisper’s founder and CEO Nathan Stooke: “Wisper is an overnight success story 18 years in the making”. That success has come from partnering with small communities and people who know how to take care of their neighbors. Just like the crops that are processed and stored at the grain elevators, Wisper has grown organically and locally from the same hometown roots. They are an invaluable tool for Wisper, just like the farmers. Wisper cares about small towns because that’s where we live too…. Read More

We’ve all gotten plenty of spam emails, but have you heard of ‘phishing’? I’ll give you a hint, they’re basically the same thing. One important difference, however, is that phishing emails, and even texts, are actively trying to steal your information.  The Oxford Dictionary defines phishing as “the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.” In the last few years, phishing emails have gotten clever and now go beyond just asking for your password or social security number outright. For example, a scammer may send an email that appears to come from within your company, or from an automated Netflix account. You may have even received a spam text telling you that your phone is receiving too many spam messages, and to reply to make them stop! They’ll tell you that your payment information has declined and to re-enter it by following a link, or they may pose as a member of your own company, asking you to confirm a password or other personal information. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that people lost $57 million to phishing schemes in 2019. Luckily for us, there are some pretty easy ways to tell if a message is legitimate.    Sketchy Sender Information – Does the email look legitimate? Sometimes they may look real, but a word will be spelled wrong,  or the sender name will seem legitimate, but the email address includes a collection of random letters and numbers. For example, an apparent email from Paypal with the address paypal@notice-access-273.com is probably a scam.  Grammar Check – If the body of the email is full of spelling and grammar mistakes, it’s a pretty good guess that it may be a phishing attempt. Grammatical mistakes in particular are a big giveaway. When sending out messages, hackers often run their messages through spell check, so they end up with correct spellings, but incorrect usages. For example, a phishing email might sound like this: “We detected something unusual to use an application” or “a malicious user might trying to access”. Suspicious Links and Attachments – If you notice an unusual attachment or link in an email, it’s probably best not click it. For example, if the title of the attachment is simply “Attachment” or “Invoice” there’s a good chance it’s a scam. The same goes for links. Sometimes they make it easy to spot, and you’ll be able to see the destination where the link is going to take you. If it’s anywhere other than the expected site, do not follow it! It’s always best to click out of the email, and pull up the real website in a new tab to reset your password, check your payment information, etc.  Must Be Completed Immediately! – If you ever receive an email, especially in a workplace setting, stating that a task must be completed immediately, this should raise a red flag. Hackers can now hide their own emails and use one that looks almost identical to the real thing, so always verify with the supposed sender using a different method, like on the phone or in person.    If you do receive what you believe to be a phishing email, don’t panic! Receiving a phishing or spam email does not mean that hackers already have your information, but they do want it!  Always check where the message came from, do not open any unexpected attachments, and always navigate to the website in question from your browser, not via a link. If you receive a suspicious email to your company account, notify your IT department immediately.    Happy Internet Safety Month! Be careful out there!… Read More

As more and more people are looking for ways to work from home permanently, tech jobs are on the rise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 11 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.” This includes general coding, software development, and data analysts. Even non-coding jobs are now recommending that applicants have at least a basic knowledge of HTML or JavaScript.  In short, now is a great time to start your career in coding! There are any number of resources available to you online, but first, you need to pick a discipline.  Step One: Choose Your Discipline There are four major disciplines when it comes to coding: web technologies (HTML5, CSS, JavaScript), mobile apps (Android,iOS,Windows Mobile), server development (PHP, Node.js, ASP.NET), and desktop applications (.NET, WinForms, C++, C, WPF). Your specialty will depend on your personal preference, so pick what sounds interesting to you! Step Two: Study the Language The next step is to learn the language. Depending on where your focus will be, you can get a head start by studying the language. For example, if you want to write websites, it’s a pretty safe bet to begin learning HTML. Step Three: Find Your Resources If you’re lucky enough to still be in school or going back to school, this step is already done for you. You can choose classes for basic skills, specific disciplines, or advanced code writing. Your path will probably be spelled out for you. But if you’re looking to shift careers or just interested in learning more about coding, look no further than the World Wide Web. Resources like Microsoft’s Linked In Learning courses offer classes on subjects like “Programming Foundations: Fundamentals”, “JavaScript Code Challenges”, and “Becoming an Agile Software Developer”. Courses range from 45 minutes to 32 hours, and you can start with a free trial! There are YouTube channels, books, podcasts, forums, and even online games dedicated to teaching coding basics to beginners and experts alike, so no matter where you want to start, there’s a resource for you. Once you have a working knowledge, you can start playing around with writing your own code for personal projects like apps and website, which can help you offer examples to future employers, class projects, or just for fun.  If coding sounds like something you might be interested in, you can open yourself up to jobs like Computer Programming, Web Development, Computer Systems Analyst, or Back End Development, which can pay anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 annually! Or maybe you’re looking to build your skills to help you in your current job. Maybe you just miss the good old days of writing your own HTML code for the perfect Myspace layout. Either way, coding can be a valuable tool in your career arsenal.  So if you think coding may be the path for you, do some research, explore some resources, and have some fun with it! Don’t forget to check out the Microsoft Linked In learning courses, and let us know how it goes!… Read More

Wisper ISP has partnered with the Affordable Connectivity Program to provide service discounts to eligible customers. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more. Customers previously enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefits Program (EBB) will now receive benefits on behalf of the ACP. Changes to the benefit amount for previous EBB participants will take effect on March 1, 2022. The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program? A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below: Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; or Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline; Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations; Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year; Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income program. Two Steps to Enroll Go to ACPBenefit.org to submit an application or print out a mail-in application. Contact Wisper ISP to select a plan and have the discount applied to your bill. Wisper ISP may request additional information before applying your monthly discount to your new or existing service plan. Eligible households must both apply for the program and contact Wisper ISP to receive a service discount. Check out the Affordable Connectivity Program Consumer FAQ for more information about the benefit. If you need to talk to someone about your eligibility or application status, call the ACP Support Center at (877) 384-2575…. Read More

On December 8, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order ending the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) and enacting, in its place, the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).At 5 PM central standard time on December 30, 2021, the EBB program will officially end, and on December 31, the ACP will begin. There are several important changes that we want to communicate to you: The benefit amount will change from $50.00 per month to $30.00 per month for all new enrollees to the program. Households on Tribal lands will continue to be eligible to receive a benefit of up to $75.00 per month. All subscribers enrolled in the EBB program as of 5 PM on Thursday, December 30, 2021, will be automatically enrolled in the ACP but you will continue to receive your current EBB program benefit of $50.00 per month for 60 days while the systems are transitioned. On March 1, 2022, all ACP discounts will be reduced to $30.00 per month, with the exception of households on Tribal Lands, whose benefit will remain unchanged under the ACP. If you qualified for EBB due to significant financial loss or participation in a service provider’s COVID-19 relief program, you may be asked to recertify for participation in the ACP. You are free to switch service offerings at any time. There may be, at some future time, the requirement to re-certify annually. If you are required to take any action to maintain your benefit, you will be notified by the program administrator, the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC). More information will be provided by USAC as the rules are finalized and rolled out. We will also update you on any additional changes as we become aware of them…. Read More

As part of Wisper Internet’s ongoing commitment to Hawk Point, we are offering an end of the year special for new customers from now, into 2022. Any new customers who call in with the promo code “Get Wisper” will receive one month of free service to their fixed wireless plans. For every new customer sign-up, Wisper will make a $20 donation to a local Hawk Point charity. “At Wisper we feel internet service is vital to every home just like water, electricity, and other utilities,” Wisper founder and CEO Nathan Stooke said. “Unlike water and power, residents have a choice which company they trust to provide their internet service. This expansion highlights Wisper’s ongoing commitment to improving the lives of residents in rural areas and small towns across the Midwest.” Wisper has been serving Hawk Point since 2017 and this special promotion is for residents living, near the Hawk Point water tower on McCarty Lane. Customers receive their signal into a small dish located on the outside of their home, which then transmits their signal to their router, where they can it on all their favorite devices! Wisper has partnered with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for their Lifeline Program, as well as the Emergency Broadband Benefits Program (EBB). The Lifeline program offers discounted services for low-income households. If you believe you are eligible for the Lifeline Program and would like to apply, please visit www.lifelinesupport.org. The EBB Program offers households affected by the pandemic monthly service discounts up to $50, as well as credit for the purchase of eligible devices. To apply for the benefit, visit getemergencybroadband.org. If approved, please contact Wisper, and provide your EBB approval letter. Wisper Internet coverage is based on a 6-to-eight-mile radius from our towers. Pictured above is the Wisper tower location in the lower right portion of the photo. For more information on these exciting savings opportunities, or to determine service eligibility, contact the Wisper Sales Team at (800) 765-7772 or sales@wisperisp.com. Wisper ISP, LLC, based in Mascoutah, Ill., is a wireless internet service provider with just under 200 employees and 20,000 subscribers across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma…. Read More