[00:00:00] Speaker A: On this episode of the Local Click, we welcome back the CEO of DTC Communications, Mr. Casey Krueger, as well as network administrator for DTC, Mr. Chris Young. Of course, Justin is here with his tech news and we'll also have some information about the 75th anniversary of DTC. So stay tuned, learn more about fun local events and interesting people throughout the heart of Middle Tennessee. With a dash of everyday tech talk thrown in for good measure, the Local Clique style starts now.
Welcome to the Local Clique. The Local Clique is the technology based podcast brought to you by DTC Communications each and every month where we talk all things technology and local people. And with me again, Mr. Justin Mauldin. How's it going today, Justin?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Going very well. Blessed with another day.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: Absolutely. And blessed with some really nice weather lately too.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: We have been. That's good and bad.
I mean it's great for us because we have nice pretty weather.
Don't know that our farmers and our lawns and stuff probably appreciate it.
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Yeah, a little more rain, don't we?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Yeah, they, yeah, we definitely need some more precipitation. Yeah, on, on that front. But yeah, the weather's holding up. Well, we, I think maybe we're through our last cold snap and now I say that and we'll probably have one here, here in another week as a result of that.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Right? Yeah, you jinxed us. Right. But, but that's okay. But yeah, it's been, it's been a great time of the month really. And you know, May is so busy with graduations. It is that time of year where a lot of students finally get to walk across the line, throw that hat in the air and celebrate. So are you excited to go to a few graduations yourself?
[00:01:40] Speaker B: I always go to graduations every single year. Was looking at the calendar and I think there are three graduations between a Thursday, a Friday and a Saturday that I will end up being at in some shape form or fashion this year. So yeah, quite, quite a bit. And that's just high school graduation. You gotta remember you got pre K graduations, you got kindergarten graduations, you got elementary school graduations, you got 8th grade graduations, you got college graduations.
The list goes on.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: A lot of celebrating.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: There's a lot of celebrating for graduates. There's a lot of graduates all over the board.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Yeah, well, the weather is getting nicer and with nice weather comes yard work.
So around our house we've been doing some yard work, having some trees removed and fixing up a few things we've been putting off for a while. But yeah, it's that time now where the project list is starting to get deep. Are you looking at your property as well and trying to get things ready?
[00:02:37] Speaker B: Listen, I'm always doing something with my property, and I've told you this before, I have a benefit that you don't have.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:02:48] Speaker B: That I live within the municipal limits of a small town. Part of the perks of that is we get brush pickup.
I am fairly certain that they probably have someone dedicated to my property for brush pickup at this point in time. With as much as I have utilized
[00:03:05] Speaker A: that, I'm glad I don't work in that department because I think I'd be a little too busy for my liking.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: It's neat to take care of it now, too, because if you don't now, everything's going to grow up. It's going to be green. It's going to be. You can get it done, but it's going to be a lot more difficult if you don't take care of it now. If you're not getting on it now.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: I'd probably wait till the fall before doing that. The window is closing very rapidly, is what you're saying.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Well, it's going to be a fun show this month on the local Clique. A little bit later in the program, we'll have DTC employee Chris Young, who is a network administrator. He'll be with us and he's always into some kind of technology.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Wait, wait, wait. It's our employee Chris Young.
It is not the country star Chris Young.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: No, it is not that Chris Young.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: I may have been slightly confused on who we're going to have today. We have an even better Chris Young
[00:03:55] Speaker A: then I would say we do.
I prefer our Chris Young.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Just, I mean, no. Knock on.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Yeah. I've never asked our Chris Young if he's a singer, per se.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: I bet he could sing some pretty mean bass.
[00:04:08] Speaker A: Maybe, maybe, maybe I should have asked him that. So. But great guy. Very, very smart guy, by the way, too, and very lucky to have him on the show. And he'll tell us a little bit about what he does day to day here at dtc.
I think a lot of the people that watch our podcast and listen to it will probably know Chris if they're from the area. And then also coming up in a few minutes, we've got a Special Video Celebrating 75 years of DTC being a cooperative, where we actually got to speak with our board of directors and our CEO, Mr. Casey Krueger, and do a little video about that. And we're going to share that with everybody on the podcast for this month.
And Speaking of our CEO, Mr. Casey Krueger, he's coming up next on the local Click.
We're very fortunate to have back on the program Mr. Casey Krueger, the CEO of DTC. How are you?
[00:04:59] Speaker C: I'm doing great. Excited to be back.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: I know. You know, you're really not new anymore. You've been here for years.
[00:05:05] Speaker C: It's been a year. I think. I think this is my third time on the podcast.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: I know. We appreciate that.
[00:05:09] Speaker C: I'm getting used to it.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Well, it's always great to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. You've heard that old phrase.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: There you go.
[00:05:14] Speaker A: Yep. So. But we appreciate you being here today. And I know today we're going to talk about something that's a little bit different and something new for dtc, and that is Trilite Mobile. So I'm excited to learn more about it. I know probably everyone else is as well. So tell us more about this new addition to the lineup and what it is exactly and why we're in this business now.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Sure. So trilite mobile. So DTC officially launched trilite mobile on March 23rd. So we've been in it for about a month, month and a half. And, and. But where it kind of started was the seven telecommunications cooperatives in the state got together and we said, there's gotta be a better way to do mobile. You know, mobile is expensive, mobile is complex, and it's impersonal. So how can we do it better? So our version of that is Trilite Mobile. We came up with better pricing, we came up with better customer service, and it still has nationwide coverage.
So we really feel like it's a great product and it's really going well so far.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: And when you say Trilite Mobile, you mean literally, this is mobile phone service. This is cell phones. This is the devices we carry around every day, right?
[00:06:26] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Let's talk about one of the big questions everyone always asks about, and that's coverage coverage. What can you tell us about our coverage?
[00:06:33] Speaker C: So coverage would be just the same as the big guys. So nationwide coverage. So if you have a large carrier today, coverage will be just exactly the same as what you have today.
[00:06:43] Speaker A: That's easy.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: That's very easy.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And that's what people want to know. Because I know back in the early days of cell phone coverage, even in our service areas, there were certain places that were maybe a compromise situation, that sort of thing. But really, you're not compromising by switching to Trilog Mobile on your coverage. Because if you're getting coverage now more than likely with whoever you're with, you're probably going to be fine, right?
[00:07:05] Speaker C: Yeah.
If you have good coverage in an area today, you'll have good coverage there with Trilite Mobile. But if you have poor coverage in an area today, you'll probably have poor coverage with Trilite Mobile as well. So whatever you have with the big carriers, you're going to have with Trilite Mobile.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Now, what about pricing though? Because I know that's probably number two question. Okay, first is, can I use the phone where I want to? And two is how much does it cost? So are we competitive and are we doing any kind of special deals to help kick this off? Sure.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: So our pricing is extremely competitive. So our pricing begins at $29.99 a month.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: So that's really good. That's our unlimited package.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:40] Speaker C: So really what we've seen so far throughout our launch is it's an opportunity for customers to really save a good portion of money. You know, we moved our lines over to Trilite Mobile, our personal lines, and we saved a good chunk of money.
So that's really what we're seeing as a main driver for a lot of our consumers is, you know, they're paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Oh yeah.
[00:07:59] Speaker C: For, you know, three, four lines. And so they can move. Customers can move their lines over and pay 29.99 per line. And I mean, that's it. There's no, no, you know, a lot of fees and charges. I mean, it's $29.99 a month.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: It's very simple and easy to understand that way.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: It's flat. And, and, but along with that, we're also offering a special promotion right now. Get your first line free for a year.
So move over to Trilite Mobile. Get your first line free for a year. I had somebody ask me the day, well, what if I just have one line? And I said, move it over and get it free for a year. Yeah, you don't need four lines. And you know, you don't have to, you don't have to move four lines to get one free. Just if you only have one, move it over and get it free for a year.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: There's no catch. It's just a real simple great offer.
[00:08:40] Speaker C: And that's really what we tried to build into Trilog Mobile is just no Gimmicks, no catches, 29.99amonth, great customer service, great coverage. You know, really tried to, tried to make mobile simple.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: So who is eligible to sign up for Trilite Mobile?
[00:08:56] Speaker C: So to be eligible to sign up for Trilight Mobile, you must be a dtc, Internet or broadband customer.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:02] Speaker C: So those bundle together and you tie that all together.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: So as long as you do business with DTC and have our Internet service, then you are eligible to sign up for one of these Trilite plans. Even the free promotion, right?
[00:09:14] Speaker C: Absolutely, that's correct.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: Okay. And if you don't have our Internet service yet, but you want to sign up for Trilite, great time to switch to our Internet too.
[00:09:22] Speaker C: Great time to switch for Internet. We have some great Internet promotions going on. And then you can move your cell phone lines over and get your first line free as well.
[00:09:28] Speaker A: Wow. If I already have a cell number I want to keep, can I keep mine?
[00:09:32] Speaker C: Absolutely. We port numbers over every day, so you can keep your keep your current cell phone number. If you want a new cell phone or a new cell phone number, we can do that as well. But if you, if you have a number that you've had for 20 years, we can board it over and move it over to Trilite Mobile.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Seems pretty easy. Yeah, seems like everyone uses more and more data on their phones these days. Honestly, probably people use their phones more for data and surfing than they do even for talking.
[00:09:58] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: What kind of data plans are offered on Trilite?
[00:10:03] Speaker C: So we have three plans. We have a buy the gig plan. So if you just. That's probably more for like a flip phone user. Okay, so we do sell flip phones. So if you want to just. If you want to pay by the gig, you pay by the gig. But our most popular plan is our unlimited plan. So that comes with 30 gig of data and 5 giga hotspot. And then we have our unlimited max plan, which is 50 giga data and 10 giga hotspot. But the vast majority of our customers are on our unlimited plan, which is 30 gig of data.
And the vast majority, only less than 1% of our customers even get remotely close to reaching that 30 gig. So while your big carriers give you the True Unlimited plan, 30 gig of data is more than enough for most people, right?
[00:10:46] Speaker A: Realistically speaking?
[00:10:47] Speaker C: Realistically, yeah.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: And let's say I'm on the unlimited plan after a month or two, I don't think I would, but I decide to change and I want to upgrade. Am I able to do that at any time?
[00:10:59] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. You can do it via the app or you can give us a call and.
[00:11:02] Speaker A: Oh wow, you can even do it on the app. You don't have to stop in. What about long term commitments or contracts or anything like that?
[00:11:10] Speaker C: No contracts, no long term commitments.
So I mean we've really, really made it really simple.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Well, it really is. I mean a lot of the barriers to getting, you know, service with most carriers are some of the things I'm asking about right now. And I think, I think people may be blown away by the way you've approached this.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: And that's one thing that, that as people have tried to move to Trilite Mobile and they've tried to get out of contracts or terms with some of the other folks proving that point, right.
Been very difficult to get out of some contracts and things that, that, that other folks have in place. So that's something that we've, I mean we've just really tried to make it simple and easy to, easy to do business with.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Let's say they already have a phone they want to keep. Can they keep that phone and move it over to Trilite?
[00:11:57] Speaker C: Absolutely. That's the vast majority. As of right now, the mass majority of folks are, we call it BYOD or bring your own device.
[00:12:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:12:04] Speaker C: So the vast majority of folks are bringing their own device right now about 85% of our, our customers right now have brought their own device. So if you have a say it's an iPhone 15, iPhone 16, bring it over and we can port your number and bring your own device.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: It just needs to be an unlocked device.
[00:12:18] Speaker C: It has to be unlocked. Yep. So being unlocked means it has to be paid off from another provider. Just make sure that it's updated to the most recent version, most recent software version. So if it's iPhone, make sure it's updated. For the most recent version you come in, we have to have a port pin number, make sure it's updated, we have to have your account number and it's a five to ten minute process to make it happen.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: That's pretty simple.
[00:12:41] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: What if someone's signing up for new service or they just honestly they want a new phone? Maybe, maybe theirs is on its way out. Do we offer those kind of options where we can help them with new phones in the store?
[00:12:55] Speaker C: Absolutely. So in all of our stores we stock eight phones in all of our stores. So we stock the latest and greatest iPhones, the latest and greatest Samsung phones. We have some cost effective phones as well, Samsungs and iPhones. And like I said, we even stock flip phones. So we have an option for everybody that meets, meets, should meet everybody's needs. If that, if the phones that we stock in the stores aren't what somebody wants. You can also go to our website and you can sign up. We've had several folks go to our website and you can do everything.
If you want to purchase a phone, if you want a new number, if you want a portrait number you want, you can also do all of that online.
So if you don't want to come into the store and don't want to talk to somebody, you can also do all of that online and they'll ship you a phone and they'll be ready to go.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: Well, how long does it typically take? Let's say that I've decided I want to make the switch and I go in person, for instance, and bring my unlocked phone. How long does that process normally take to get someone switched over?
[00:13:50] Speaker C: As long as you have your, like I said, your port pin number and your account number and your phone's unlocked and updated.
Five to 10 minutes, usually. It's pretty quick.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:14:00] Speaker C: If you don't have that, it can take a little bit longer. If you want a new phone, usually that's a little bit of a longer process. You know, we'll have to get the new phone out of the box, get it updated, get your data switched over. So it usually takes maybe, you know, depending on how that process goes, maybe 30 to 45 minutes, maybe up to an hour to use it, which would
[00:14:19] Speaker A: take that long anyway. Anytime you get a new phone, even
[00:14:22] Speaker C: if you ordered an iPhone and had it shipped to your house, it's going to take that long to do that at home.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Right?
[00:14:27] Speaker C: So new phones take a little bit longer. But if you just want to move your number from another carrier to Trilite, it's a pretty quick transition.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Okay. So one of the things that I've seen mentioned in some of the information that I've seen about Trilite Mobile is a feature called Hotspot 2.0. Now, can you explain more what that is and what benefit that would be to the average user?
[00:14:50] Speaker C: We have nationwide coverage that's comparable or that matches the nationwide carriers. But this is where we really feel that our service is better in Middle Tennessee.
So hotspot 2.0 is we have thousands and thousands of thousands of WI FI routers deployed throughout Middle Tennessee. So all those routers have a Trilite Mobile SSID or a WI FI network connected to them and displaying on those. So I'll give you an example. So say I'm driving across town, and as I'm driving across town, I'm on cellular data, right? So I'm using cellular data but as soon as I walk into, let's say the coffee shop and they have DTC Internet, as soon as I walk into that coffee shop, I'm going to automatically connect to Trilite Mobile ssid.
So I'm going to. So for, at that point, I'm going to stop using cellular data and I'm going to go on to the WI FI network or start using the DTC fiber optic network. But let me take it a step further.
So let's say we're, we're out in the country and we're down in a hauler and there's no cell service.
So I have no cell service. So this is a situation that happens pretty often. But this customer has fiber optic Internet from DTC and they have a wifi router that's broadcasting Trilite Mobile. So as soon as I get within range of that WI FI router, I'm gonna connect to that and I'm gonna have coverage. You must have your wifi turned on. But I'm gonna have coverage when I'm in range of that WI FI router, when I wouldn't have cell phone coverage from the towers.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: So really, Hotspot 2.0 gives us a lot better coverage in those places where typically we wouldn't have any coverage.
[00:16:30] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Okay.
[00:16:32] Speaker C: And the way we have it set up is when you come in, we'll just download a QR code download, it's called a profile, onto your phone. And as you are out and about and you are within range of those routers, you will automatically connect to them.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:45] Speaker C: And there's no privacy concerns or anything like that. It's on a whole separate network, but you'll just automatically connect to them. And it just, it provides, it's kind of like a mesh network, and it just provides a better network and a better experience across Middle Tennessee.
[00:17:02] Speaker A: Or even if you're a DTC Internet customer already and you have spotty cell phone coverage in your living room, for instance, like we do at our home, that phone will just use that WI FI network with my DTC Internet.
[00:17:16] Speaker C: So in that situation, you're going to connect to your home network. So you're going to connect to Nick's WI fi.
[00:17:21] Speaker A: Okay. So this is if you were visiting,
[00:17:23] Speaker C: but if you went to your mom's house and she doesn't have the greatest of service, okay, you're going to connect to Trilite Mobile.
[00:17:28] Speaker A: I got you.
[00:17:28] Speaker C: So you'll automatically connect to Trilite Mobile. You don't have to go and try to ask her for her WI Fi.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: You'll have to set it up per site.
[00:17:35] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: Okay. This is administered by DTC customer service people, right? Absolutely. This is not an out of state or out of country addition to our products.
[00:17:49] Speaker C: All of the customer support is the same folks that you know and trust right here in Middle Tennessee.
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:53] Speaker C: That's a huge deal. Yeah. You know, you go and do business with some, some of the large national carriers and who knows who you're talking to? Who knows where they live in the world.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:02] Speaker C: You know, if you do business with Trilite Mobile, you can walk into any of our offices, you can make a phone call and you're going to talk to somebody right here, you know, and
[00:18:10] Speaker A: there's a, there's a big trust issue there too. I think that that solves so.
[00:18:14] Speaker C: Absolutely. And you know, if you're doing business with us already and you do Internet business with us, or TV or, or, you know, landline telephone, there's a big deal to just bring all your services under one roof as well.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:26] Speaker C: And not have to mess with multiple bills and multiple invoices.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: Well, the price is right, the coverage is solid, the support is local, it's top notch. You have the phones that we need or you bring your own.
It sounds like it's a pretty easy decision for most people. So if they're ready to make that decision, what's the next step?
[00:18:45] Speaker C: Just go to our website, stop by an office, give us a call.
It's been very easy so far. We've been launched for about a month, month and a half, and it has exceeded our expectations thus far. It's been a great product.
[00:18:57] Speaker A: Well, I'm excited that we're in this market segment and I'm excited that we're able to help our customers too.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: Thanks for being with us. You know, you're invited back anytime. You can come back and share anything going on anytime on the local click side. We do. We know you're a busy person. We appreciate you taking the time to do this and also get the word out to our customers and just let everybody know what DTC is doing. So we appreciate that.
[00:19:18] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:19:18] Speaker A: All right, everybody, stay tuned. We got more of the show coming up in just a moment.
[00:19:23] Speaker C: Ooh, I'll get it. Grandpa.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Grandpa.
[00:19:27] Speaker C: Wanna play my new game with me?
[00:19:28] Speaker A: Well, sure, I'd love to play your new game.
Let's go.
[00:19:34] Speaker D: Gotcha.
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Give me a no.
[00:19:42] Speaker D: I'm gonna catch you.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: I'm gonna catch you this time.
[00:19:46] Speaker C: Sharing memories while staying connected.
DTC Internet makes it all possible.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: And for the Second segment of the Local Click. We're going to mix things up just a bit. We've got a special video we'd like to share with you. We were very lucky to have enough time with all 10 of our board of directors at DTC to ask them some questions and get their input on some things as well as our CEO Mr. Casey Krueger. And we put together a little video kind of celebrating and highlighting 75 years of DTC and what makes us special and some of the values that we have. And we'd like to share that with you right now.
[00:20:44] Speaker C: At DTC Communications, we've always believed that a strong connection is the backbone of a strong community.
Whether you've been a member owner with us for decades or you're a new neighbor who just joined our network in one of our growing service areas, our mission remains the same. To provide world class technology with a local heart.
In today's world, high speed Internet isn't a luxury. It's a necessity for education, business and staying in touch.
Our board has overseen a massive investment to ensure that our entire region stays ahead of the curve with the fastest, most reliable network available as we continue building for the future.
[00:21:29] Speaker A: A few years ago DTC chose to build fiber to the home. We got some grants to help build a fiber network and I think we
[00:21:36] Speaker C: built a pretty robust network. That's really important that you connect as many communities as we got connected.
[00:21:42] Speaker D: Now it's a big thing. Most people in those areas wouldn't have world class Internet. Without dtc.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: We can have the same privileges as the most modern family in New York City could have.
[00:21:54] Speaker C: It just makes these customers lives easier
[00:21:56] Speaker D: and I'm proud to help serve.
[00:22:06] Speaker C: DTC is a member owned cooperative and those values guide every decision we make. We truly have a people first philosophy which means we answer to you, our customers and our neighbors rather than distant shareholders. It's a level of local accountability you simply won't find with big corporate providers.
We are a member based company.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Our members own our company and it
[00:22:31] Speaker C: makes your decision making more thoughtful and
[00:22:34] Speaker D: more directed toward the customer. I have to make decisions based on what I think the members best interests are.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: We try to work through those processes
[00:22:42] Speaker A: strategies and come up with a plan that makes our community stronger and better to our members. We try to offer the best service we can. It has been my pleasure to be a part of what began as a dream 75 years ago.
[00:23:04] Speaker C: All of our employees live where you live, right here in Middle Tennessee. Our kids go to school here. We shop at the same Grocery stores attend the same sporting events and share the same community.
DTC is committed to investing back into the places we all call home. We aren't just your service provider. We are proud to be your neighbor. That sense of understanding comes from being part of the community and it cannot be replaced.
[00:23:30] Speaker D: DTC puts a focus on being a
[00:23:32] Speaker C: community partner because it's owned by the community.
[00:23:35] Speaker D: It's owned by the people that we serve. When you go to the schools, you
[00:23:38] Speaker B: see their sponsorships at public events. They're there. We need to be out in our communities.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: We need to build that strong relationship
[00:23:47] Speaker D: because in the end, the communities are the members.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: It's just a good fit for DTC
[00:23:51] Speaker D: to be involved in the community and
[00:23:53] Speaker C: serve the schools and sponsor things in the community.
[00:23:58] Speaker D: You know, we live here too.
[00:24:09] Speaker C: With so many options out there. We know you choose DTC for more than just a connection. You choose us. Because when you call, you talk to a real person. And when you need help, a neighbor shows up at your door to make it right. That personal touch is what truly defines the DTC difference.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: In the 50s, 60s, 70s, you know, people didn't have a modern way to communicate. Now we have a 100% fiber to the home network. Sometimes other providers are here for numbers and revenue.
[00:24:41] Speaker C: We're here to serve the members at dtc. It's a team sport.
[00:24:45] Speaker B: If there's ever any issues, they're there.
[00:24:47] Speaker C: Our prices are I think, good as anybody's and the service better. Our customers, they choose us.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: And to me, I'm extremely grateful for that.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: We've come a long way from simple telephone lines. Today we offer cutting edge services over our state of the art fiber optic network. As technology continues to change, we promise to keep growing and innovating to meet your needs for years to come.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: The cooperative world, you trying to serve the underserved, but it is evolved.
So much fiber now is the main thing.
[00:25:30] Speaker C: We've got good fiber for all of our customers.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: Fiber Internet has become just as much of a utility as water and electric has.
[00:25:37] Speaker A: The managers, the CEOs. It's kind of the same process that they went through back then that we're doing now. We have a 100% fiber to the home network with endless possibilities,
[00:25:58] Speaker C: 10 directors, five core values and one dedicated team.
Thank you for choosing DTC Communications.
As we look ahead, we remain focused on building meaningful connections now and for generations to come.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: And welcome back to the show. And for this segment of the Local Click, we have another DTC employee with us today. And that would be Mr. Chris Young, the network administrator for DTC. Chris, it's great to have you here today.
[00:26:34] Speaker D: Yeah, thanks for having me, Nick.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: I know we go way back, and some of these questions we talk about, I may already know the answers to, but I want to share them with the audience. So just pretend I don't know on some of these.
[00:26:46] Speaker D: Let's do that. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Okay. Tell us about yourself and your family.
[00:26:51] Speaker C: It.
[00:26:51] Speaker D: My name is Chris Young.
I have a beautiful wife. I hope she's listening.
[00:26:57] Speaker A: Good points.
[00:26:57] Speaker D: Score some Brownie points. No, I have a beautiful wife, three kids.
Marissa is my wife. I've got Amelia, she's 12 years old. Adeline, who's 8, and my son, who Ezra, who is 6. So I'm a DeKalb county native. I'm a product of DeKalb County.
Went to DeKalb West School for K8.
[00:27:22] Speaker A: Go Bulldogs.
[00:27:23] Speaker D: Bulldogs, yeah. And then finished out high school up DeKalb County High School, and I went to Tennessee Tech, and after I graduated college, kind of moved away for a little bit and came back. And me and my wife. My wife's originally from Rome Rock City area in Smith county.
And so we came back and we live over in the best community in Smith County, New Middleton.
[00:27:55] Speaker A: Now, over there, you go in that
[00:27:57] Speaker D: off New Middleton Highway.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: So it is a pretty part of the country.
[00:28:00] Speaker D: It is beautiful over there. We're glad to be there.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: Talk about your career path and what led you eventually to dtc.
[00:28:07] Speaker D: My bachelor's degree is in secondary education, biology. So.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:28:12] Speaker D: My first career, I guess if you want to call it that, that was in education. And so I've taught in Texas and in Tennessee, and I was just.
It was mostly middle school, but I did teach a couple high school grades here and there. And so, let's see, 2012, I graduated college, and that was in May, and then in June 2012, married my beautiful wife, as I've already said. And then In July of 2012, me and her moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and I continued some schooling down there.
I'm a. I'm an ordained minister. And so I went to a seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
[00:29:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:29:04] Speaker D: Was there for about two years.
We had our first child, Amelia, there while we were down there. And I got really homesick, and I never thought I would, but, I mean, there's just. There's no place like Middle Tennessee.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: And when you have children, it's a little different.
[00:29:21] Speaker D: It is, yeah. Grandparents want to see their grandkids.
[00:29:24] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:29:24] Speaker D: Exactly. And, you know, never mind about the son that you grew, that you raised and loved, but let me see those grandkids. So we had the opportunity. We actually moved back in the area. We lived in Livingston for about five years, and then we were able to kind of come home, if you will.
[00:29:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:43] Speaker D: And so that's.
I was teaching over in Wilson county at Tucker's Crossroads for several years, and I was kind of the tech. Tech guy on campus.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: And so you were that guy.
[00:30:01] Speaker D: I was. I was that guy. Yeah. And so whenever people would have issues with computer or smart board or printer or whatever, apparently my name was the first one. And so they. They would call me and I would help them with their stuff, obviously. And then the computer teacher position came open, and they asked me if I would be willing to. To take that. That role. And so I did and started teaching the kids about keyboard and then typing and windows and all those different things.
I got to talking to some of the other educators, and I wanted to begin to better myself.
I think partly who I am is kind of somebody that wants to help others.
I think that's kind of my heart as far as how I'm built or how I was created.
And so in education, I firmly believe that teachers are called.
I think that that's a calling that people have. And I have absolute utmost respect for all teachers and educators out there, and I love the ones that. That I work with.
But it's. It's about lifting.
Lifting the kids up, right? And. And helping them better themselves and, you know, with ministry. That. That's a whole nother thing, as well as lifting people up and bettering themselves in. In a way.
And I really wanted to. To better myself. I wanted to. To be better at what I did. And so just talking with some of the other computer teachers, they were talking about some certifications, some different things. And so, you know, I went and learned about Adobe and, you know, Photoshop, that type of thing. And then I just created stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And. And just it worked its way into. Before I know knew it, I was looking into, like, cybersecurity and listening to podcasts and, you know, looking. Watching YouTube videos. And I was like, man, this. This is something that's really interesting. And so I just kept. Kept moving forward in that.
And I kind of got into a position where I felt like that was kind of where I wanted to go.
Just in. In the course of life, you just have moments where you have to, you know, that decision, that was the decision that I felt like I needed to make. And so I got a cybersecurity Certificate and, and then kind of was working on another. And I just so happened to see that DTC was looking for, you know, a network administrator. I've put in the application and to be on. I was probably around Thanksgiving because I just completed a cyber security certificate and it was a snow day in January.
And Ms. Anita, she reached out to me and was like, hey, are you still interested in this, this job? I was like, yeah, let's, let's, let's do it. And so I made. I got to the point.
Hang on, I need to back up because my, my first interaction with dtc. I cannot leave this out. My first interaction with DTC was whenever I was in college. And it actually is because of you, Nick, because you came and you were like, hey, we need. Do you like football? And I was like, yeah, I like football. And you like, you want to film football? And I was like, sure.
And so I was one of the contractors, I guess that one of our star contract. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you really were.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: You were great at that job. You make a great videographer.
[00:33:55] Speaker D: Well. Well, thank you. Yeah.
[00:33:57] Speaker A: So that was your first interaction?
[00:33:59] Speaker D: That was my first interaction with dtc.
[00:34:01] Speaker A: I could have a small part in that.
[00:34:02] Speaker D: Absolutely. Yeah. And so I know that you know that. So we would.
I would go to the football games and film those and those would be on DTC3. And I'd get my dinner bought every, every Friday night and I'd get to go to the football game for free. And it was just a great experience overall. And I appreciate that. Like, don't I? I do. Like you took a chance on, on little old me and I'd greatly appreciate that. You asked if I could help film the Woodbury Horse show and I was like, yeah, whatever. Whatever you need me to do. And so I think I got there around 5 o' clock in the afternoon and I think we left around 2am that the next morning.
[00:34:48] Speaker A: And you're probably still hearing music in your head.
[00:34:51] Speaker D: Yeah, we're. I'm still just following the horses as they go around. But. But we did that and that was what I. What DTC paid me for for those hours. That was actually the last bit of money I needed to buy the, the engagement ring so I could propose to my wife. Yeah. So.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: Well, I'm glad we could help with that. Yeah.
[00:35:13] Speaker D: Yeah. So my, my marriage is, is in part thanks to dtc.
[00:35:20] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:35:20] Speaker D: So. But yeah, so I had that moment with, with DTC in, in college and so I kind of knew the company. I knew, you know, a little Bit of that what most customers or people from the outside would, would know. And so then Ms. Nita called me and she's like, are you still interested? And so I immediately said, yes, let's, you know, what. What do I need to do? And so we had an interview, and I met my current boss, Ed. Ed Massey, the best boss in the world. Hope he's listening to, but you're getting
[00:35:55] Speaker A: a lot of points with a lot of people.
[00:35:57] Speaker D: That was part of me coming on the podcast.
[00:35:59] Speaker A: You're a very smart man. You know how this works. All right. But Ed is great, by the way.
[00:36:04] Speaker D: He is. He's really, really bright and very, very smart. Yep, yep. He's a good boss.
[00:36:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:09] Speaker D: And I'll tell him I said that.
[00:36:12] Speaker A: So that's how it all kind of began. Then. You were, you were really into education, and then this door opened up as your interest grew in technology, and. And here you are today.
[00:36:22] Speaker D: Here I am today, Absolutely. I'm very, very glad that I. That I've been given that opportunity.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: We're glad to have you. And for those that don't know what the term network administrator really means, because it's kind of, I want to say vague, but there's a lot to fill in the gaps there. So can you explain what does your job title really mean at dtc? Network administrator.
[00:36:45] Speaker D: A little bit of a difficult question.
The network administrator, obviously, we look at the entire network that you have, our corporate network that all of the phone stores and all of the buildings sit on, all of the cameras, all of the key scans, anything and everything that, that even the laptops that our outside plant guys are using, you know, they're using VPNs to, to be able to get information and emails and all the, all of that corporate. All of the infrastructure that's there in the corporate network. But as a Internet service provider, it's also. There's also a larger network that we have to oversee and make sure that everything is running and doing those things.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: That's a good point. You're doing internal network administrating for us as employees at dtc, but you're also helping the outside network, too.
[00:37:40] Speaker D: Yes. Making sure that the different programs that we use or the different hardware switches, routers, different software that we use, like Windows 11 and different things like that, making sure that all of those are working cohesively together. And so you've got specialists like Tim Patton. I know you're going to have Tim on later on. He is our lead network engineer. And so he, he is a specialist in that he knows a lot more than I could ever hope to know about switches and routers and, and how the, the traffic and bandwidth flow and how, how you might be reaching a server in another state or another country and how that could kits to, you know, your router in your house.
[00:38:31] Speaker A: Right.
[00:38:32] Speaker D: And so there's specialists all over those. The place you've got Carl Byford in engineering, he's a specialist in our mapping and CAD and working out where all of the poles and, and fiber strands are going to go. And even our very own Nick Noakes is a specialist in, you know, DTC3 and all those different things. And so a network, a network administrator is more of a generalist. And that means that we, we have our, we have our hands in a lot of different aspects in, in the company. And so I see a network administrator as more of a bridge in between the specialists and so the networks, the network. You know, you have Tim Patton in networking. Sometimes he needs to go and relate or find something out that is outside of maybe his, his norm.
[00:39:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:39:24] Speaker D: And I help bridge the gap. That's, that's what I see. You know, if there's a new piece of software that the engineers need or they need an update to that.
So that's kind of bridging that gap and making sure that, that different people have the different pieces that they need.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: Talk about the security aspects of being a network administrator. Because, I mean, that's something that's in the news even, I mean, all the time. What is that like?
[00:39:49] Speaker D: It needs to be seen in layers. And so if you think about physics, physical security in a building, you're going to have locked doors, you're going to have cameras, you're going to have, you know, maybe a bad scan where only certain people can get in. You're going to have all these different layers that ultimately protect what's there.
[00:40:08] Speaker A: Right.
[00:40:09] Speaker D: And so it's security in layers and that's kind of how we have it set up at dtc, in that there's different layers of security that we implement to keep our employees safe, but also the data that our customers entrust to us safe.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: Right.
[00:40:30] Speaker D: You need to update, you need to improve, you need to make sure that, you know, if, if something is, is broken that it gets fixed so that you, you can protect the stuff that you need to protect.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Now, what about AI? Has that affected the way that you do your job?
[00:40:50] Speaker D: It does, yeah. And you know, it's, it's, it's kind of, I know it's a buzzword and then Some people kind of take it as an all, you know, kind of scary type.
The unknown I think is more scary than what. Yeah, once you kind of get in
[00:41:07] Speaker A: and look at it, you kind of understand it more.
[00:41:10] Speaker D: I'm not saying I understand AI in, in its entirety, but we do, we do use different, different aspects of AI and so we have some programs that uses AI to monitor different, different aspects of, of the network like usage. And, and if we have a spike in bandwidth usage, it alerts us and let us know. And so if you like having an
[00:41:37] Speaker A: extra set of eyes on things and,
[00:41:40] Speaker D: and it also is really good at finding patterns. And so whenever we are looking at possible security aspects, finding patterns of things that aren't necessarily normal, even, even network administrators have to go to sleep sometime. And so having, having an AI program that is monitoring the network 24 7. 24 7.
[00:42:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:04] Speaker D: And, and can, if, if something is going on, can send me an email and even though it might be 2am can wake me up and say hey, you need to look at this because this isn't normal. I mean that, that helps us again in that, that security aspect that helps us protect the, the, our, our business but also helps us protect the customers that have given us the ability to help them.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Right.
[00:42:32] Speaker D: The usage of AI in especially in technology but in other places will continue to grow.
But I don't think we can forget, you know, what makes that human interaction and what makes good customer service, what makes a good relationship. And so I don't, I think more that'll lift that up more than be more important than ever that I might be completely wrong on that. And if I am all everybody listening can come tell me I'm wrong. But that, that makes sense to me that I think that's a good, good thought.
[00:43:02] Speaker A: So speaking of customer service and it's a big part of what we do at dtc, I think it's one of the things that really sets us apart as a company is the pride that we take in taking care of our customers. But do you have any particular story maybe of a time you helped someone? It could be internal, you know, DTC employees or it could be external customer that. Were you able to help them out of a bind and really make a difference in their problem?
[00:43:24] Speaker D: I don't know that I have one particular just instance but every of every one of the DGM phone systems that we put in at businesses that are installed by our really good outside plant techs and are programmed by our central office, every single one of those I set up the virtual device that it's sitting on. And so all of those different pieces, like the little pieces, all of the ubiquity WI FI access points, I program the WI FI access to ubiquity stuff that we come in. And so I. I put them on the. I program and put them on a controller. And so whenever the outside plant guy comes to your house, he can install them. Me and another coworker of mine, we work with video a lot. And so we do a lot of the. So if you've got DTC TV and you call in with an issue, you might talk to tcc. And then we. We go in and we're trying to figure out, you know, what's. What's actually going on.
[00:44:28] Speaker A: People see the benefits of it, but they don't realize that you had a hand in it.
[00:44:32] Speaker D: Yeah. And so another aspect of that is me and another employee that we have, Connor Powell, we kind of implement our tech team. You might see us, you know, out at a local business that needs some help with their setting up a firewall on their network or setting up a switch or something like that. My job helps other people be able to do their job better.
[00:44:56] Speaker A: Now, when you go home, are you as immersed in technology at your house or do you. Are you like, you know, I've dealt with this all day. I need a break. And things are pretty simple at home. Where would you put yourself on that scale?
[00:45:07] Speaker D: I play video games with my kids, you know, but as far as I can't. I can't, you know, turn my. My lights on from outside. I don't have all of the smart home thing, Iot Internet of things. I don't have all of those different things.
[00:45:20] Speaker A: So you don't go overboard at home,
[00:45:22] Speaker B: is what you're saying.
[00:45:22] Speaker D: No, like, my oldest daughter came and she was like, dad, I want to. I want a 3D printer for my birthday. And I was like, that means I get a 3D printer.
[00:45:33] Speaker A: You're like, yeah, sign me up. Let's go. Yeah.
[00:45:35] Speaker D: And so her birthday was last month, and so we got her a 3D printer. And. But, like, we fight for whose turn it is to print stuff off. And it's, you know, I've printed some, you know, like a phone charger that holds, like, the wireless charger for my phone stand and some different things like that.
[00:45:54] Speaker A: It turns out it was a big hit with her, though.
[00:45:56] Speaker D: It absolutely is. Yeah. So we've printed off, like, little.
Little animal, like little toys, and I may have printed off a sword or something, just being a nerd.
[00:46:08] Speaker A: But, but I love it.
[00:46:10] Speaker D: Yeah. So I want to make a good mix and also with that, with my daughter, I haven't just pushed that on her.
[00:46:16] Speaker A: Right.
[00:46:17] Speaker D: But this is a moment where we can talk about like, okay, what's the difference between files? Because you, you have to, you download one file, you have to convert it to another to be able.
[00:46:27] Speaker A: So you're using it as a teaching moment.
[00:46:29] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So she's, she's learning how to work on. Com and I've got a little Raspberry PI set up that she uses. And so, you know, her letting her see something different besides like a Windows or Google Chrome, letting her see, you
[00:46:42] Speaker A: know, different side of technology.
[00:46:44] Speaker D: Absolutely. And so it's a teaching moment and it's just kind of like a moment where we get to kind of bond and we can talk about stuff that mom or the other two don't necessarily know about. And, and so, yeah, I see, I see that as very beneficial for both of us, obviously because it's a 3D printer, but also because it's a teaching moment. Yeah, I do want to step away and I do like, you know, got to go outside and play basketball and do those types of things as well. Go, you know, walk in the woods and hunt and stuff like that. But technology has also made life better in a lot of ways.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: And so if you see someone that is thinking possibly of making that pivot from their current career into technology, so to speak, kind of like you did, right.
What would you say is maybe the number one certificate that they could work on that might help open some doors in, in a career like network administration or things like that?
[00:47:38] Speaker D: If you want like certificates.
Comptia has several.
And then we have some of, some of the employees here also have. There's CompTIA A Plus and that's more of an IT Windows and Printers and different operating systems, different programs like that, then you can. Comptia also has Network plus and that's more of a. Switches and routers and subnetting, all of the different, all the different topics that can kind of get you in the door and kind of get your feet wet and that type of thing. I'm currently working on my ccna, which is a Cisco. Cisco is a brand of switches and routers, but Cisco Certified Network Administration Certificate. That's what I'm working on right now. And it is, it's, it sounds fun.
It's in depth, I'll say that.
[00:48:35] Speaker A: But yeah, it adds a lot of worth to. It does to you as an employee at DTC to have that knowledge. So.
[00:48:42] Speaker D: Absolutely. And so if you want, if you know, if you want to, to get certificates, absolutely, go for it. And those are a couple that can kind of let you know, you know, is this something that, that I want to pursue? I, I'm a big advocate of, of just experience. One of the really cool things about DTC is they are really involved in the community. And we've actually started a Cyber Patriot program at the, the DeKalb County High School. So back in the old stomping grounds back in 2007, you know, you walk in the halls. But Cyber Patriots is a competition that's put on by United States Air Force, United States Space Force, and it is learning about Windows and Linux and Cisco. And so they've got different competitions where the kids go in and they have to try to secure a Microsoft server. And so we've actually worked with the after school program at the high school and kids that are in after school, they. One, one or two days a week, they can, they can come and we kind of go over and so DTC has let me still have that moment where I can go and I can, I can teach. There was 40 new groups that started this past year, 40 of them, and we scored in the top 50, 15 of the 40 nationally.
[00:50:09] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:50:10] Speaker D: So shout out to those guys. This is for the person, the, the high schooler, middle schooler that might be interested now. I'd say get into it right now and learn as much as you can and get as much experience as you can. But I wanted to do a plug for sure Cyber Patriots because that would be a great way to learn, learn those things and get involved in that way.
[00:50:29] Speaker A: Well, Chris, thanks for all you do. It's great to have you on board at dtc and I'm glad I had an extremely small part in my maybe opening the early doors to your career here.
[00:50:38] Speaker D: It's all because of unique.
[00:50:40] Speaker A: All because of a simple football game, right? That's right. Everybody stay tuned. We got more of the program coming up in just a minute.
[00:50:46] Speaker B: Do you know what room the router's in? I can't get onto my Zoom meeting.
[00:50:50] Speaker C: Try it in our spacious new family room.
[00:50:53] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:50:55] Speaker C: Still not working.
Try it in our beautiful backyard.
[00:51:02] Speaker B: Still nothing.
[00:51:03] Speaker A: Your new home. Checked everything off your list except for Internet from DTC.
[00:51:09] Speaker B: Oh, come on.
[00:51:11] Speaker D: Sign
[email protected] for fast and reliable Internet
[00:51:20] Speaker A: and it's time to hand the microphone over to Mr. Justin Malden like we like to each and every month. He's going to Let us know all the things going on in technology Land in his segment called Tech New Music Roundup.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: So we had some delays, but the momentum kept going and finally we are doing something that we haven't done in a couple generations.
[00:51:41] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:51:42] Speaker B: And that's. We are back officially in deep space.
[00:51:46] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:51:47] Speaker B: The Artemis 2 rocket finally took off. And listen, major milestone. The first time that we have been out into deep space in a very long time. We're sending rockets up like crazy.
[00:52:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:52:01] Speaker B: And. And we're sending lots of things into low Earth orbit. Into Earth orbit. This is the first time that we have sent astronauts outside of Earth's orbit in this, I mean this millennium at this point. And so the crew for the mission, for the Artemis 2 for the first time that we've had, this is the first mission they went over a quarter million miles and orbited. Orbited, basically slingshotted around the moon. The engineering behind it is, is phenomenal that they basically slingshot it around the moon with very little engine input to launch, go around the moon and then come back and land back in the ocean here. It's the farthest that humans have ever been from Earth though. So they went further than any astronaut even did during the Apollo missions with as far away from the Earth as they got. So very interesting. There's a new record for human space flight that's been set, but this is just the first. They're going to put boots back on the ground on the moon. That's the ultimate goal, is to visit the moon again.
So pretty neat, pretty interesting to see One of the biggest changes that we had during this mission though, compared to the Apollo missions. We did have some video footage then, but it was not the same quality where we had live coverage the entire time from the time they launched.
[00:53:24] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:53:24] Speaker B: To the time they got up. There was a blackout when they got got around to the backside to the dark side of the moon, what it is actually called. We're not talking about the album when they got to the Dark, which is
[00:53:36] Speaker A: great by the way.
[00:53:37] Speaker B: When they got to the dark side of the moon, we did have a blackout there. But listen, they were taking photos on iPhones that were getting sent back to the Earth where they're taking photos. And I remember when I saw the first couple photos, like, this is insane that they're up there, they're capturing these photos, but they haven't even made it around the moon or anything yet. We've already got these photos back, you know, in their full quality. So it was interesting to not Only to know it was happening, but to be able to see it and almost feel like you were a part of it.
[00:54:08] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:54:09] Speaker B: So that so very, so, so, so very, very, very neat.
Another big story that's going on right now. So in Britain, in Australia and we're going to see because this is going to come to the U.S.
you know, Chris talked about all these kind of things technology related and there comes some things that you have to consider with your use of technology.
And Britain and Australia are looking at the use of children with the Internet specifically and they are pushing and implementing age restrictions on being able to utilize the Internet. And so you've got to be able to prove your age and who you are. And so Australia is restricting social media for those under 16 years old.
The UK is looking at doing the same thing. And actually even recently here in the state of Tennessee, this isn't social media related but the state legislature here just passed a bill that's going to ban beginning the next school year, elementary school students won't be able to use Chromebooks or digital technology.
[00:55:10] Speaker A: Really.
[00:55:11] Speaker B: So they're going to have, they're going to go back old school. Pencil and paper and textbooks. I have not heard that it is just elementary school. So it's the younger kids, they're going to pull them away from the screen time because as we, we see technology is a good thing, but we also have to, it's that balancing act as Chris said of, of you know, the pros and cons of it and what's, what's good. And so there's, there's a debate already, it's not just here, but there's a global debate on the usage of the Internet and especially social media for, for young people. And some states already have age restrictions for certain things to be able to, to access it. And the thing you have to do if you, if you're putting age restrictions, you have to prove your age. Well, how do you prove your age? By providing some sort of identification.
[00:55:55] Speaker A: So information. Yeah.
[00:55:57] Speaker B: So you've got privacy concerns there because that's more information that's being out there. And again, you got away those privacy concerns with, you know, do is there more harm than good that that's happening? So that, that's for the listeners to decide where they fall on that.
[00:56:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:56:12] Speaker B: That's not for us to decide but just some things to keep up with. I mean parents, schools, corporations, lots of considerations are going to have to be given across the board. I've trimmed out for time's sake some things but I had nothing AI related this month.
We're always talking about AI, so we took a little bit of a break from it this time. But listen, we're getting into that time of the year. Over the next few months, we're going to have lots of tech announcements and tech news that's going to be coming out with software launches and revisions and hardware products being announced. So there'll be lots to talk about. That's all we got for today.
[00:56:49] Speaker A: That's why we have you around. We're glad you're here to keep us informed and entertained. And before we go, we always like to let you know where DTC will be this month and for the month of May. On May 5, Decal Middle School will be having a career day and we'll be there for that event. And on May 8, Cannon County elementary will be having a career day, and we'll also be there for that one. And wrapping up, wrapping it up will be May 13, which is Older Americans Day at the DeKalb Community Complex. And we'll be there, too. So we hope to see you out and about in our communities. And I think that's going to do it for this month. On the local Click. Thank you, Justin, for everything that you do and for your news and helping us out. You do a great job. Also, behind the scenes, a lot of the segments that Justin is not on camera, he's pushing all those magic buttons on the equipment in the control room. So just thanks for all you do to make this podcast work.
[00:57:41] Speaker B: Well, listen, always a pleasure to be here. Appreciate you hosting this and getting everything lined up and, and pulling a lot of interesting information out of our guest and making them feel comfortable and at home, so to say whenever they they come on here. It's all, it's always great to, to be able to have people who want to be on here.
[00:58:02] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:58:03] Speaker B: Listen. And when we have got we've gotten to the point that we have people asking about the podcast. I think I don't want to brag on us and a lot of it has to do with you as the main host here. But I think that says a lot for what we're doing. And we've been doing this for a while now. And listen, it's something that I look forward to and I see people out in my community and in my hometown that talk about it and we'll bring stuff up for what's going on here. And so there's a lot of people that enjoy it. And it's a pleasure to be able to be a part of it.
[00:58:31] Speaker A: Well, I appreciate that and we appreciate all of our listeners and viewers because without you, there would be no podcast. We'd like to thank our CEO, Mr. Casey Krueger, for joining us again today and telling us more about Trilite Mobile. And by the way, you need to check that out. Go to dtccom.net and learn more or stop by any of the stores. It's a great deal. And if you're thinking of switching, or even if you're not, you may want to give it a, give it a shot because it's a good time to do so. I also want to thank Mr. Chris Young, our network administrator for DTC, for joining us and telling us about some of the things that he does in DTC land. And of course, we always thank you, our listeners and viewers, for being with us each and every month. And on that note, we say so long until the month of June. Learn more about the show by visiting us
[email protected]. also, be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast or video platform so you won't miss our next episode of the Local Click. See you next month.
