Northern Communications

Reaching People When it Counts Most

N.C. News      OCTOBER 1998, ISSUE 9

 Y2K: The Millennium Bug

            The year 2000 is quickly approaching. How exciting! A new century! At the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999, where will you be? Are you planning some big celebrations? More importantly, what will happen at midnight? The usual countdown, fireworks, kisses and horns? Some say not! Some predict that we may lose power. Everywhere. Our cars may not start. Our telephones may not work. I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't know what will happen. I do know one thing for certain, “some amount of unpleasant things will happen!" Software and imbedded chips are in almost everything we use and rely on today. Much of this needs to be upgraded or patched before it will function properly in the year 2000.

            For those of you who rely on our services, it is important for you to know that we as a company will be Y2K compliant before the new millennium comes in. You want to know that your messages, pages and other services will continue without interruption. Be assured that we have a very well organized Y2K team and our plans are well under way and nearing completion. We do not anticipate any problems with our compliance. As soon as we are 100% complete, we will formally announce it to all our client base.

Northern Makes The Grade Again!

            Every year at the annual "CAM-X Award of Excellence" luncheon, we bite our fingernails to see if we measure up. We are very proud to say that we once again made the grade in all "three cities." The judging panel makes fake calls to our answering service throughout the year, and judges our performance against a strict set of predetermined service standards. It is a method by which we can get an outside and unbiased professional evaluation of the level of service we deliver to you and your clients.

            We run our own internal "quality control program" regularly by evaluating our operators' performances on random calls. We will continue to work hard at providing you with an excellent level of service.

Office of the Fire Chief
Walden Fire Department
25 Black Lake Road
Walden, Ontario  P3Y 1J3
Office: 692-3300    Fax: 692-3225
 
 
May 12, 1998
 
To all members of
Northern Communications
Dispatch Centre,
 
On behalf of the Walden Fire Department, we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to all of you. The multiple fire responses on these days stretched the resources of our department to its fullest and at times seemed overwhelming. Throughout these multiple incidents, the staff at Northern Communications Dispatch kept us up to date and informed. The professionalism and competent services provided by the dispatching staff was and is gratefully appreciated.

Once again, THANK YOU for the service you provide to the Walden Fire Department. 

Tim Bennett                            Joe Books

Deputy Fire Chief                        Fire Chief

E-Mail on Your Pager

            Don't sit around waiting for an internet e-mail, or spend your day wondering when or if it is coming in today. Wouldn't it be great to know immediately when you receive an e-mail, who it is from, and what it is about? Call us today to find out more.

 Attention Numeric Paging Clients:
Full Alpha Text Paging Now Available At
Near Numeric Pricing!
            You can't argue the convenience and freedom a numeric pager provides to its user. Likewise, you can't argue how much more convenient a full text pager is. To get complete messages as opposed to having to find a phone and call certainly is better. "I'll be an hour late." "I can't make the meeting, go ahead without me." "Johnny is getting a ride home with Doug's mother. You don't have to pick him up."

            The deterrent to alpha paging historically has been getting an inexpensive method of dispatch. That problem is over. Most offices now have at least one computer with a modem, if not several. Many homes do also. If you have an alphanumeric pager, you can now send an unlimited amount of full text messages right from your computer, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. For those without computers -- in Sudbury and North Bay -- you can use a regular telephone to send any one of our pre-programmed messages to an alpha pager. Your friends can send full text messages from their homes or payphones. Some of the pre-programmed messages are; "I'll be 15 minutes late." "Pick me up at our usual spot." "Get off the phone so I can call you." Talk to one of our customer service representatives for more details.

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