Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 2818 19 www.htcinc.net | Winter 2017 19 Is It Time to Upgrade Your Internet Experience? HOW IS YOUR INTERNET EXPERIENCE? Picture this: Following the gentle clang of dinner dishes into the kitchen sink — and perhaps a few familiar, schoolwork-related complaints — your teenagers bound upstairs to get started on their nightly homework. One uses a tablet to complete assignments, the other goes online to do research for a paper, and both stream music while they work. Meanwhile, you finish straightening up the kitchen and settle into the living room to catch up on emails. Imagine another scene: You are sitting in the living room, scrolling through your favorite recipe blog while your spouse checks email on a smartphone. To your left, your teens are Snapchatting with friends as you all chitchat and enjoy streaming a classic film on Netflix. Sound like familiar scenarios? These days, it’s not unusual to have multiple devices connected to the same network at the same time — in fact, it’s become the standard. Internet is no longer limited to computers and smartphones; it is becoming integral to security cameras, thermostats, appliances and more — creating a phenomenon called the Internet of Things. But when you have the wrong internet speed for the number of devices in your household, or utilize older devices that weren’t built to handle high amounts of internet usage, it can slow down your experience and frustrate your family. Too often, that’s exactly what happens. With the growing number of devices we use on a day-to-day basis in our households, it’s crucial to make sure you have internet speeds and equipment that can keep up. In other words, if you are struggling with “slow” internet, your connection may be absolutely fine — you probably just have the wrong speed or need a dual-speed router to accommodate both the new and older devices in your home. The number of people, number of devices and age of the devices in your home determine what speed you need. It’s easy to forget that we use the internet for so much more than surfing the web — things like gaming systems, photo-sharing devices, music streaming and social media are all sharing the same bandwidth. For a typical family of four, at least 20 Mbps is most likely the optimal solution. This speed allows for a powerful connection whether you’re downloading an HD film to watch together or everyone is streaming music at the same time. Faster speed alleviates that sluggish internet bottleneck and keeps all devices moving swiftly without buffering. Ultimately, faster internet offers a better experience for your entire home. That way, you spend less time looking at that seemingly ever-present “buffering” wheel and more time connecting to the things you need. And, don’t forget — the age and model of devices may affect the performance of your wireless home network. Older devices can slow down other device connections in your home. Not sure if you have the right internet speed and equipment for the number of devices in your household? Call HTC at 843-369-8969 to see if you have the speed your family needs. Connect to a Smart Solution Upgrade your house with the intelligent automation of HTC Connected Home, a premium security solution. Not only will you be able to protect your loved ones while you’re at home or away, you can also easily control everything from your security system to your thermostat, lights and locks using a single app. Learn more at www.htcinc.net/security/htc-connected-home. Many of us take our High-Speed Internet connection for granted. Whether it’s the number of devices in your home or the number of online activities occurring in your household each day, High-Speed Internet has become more important than ever in our daily lives. Fill out our High-Speed Internet scorecard and see if your home’s internet connection has caught up to your family’s connected life. How many connected devices are currently used in your home? This includes personal computers, smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TV or video-streaming devices (i.e.Apple TV or Roku), and anything else that connects to the internet in your home. 1-3 devices: Enter a “1” in the space to the left 4-6 devices: Enter a “2” in the space to the left 7-9 devices: Enter a “3” in the space to the left 10+ devices: Enter a “4” in the space to the left What activities is the internet typically used for in your home? Enter a “1” to the left of each internet activity that occurs in your household. Surfing the internet Browsing and posting on social media Checking and sending email Online gaming Streaming video services (Netflix, Hulu, HBO NOW, etc.) Streaming music (Spotify, Pandora,Apple Music, etc.) Web surfing, email, and occasionally watching online videos or playing games Downloading documents or photos Downloading videos and movies Uploading and sharing photos or videos Using Smart Home device My Scorecard Total: ______________ IF YOU SCORED A 5 OR HIGHER, CALL HTC AT 843-369-8969 TODAY TO SEE HOW WELL CONNECTED YOU ARE WITH YOUR CURRENT INTERNET EXPERIENCE. HOW IS YOUR INTERNET EXPERIENCE? Winter 2017 | www.htcinc.net 19