Star Staff Reports
Ritter Communications is proud to be your local internet, TV and phone provider in West Tennessee, and we recognize and welcome the responsibility that comes with being a local company. We live here, work here and invest here. That’s why we’re deeply committed to continuing our company’s longstanding traditions of service as we work to positively impact the people and communities we serve. When you attend popular events like Goat Days, Celebrate Munford, Taste of Millington, the Flag City Freedom Celebration and many other area festivals, you’ll see us there, too. We’re active members of the Chambers of Commerce as we recognize the importance of supporting other local businesses and participating in the continued growth of our region. When it comes to area youth, our commitment is without waver. In September, the Ernest & Anna Ritter Family Endowment presented a check for $24,000 to Tipton County Schools for the purchase of 45 computers. Those laptops give students and their families the ability to fill out scholarship and federal aid applications as they pursue secondary education. And last holiday season, almost 500 kids enjoyed a free, personalized visit with Santa Clause at our Millington offices through our annual Santa Connection, a tradition we joyfully continue year after year. Like many West Tennesseans, we hold a special place in our hearts for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It’s our privilege to host the St. Jude Cablethon each spring, which airs live on Tubetown, our local content channel. This year is Ritter’s 10th anniversary sponsoring and producing the event, and during that decade we’ve helped raise more than $2.3 million for St. Jude through our support and active involvement. Local Network Investment As global communications technologies have progressed, so has Ritter’s focus as a company on serving customers. As the provider of high speed Internet, TV and phone services to thousands of households in West Tennessee, we strive to help customers get the most use and value out of those services. Residents and businesses in West Tennessee have seen their internet speeds increase by multiples in the past few years – from only 8 Mbps in 2012 up to 100 Mbps today. That kind of speed is typically only available in major metropolitan areas, but over the past three years, Ritter has invested nearly $3 million in the West Tennessee network infrastructure, increasing maximum Internet capacity by 450 percent. With increases of more than 12 times in Internet speed, and more than four times in capacity, most Ritter customers in West Tennessee now enjoy top tier broadband. Our goal is to help our customers watch more, play faster, work smarter, relax easier, shop safer, share more and connect better. Progress Through Technology There is more residential and business broadband penetration than ever before; more devices than anybody knew could even exist; more products and services surfacing constantly; and more and more ways to use the Internet every day. In an effort to keep up with demand in this ever-changing climate, we continue to evolve as your communications provider to offer more products and services. Two years ago, Ritter introduced West Tennessee to Tubetown, our local content channel featuring broadcast coverage of area high school sports, original entertainment programming and local social and civic events. In 2016, Tubetown began streaming high school sports broadcasts on-line, which allows viewers everywhere – regardless of whether or not they’re a Ritter cable TV subscriber – to watch our coverage of local interscholastic athletics. Our all-digital TV platform allows more program information, TV listings by time, parental controls, multiple languages and a 24-hour channel guide. Plus, all-digital TVs provide better picture quality and sound for the whole family – all while consuming less broadband connectivity. We’ll soon be offering an enhanced home security product, which will help our customers better protect their homes and families. It will also utilize the latest wireless technology, with an app for mobile devices and home automation features, such as remote access and control of the system and home automation conveniences. Being Right by You At the end of the day, our success is defined by our local relationships. A big part of serving a community is supporting it, and we work hard as a company to be a good and valuable corporate citizen.
We’re committed to doing what is right for the individual, right for the community, and ultimately, what is Right by You.
