My experience as a Worldline Co-op/Intern

Lake Fibernetics

Brett skating on Lake Fibernetics this February

We are very proud of our Intern program. We are very fortunate to have a great working relationship with both Laurier and Waterloo Universities and we welcome student Interns and co-ops in various programs. Brett Young joined us for the second time as an Intern (and third overall) and we couldn’t be happier with the job he is doing supporting the Worldline marketing team, helping with volunteer programs and being an all around awesome asset to the company. We asked him to provide a brief overview of his experiences so far and here’s what he came up with:

My Journey as a Fibernetics Intern by Brett Young

Job Title:  Junior Marketing Analyst, Residential Services (Co-op) This has been my third time returning to work at Fibernetics this January, and it has felt like night and day compared to a year and a half ago after I completed my first co-op term in the marketing department.

The office culture has had a major overhaul in a very positive way, and I have never seen another company like it. Having little knowledge of Plasticity Labs before starting, made me wonder what they could change when it comes to workplace happiness here at Fibernetics. This made me even more thrilled to join the Worldline Marketing team once again once I found out Plasticity Labs became a part of Fibernetics Ventures.

My first day back I was greeted with open arms from all of my old co-workers, as well as a bunch of new faces. Being given an “I’m In” t-shirt made me feel part of a passionate team. In the past, our marketing team focused more on print and radio advertising. Since I’ve been back, I have gained a lot of new knowledge on digital marketing, and learning the endless possibilities it has when bringing in new leads to drive more sales.

Fibernetics has been great when it comes to working around my school schedule, as I still take part-time university classes while in co-op. Being only 22 with over 3 years of full-time experience in a corporate setting has set me apart from many of my classmates. This gives me peace-of-mind knowing when I graduate it will be much easier for me to land a full-time job right out of school.

Q. How has your experience at Fibernetics been different than yours at your previous co-op employer Desire2Learn?
A. Being a part of a smaller team compared to D2L has allowed me to touch all aspects of marketing. I’ve learned that marketing is a never ending cycle of pushing out new campaigns, and digging deep into our analytics and results to create a post-mortem.

Doing this helps us make an educated decision on whether the campaign worked for us, so we can properly allocate our resources for the months to come. My boss has taught me that it is fine to make new mistakes, as we can only predict how well a campaign may run.

Our marketing department deeply affects the company’s growth and I am very glad to say I am part of a collaborative team. My time at Fibernetics has been very beneficial to me as I now have a better idea of what area of post-graduate studies I’d like to continue with. 

Q. Tell us about the people you’ve met since working at Fibernetics.
A. I have met a lot of great friends who I see outside of work on a weekly basis, and I’ve done lots of networking in the telecomm and marketing industry. Because to this, my LinkedIn connections have skyrocketed, and my knowledge of startups and new ventures has vastly increased while working with our partners at Fibernetics.

Q. What are your favourite parts about working in the Cambridge Office?
A. The Cambridge office has an open concept with an awesome corporate culture to make it a fun place to work! I enjoy various office perks such as free fruit and coffee, as well as the free boxing lessons every Thursday after work.

Q. Would you consider working at Fibernetics after you finish your studies?
A. Of course! All of my co-workers are like family to me now, and I enjoy waking up and going to work to interact with all of the awesome people of Fibernetics.

About Brett
Brett Young’s role as a co-op student is a Junior Marketing Analyst in the Fibernetics Head Office in Cambridge. He is currently an Economics and Business Undergraduate student in his third year at the University of Waterloo. Brett has been living in the Kitchener/Waterloo region all of his life, and will be returning to full-time studies in September 2015. Brett loves hockey, paintball, cars, camping, and fishing!

Brett

Brett (on the left) helping us out on #InternationalDayofHappiness

Brett’s Contact Information:

Email: bmyoung@uwaterloo.ca

Canadian Business: A happy office is about more than just adding a ping-pong table

Ping Pong…although we do have one, (and it’s really great)

Fibernetics, Worldline’s parent company, was profiled in Canadian Business Magazine about the culture change the company went through last year, and the impact it had on management, the employees and the business.

This is the money quote from Fibernetics President John Stix:

The company has hit new sales records each month since the corporate relaunch, and customer complaints are at an all-time low, Stix says. HR concerns have dropped by 70%. This quarter alone, Fibernetics’ looks set to grow by 50%, Stix says.

“My mission now is to show leaders if you’re sitting on the fence about caring about people—and showing that you care—just do it. And if you don’t care, you should still do it because it dramatically affects the bottom line.”

Worldline just had its best Q1 in company history, adding tons of new customers who now can benefit from our quality services like our Unlimited High Speed Internet, amazing price point and over the top customer care.

The workplace culture initiative that John introduced last year is having a remarkable impact on the company.

Press Release: Worldline Provides Free Calling to Nepal

Nepal Earthquake

Canadians Can Call Free to the Earthquake ravaged country until May 15th

CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO–(04/27/15)- Worldline, a division of Fibernetics Corp, is providing free long distance service to Nepal commencing today until May 15th 2015 for Canadians looking to get in touch with friends and family members who have suffered due to the earthquake that devastated that country. It’s a simple process. First dial 1 844 44 NEPAL (63725) and then dial the destination number when prompted.

Dial 1 844 44 NEPAL (63725)

This will provide a free long distance connection to the Nepal destination number which starts with 011977.*

“Our hearts go out to the people of Nepal and all those whose family and friends have been impacted by this disaster,” said Worldline Co-Founder and Fibernetics President John Stix.

“With so many people out of contact, we hope just getting in touch with loved ones helps those who have lost so much. We also encourage all Canadians to help however they can.”

APTOPIX Nepal EarthquakeSaturday’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake, centred outside the capital city Kathmandu, was the worst to hit the South Asian nation of 31 million in more than 80 years and has left thousands dead and many thousands more injured. One of deadliest quakes worldwide over the past 40 years, the tragedy is only compounded considering how badly prepared the mountain nation was for such an event. The total economic losses are projected to “exceed the GDP of Nepal.”

It also struck at the worst time in the calendar year—just before the start of monsoon season. According to the United Nations, local hospitals are overloaded and “post-earthquake diseases are a concern,” especially as thousands of survivors will now be exposed to the elements. Further, this earthquake is feared to be a lingering disaster, with landslides more common due to the unsettled terrain.
HOW CAN YOU HELP: The Canadian federal government will match — dollar-for-dollar — all eligible contributions to the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund until May 25, and retroactively to when donations first started streaming in on Saturday.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, said four teams would leave Sunday morning for Nepal from Bihar state in India, where the charity has worked since 2007 and which is close to the Nepal border. The organization is also sending in 3,000 kits including medical supplies. To donate to Doctors Without Borders click here.

RED CROSS

The International Committee for the Red Cross says it is working with the Nepal Red Cross Society and has a team working on emergency response. To donate, call 1-800-418-1111 or click here.

OXFAM

Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes. To donate to Oxfam click here.

* Callers may be subject to any charges from their carrier and regular usage minutes may apply. All we ask is for callers to implement their own “fair use policy” and limit their call time, as we want as many callers to use this free service as possible. Also, as this is free, it will not be a supported service. 

About Worldline:
Worldline, the residential division of Fibernetics, provides high quality telecom products and services in the most cost effective way possible. Worldline’s Unlimited High Speed DSL and Cable Internet, Home Phone, Long Distance packages and Bundle plans are specifically designed for hard working Canadians. As one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies in the country, Worldline is all about providing unlimited flat rate services with no mandatory contracts. Website: www.worldline.ca Twitter: @worldlinecanada

About Fibernetics:
Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario, Fibernetics goes “Beyond Telecom” by providing superior products and services at the fairest prices to the Canadian market place with a singular focus on customer service in everything they do. Selected as a regional finalist in the Canada’s Best Managed Companies program for 2014, Fibernetics has its own national infrastructure that delivers a full range of voice and data services for residential customers through Worldline and for business clients with the NEWT Business Phone System and Business Internet. Website: http://www.fibernetics.ca/ Twitter: @fibernetics

Media Inquiries:
John Stix – President
Fibernetics Corporation
519-489-6700
jstix@corp.fibernetics.ca

 

Big Telco Takes a Hit from the Little Guys (and the CRTC)

Big TelcoThe big news in Canadian telecom from the first quarter was the hit the Big Three took from their Internet and landline customer base. They are leaving in droves heavily impacting all facets of Big Telco’s business.

Just yesterday Rogers released its numbers and they suffered a 17 per cent drop in first-quarter income.

From reports from the Toronto Star and Reuters:

The profit decline follows a regulator’s ruling that ended 30-day notice periods before cancellation of telecom service contracts, a change that lowered cable revenue by $3 million.

Rogers also lost 41,000 cable-TV subscribers, 7,000 Internet customers and 20,000 landline telephone lines in the first quarter.

It said much of that slip was caused by the elimination of a 30-day waiting period before TV, Internet and landline phone contracts could be canceled.

The CRTC first announced their plan to eliminate the 30-day waiting period for cancellation of a service late last year, and if the first quarter of ruling’s implementation is any indicator, it’s something Canadians have truly embraced. No longer are they faced with “Win Back” strategies that offered price matching or special promos; discounts that were usually short-term so Canadians ended up spending just as much or more overall as they would have anyway prior to the “deal.”

Worldline Unlimited InternetNow Canadian ISP’s have only one way to keep their customers: Offer a great service at a fair price and earn the trust of the consumer. It’s been Worldline’s business model from day 1 and that’s why we embraced this new ruling.

Unlike Rogers, who saw a precipitous drop in its Internet and home phone customer base, Worldline just celebrated the greatest first quarter in company history, virtually tripling our sales over last year.

Thanks to the CRTC for making it easier for Canadians to switch and save. And thanks to all the new Worldline customers we’ve added in the past few months. Welcome!

Download Game of Thrones? HBO might be in touch

Game of Thrones

Drogon drops in on Daenerys in Game of Thrones Season 5

The leak of four Game of Thrones episodes from its latest season was front page news across the world. The copies, leaked from a review screener, quickly spread across public torrent sites and were downloaded millions of times.

In response HBO sent out a flurry of takedown notices to those who shared the leaks online. Through its anti-piracy partner IP-Echelon, HBO instructs Internet providers to relay the alerts to the account holder associated with the infringing IP-address.

gotpirateHBO hopes that the warnings will deter some from downloading future episodes. Good luck with that as the Game of Thrones is the most pirated television series ever.

In January, the CRTC mandated that Canadian Internet Service Providers pass along notices from copyright holders to their customers that have been detected illegally downloading content via Peer-to-Peer services on the Internet.

This is called the Notice and Notice policy and Worldline is now sending out these notifications to our customers:

Screen Shot 2015-02-13 at 10.42.50 AM

From: On Behalf Of Fibernetics Sent: Friday, February 13, 2015 9:53 AM To: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Subject: Copyright Infringement Notice

Dear Customer,

Worldline has received what the Copyright Act calls a “Notice of Claimed Infringement”…..

But you should be aware, some shady online characters are already “phishing” for money using this policy as a front. They are sending out notices like the one below demanding payment. These are not legitimate requests from the copyright holders. Rather it is from Internet scam artists looking to shake down people online by leveraging the Notice and Notice policy:

image001-3

Just to be clear, if you do receive a Notice and Notice email from us, your activity has been noted by the copyright holder. However you are not in any way shape or form being asked to pay anything. If you receive a notice like the one above, ignore it.

You can read more about Worldline and the Notice and Notice policy here.