Fiber-To-The-Home
Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) is the delivery of Telephone, Internet and Video services over optical fiber from our switching equipment to your home or business, thereby replacing the existing copper wire such as telephone and coaxial cable. Fiber-To-The-Home is a relatively new and fast-growing method of providing vastly higher bandwidth to consumers, improving video, internet and voice services.
What is optical fiber?
Optical fiber uses light instead of electricity to carry a signal. It is unique because it can carry high bandwidth signals over long distances.
Will there be another upgrade in the future that will cause damage to my property?
Fiber optics allow services to be upgraded without having to change or dig up and replace the fiber, which means there will be no need to disturb your property in the foreseeable future.
How can HCI offer FTTH without charging me higher rates?
HCI is a regulated business. The Kansas Corporation Commission sets the rates for telephone companies such as HCI. That means that HCI must adhere to the rules and standards set by the KCC.
What will the battery pack that is being installed cost?
The battery pack is being installed free of charge. The electricity to the battery pack will cost about $.02 per day or $8.00 per year. It is comparable to running a plug-in night light.
Why is fiber now being connected directly to homes?
Connecting homes directly to fiber optic cable allows great improvements in bandwidth. While DSL generally provides fast transmission speeds, fiber optic technology can provide two-way transmission speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. That means HCI can offer enhanced services such as faster internet speeds, and more HD channels on HCI-TV.
What if I do not want or need FTTH?
To offer our customers the best technology that is available, HCI is replacing the entire existing copper system with a fiber optic system. That means that in order to have even basic telephone service, customers must have FTTH and a battery pack installed.
Is there any added value of FTTH?
YES! A recent study by RVA & Associates, surveyed home buyers and developers. It found that FTTH adds about $5,000 (nationwide) to the value of a home. If you think you will ever consider selling your property, chance are most buyers for a home will be young families who have grown up in the “technology age.” Many times they work from home and FTTH will be a crucial part of their buying decision.
Why do we need all that bandwidth?
The world is moving toward vastly higher bandwidth applications. More people are uploading their own home movies into emails or web pages. HD video is fast becoming the state-of-the-art. All of these applications, and many others we haven’t dreamed of yet, are going to require much greater bandwidth than what is generally available today.
What about satellite? Most people have that choice, don’t they?
Satellite offers video but it cannot offer powerful broadband Internet service because the subscriber can only download the signal. Upload is normally provided through the subscriber’s telephone lines, which limits transmission speeds for user generated content.
How many homes are hooked up directly to fiber networks?
As of December 2008, 3.34 million U.S. homes have fiber optic lines. The number of FTTH subscribers has nearly tripled in the last 18 months.
What percentage of internet subscribers are getting their service through FTTH systems?
Today 3% of households are connected with fiber. Only half of all U.S. households have any form of broadband connectivity and many larger telephone companies only offer fiber connections to their customers who have newly constructed homes, in larger communities.
To order Phone, Internet of TV service, please submit our Service Request Form or contact a representative at 620-654-3381.