Q: What is Fiber-to-the-Home?

Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) is the delivery of Telephone, Internet and Television services over optical fiber from our switching equipment to your home or business, thereby replacing the existing copper wire such as telephone wires 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.


Q: 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.


Q: Why is another upgrade being done when there was an upgrade several years ago?

The previous upgrade was Phase I of the FTTH project. Phase I put into place the infrastructure that is needed to run the fiber optic network. The current project, or Phase II, will connect each home and business to the fiber optic network with little or no disruption to your property.


Q: 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.


Q: How can TCT offer FTTH without charging me higher rates?

TCT is a regulated business. The KCC (Kansas Corporation Commission) sets the rates for telephone companies such as TCT. That means that TCT must adhere to the rules and standards set by the KCC.


Q: 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 cents per day or $8.00 per year. It is comparable to running a plug-in night light.



Q: Why is fiber now being connected directly to homes?

Connecting homes directly to fiber optic cable allows great improvements in bandwidth. While DSL and cable modems generally provide fast transmission speeds, (five megabits per second on the download, and are generally slower when uploading), fiber optic technology can provide two-way transmission speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. That means TCT can offer enhanced services such as faster internet speeds, and more HD channels.


Q: What if I do not want or need FTTH?

To offer our customers the best technology that is available, TCT 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.


Q: Is there any added value of FTTH?

Yes. A recent study by RVA & Associates, a Tulsa-based consulting firm, surveyed home buyers and developers. It found that FTTH adds about $5,000 (nationwide) to the purchase price of an individual dwelling. If you think you or your family will ever consider selling your property, chances 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.


Q: Why do we need all that bandwidth?

The world is moving toward vastly higher bandwidth applications. Companies like Netflix, Amazon and Wal-Mart offer feature length movies that can be downloaded. More people are uploading their own home movies into emails or web pages. Consumer electronics companies are coming out with devices that connect televisions to the Internet. High-definition video is fast becoming the state-of-the-art. All of these applications – and many others we haven’t even dreamed of yet – are going to require much greater bandwidth than what is generally available today.


Q: What about satellite? Most people have that choice, don’t they?

Satellite offers video, of course, 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.


Q: How many homes are hooked up directly to fiber networks?

As of March 2007, 1.34 million U.S. homes were the number of homes in the U.S. receiving video, data and voice services over direct fiber optic connections. The number of FTTH subscribers has doubled over each of the last two years.


Q: What percentage of internet subscribers are getting their service through
Fiber-to-the-Home Systems?

The construction of FTTH systems began in earnest only in the last three or four years, and today about 1.2% of households are connected with fiber. Only about 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.