The Communicator Your Complete Communication Services Provider Telephone, Long Distance, Wireless, Cable Television, Paging, Internet, Web Hosting July 2012 19th St. & Cyclone Ave., Harlan, IA 51537 • (712) 744-3131 • [email protected] • www.fmctc.com Fiber to the Premises update FMCTC is making excellent progress with its plans to replace copper and co- axial lines with fiber optic cable running all the way to customer premises (homes and businesses). We refer to this as “fiber- to-the-premises” or FTTP. We are being ambitious this summer and are making terrific progress in rural-Earling, rural- Westphalia, and rural-Jacksonville. We also anticipate welcoming our first FTTP customer in Town Harlan this summer. The town of Irwin became a FTTP community in Spring 2007. The FTTP network is also complete in rural Manilla (June 2010), rural Defiance (August 2011), and rural Kirkman (Spring 2012). We expect to have rural-Earling on the FMCTC FTTP network by Spring 2013, and rural-Jacksonville and rural-Westpha- lia on the FTTP network by Spring 2014. By providing fiber optic cable directly to the home or office, customers can re- ceive phone service, high speed Internet and cable tv all over one line. This tech- nology will allow for higher quality TV channels and the continued expansion of internet speeds, data services, and other applications. (766-3391) FTTP Project Updates RURAL EARLING Phase 1: Main Fiber / Completed The fiber optic main line is buried in ditches and along roadsides. Phase 2: Site Survey/Fiber optic drops to homes/Installation of box on outside of home/ Summer2012 The FMCTC construction crew is burying fiber optic service line drops from the new fiber pedestal in the yard to the house. They also mount a protective box on the outside of the home which organizes the cables and grounds the equipment. Approximately 125 fiber optic service line drops will be buried in rural Earling by summer’s end. Phase 3: Splicing of fiber / Fall2012/ Winter2013 Phase 4: Installation of electronics and wiring at the home with cutover to the FMCTC Fiber Optic Network/ Spring2013 RURAL WESTPHALIA AND RURAL JACKSONVILLE Phase 1: Main Fiber / Summer 2012 The fiber optic main line will be buried in ditches and along roadsides by our util- ity contractors, Quality Communications. Phase 2: Site Survey/Fiber optic drops to homes/Installation of box on outside of home / Summer 2013 Phase 3: Splicing of fiber/Fall 2013/ Winter 2014 Phase 4: Installation of electronics and wiring at the home with cutover to the FMCTC Fiber Optic Network/ Spring 2014 TOWN HARLAN/WEST OF 12TH STREET Phase l: Main Fiber/Summer 2011/Ongoing Construction of the fiber optic main line in west-Harlan will be a work in- progress. Phase 2: Site Survey/Fiber optic drops to homes & businesses /Installation of box on outside of home / Summer 2011/ Ongoing A representative from FMCTC will contact customers if the fiber optic service line drop needs to be buried to their home or business. He will determine necessary information regarding the burying of the fiber in the yard, and the best place to bring it inside the property. If the custom- er is gone at this time, a door hanger will be left with a contact phone number. Phase 3: Splicing of fiber/Spring 2012/ Ongoing FMCTC workers will splice the fiber optic service drops with the main fiber optic line. This work is completed at the new pedestal located in the customer’s yard. Phase 4: Installation of electronics and wiring at the home/business with cutover to the FMCTC Fiber Optic Network/Summer 2012/Ongoing A FMCTC technician will enter the property and install the power supply and battery pack and connect the fiber from the outside protective box to the inside equipment. Services will be cutover to the fiber network and tested to see if they are working properly. Once each customer’s cutover is complete, each residence or business will have their own direct ‘non-shared’ fiber connection. This fiber connection provides every customer with their own dedicated fiber optic line for their phone, internet and cable tv ser- vice. Our daily timetable is three to four cutovers a day. FTTP work will move into other areas of FMCTC’s service territory over the next years, burying fiber optic cable to serve rural Hancock, rural-Irwin, and rural-Harlan and the towns of Manilla, Jacksonville, Defiance, Kirkman, West- phalia, Earling and Hancock. Each FTTP project includes four phases and is sched- uled to take about two years to complete. Below are pictures of the construction phases of FMCTC’s FTTP project: bury- ing the fiber optic main line in ditches, burying fiber optic service line drops to the home, and placement of a new fiber pedestal. FTTP FAST FACT: Did you know after this summer there will be approximately 630 MILES of fiber optic cable buried for FMCTC’s FTTP project? Workers from Quality Contractors are burying the fiber optic main line in ditches FMCTC work- ers Mark Davis & Corey Gaskill use a yard plow to bury fiber from the new fiber optic pedestal to the customer’s home. Our timetable is to bury new fiber service drops to two to five homes a day. The fiber optic service line drop is hand-dug outside the home, working around landscaping. A protective box is mounted on the outside of the home which organizes the cables and ‘grounds’ the equipment. The fiber is neatly tied off at the box in preparation for Phase 3 and 4, which will take place over the next 12 months. A new fiber pedestal is installed. A larger plow is used to bury the fiber optic service drop to the ditch where FMCTC’s main fiber optic line is located. The crew makes progress! The customer’s driveway is 1/3 mile long. Watch for next month’s newsletter which will include more pictures of FMCTC’s FTTP project. FMCTC worker Corey Gaskill ma- neuvers the plow while Nick Petsche guides the fiber optic cable. A blade ‘cuts’ the fiber into the ground. The crew’s destination is a second pedestal which is located at the end of the customer’s driveway. At this pedestal, the fiber optic service drop will eventually be spliced with the main fiber optic line. The main fiber optic line runs in the ditch.
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TheTheCommunicatorYour Complete Communication Services Provider
Telephone, Long Distance, Wireless, Cable Television, Paging, Internet, Web Hosting
July 2012 19th St. & Cyclone Ave., Harlan, IA 51537 • (712) 744-3131 • [email protected] • www.fmctc.com
Fiber to the Premises update FMCTC is making excellent progress with its plans to replace copper and co-axiallineswithfiberopticcablerunningallthewaytocustomerpremises(homesandbusinesses).Werefertothisas“fiber-to-the-premises”orFTTP.Wearebeingambitiousthissummerandaremakingterrificprogressinrural-Earling,rural-Westphalia,andrural-Jacksonville.WealsoanticipatewelcomingourfirstFTTPcustomerinTownHarlanthissummer. ThetownofIrwinbecameaFTTPcommunityinSpring2007.TheFTTPnetworkisalsocompleteinruralManilla(June2010),ruralDefiance(August2011),andruralKirkman(Spring2012).Weexpecttohaverural-EarlingontheFMCTCFTTPnetworkbySpring2013,andrural-Jacksonvilleandrural-Westpha-liaontheFTTPnetworkbySpring2014. Byprovidingfiberopticcabledirectlytothehomeoroffice,customerscanre-ceivephoneservice,highspeedInternetandcabletvalloveroneline.Thistech-nologywillallowforhigherqualityTVchannelsandthecontinuedexpansionofinternetspeeds,dataservices,andotherapplications.(766-3391)
FTTP Project UpdatesrUraL earLing
phase 1: main fiber / Completed Thefiberopticmainlineisburiedinditchesandalongroadsides.phase 2: site survey/fiber optic drops to homes/installation of box on outside
of home/ summer2012 TheFMCTCconstructioncrewisburyingfiberopticservicelinedropsfromthenewfiberpedestalintheyardtothehouse.Theyalsomountaprotectiveboxontheoutsideofthehomewhichorganizesthecablesandgroundstheequipment. Approximately125fiberopticservicelinedropswillbeburiedinruralEarlingbysummer’send.Phase 3: Splicing of fi ber / Fall2012/Winter2013phase 4: installation of electronics and wiring at the home with cutover to the fmCtC fiber optic network/ spring2013
rUraL WestphaLia anDrUraL JaCKsonViLLe
phase 1: main fiber / summer 2012 Thefiberopticmainlinewillbeburiedinditchesandalongroadsidesbyourutil-itycontractors,QualityCommunications.phase 2: site survey/fiber optic drops to homes/installation of box on outside of home / summer 2013Phase 3: Splicing of fi ber/Fall 2013/Winter 2014phase 4: installation of electronics and wiring at the home with cutover to the fmCtC fiber optic network/ spring 2014
toWn harLan/West of12th street
phase l: main fiber/summer 2011/ongoing Constructionofthefiberopticmain
lineinwest-Harlanwillbeaworkin-progress.phase 2: site survey/fiber optic drops to homes & businesses /installation of box on outside of home / summer 2011/ongoing ArepresentativefromFMCTCwillcontactcustomersifthefiberopticservicelinedropneedstobeburiedtotheirhomeorbusiness.Hewilldeterminenecessaryinformationregardingtheburyingofthefiberintheyard,andthebestplacetobringitinsidetheproperty.Ifthecustom-erisgoneatthistime,adoorhangerwillbeleftwithacontactphonenumber.Phase 3: Splicing of fi ber/Spring 2012/ongoing FMCTCworkerswillsplicethefiberopticservicedropswiththemainfiberopticline.Thisworkiscompletedatthenewpedestallocatedinthecustomer’syard.phase 4: installation of electronics and wiring at the home/business with cutover to the fmCtC fiber optic network/summer 2012/ongoing AFMCTCtechnicianwillenterthepropertyandinstallthepowersupplyandbatterypackandconnectthefiberfrom
FTTP FAST FACT:Did you know after this summer there
will be approximately 630 MILES
of fi ber optic cable buried for FMCTC’s FTTP project?
Workers from Quality Contractors are buryingthefiberopticmainlineinditches
FMCTC work-ers Mark Davis & Corey Gaskill use ayardplowtoburyfiberfromthenewfiberopticpedestalto the customer’s home. Our timetable istoburynewfiberservicedropstotwotofivehomesaday.
Thefiberopticservicelinedropishand-dugoutsidethehome,workingaroundlandscaping.Aprotectiveboxis mounted on the outside of the home which organizes thecablesand‘grounds’theequipment.ThefiberisneatlytiedoffattheboxinpreparationforPhase3and4,whichwilltakeplaceoverthenext12months.
Thecrewmakesprogress!The customer’s driveway is 1/3milelong.
Watch for next month’s newsletter which will include more pictures of
FMCTC’s FTTP project.
FMCTC worker Corey Gaskill ma-neuverstheplowwhileNickPetscheguidesthefiberopticcable.Ablade‘cuts’thefiberintotheground.The crew’s destination is a second pedestalwhichislocatedattheendofthecustomer’sdriveway.Atthispedestal,thefiberopticservicedropwilleventuallybesplicedwiththemainfiberopticline.Themainfiberopticlinerunsintheditch.
DirectorsPresident ....... Paul NelsonVice-Pres ....... Roger SchmitzSecretary/ Treasurer .... Ted ChamberlainDirector .......... Kenneth MartinDirector .......... Joel BerndtDirector .......... Eugene JuhlDirector .......... Harold PetersDirector .......... Rex G. AdamsDirector .......... Westley WalkerDirector .......... James Rasmussen
TheCommunicatorPublished monthly by FMCTC
19th St. & Cyclone Ave., Harlan, Iowa 51537
General Mgr... Tom ConryOffice Mgr ...... Brenda FiscusPlant Mgr .........Gary Petersen
Harlan Office Hours:Mon-Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Telephone: (712) 744-3131or 800-469-3511
Fax (712) 744-3100
www.fmctc.comOutages after hours, holidays and weekends
(712) 744-3131
FMCTC office closed July 4
The FMCTC office will be closed on Wednesday, July 4th, in
observance of theJuly 4th holiday.
Emergency calls will be taken at 744-3131.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
Relay for Life event raisesawareness and money for cancer
New rate forFederal Universal Service Charge EffectiveJuly1st,theFederalUSF(UniversalServiceFund)assessmentisslightlylowerandyourmonthlybillwillreflectthisdecrease.TheUSFisnowassessedat15.7%ofanyInterstatecharges,adecreasefrom17.4%.TheUSFchargeisassessedontelephoneserviceandDSLInternetservice. TheUniversalServiceChargeisnotpartofyourlocalservicerate.Instead,thechargegoestoarelieffundthatas-sistswiththecostsofprovidingtele-phoneserviceinlowincomecommuni-ties,andforruralhealthcare,schools,andlibraries.
BeginningJuly1,2012,youwillno-ticeanewchargeonyourtelephonebill: Residential Telephone Service: will see$0.50permonthAccessRecoveryCharge(ARC)feeonallphonelines. Single-line Business Service: will seea$0.50permonthAccessRecoveryCharge(ARC)fee. Multi-line Business Service: will seea$1.00permonthAccessRecoveryCharge(ARC)feeonallphonelines. TheARCchargeisanoutcomeofthesameFCCreformplanthatcausedyourlocalserviceratetoincreaseinAprilofthisyear,andagaininthefuture. We’vebeentellingyouoverthelastmonths,sincethereleaseofthenew
Reminder: FCC Reform brings a new charge to your phone bill this month
Fake Kindle E-book Order Confirmations lead tomalicious sites
Remote support for your PC over your Internet connectionOurInternetHelpDeskstaysbusywithrequestsfromourInternetcustomersfortechsupport.Sometimestherequestissimpleandeasytosolveandcanbedonebyinstantremotesupport. Withremotecomputersupport,ourHelpDeskcanconnect,diagnoseandtroubleshootyourpersonalcomputerrightfromourofficeusingyourhighspeedInternetconnection.Wecanworkonyourcomputerasifweweresittingrightinfrontofit.It’seasy,it’shandy,andit’ssecure.
Test your Internet connection speed with our Speed Test Tool found at www.fmctc.com.
Summertime help SummerisabusytimeatFMCTCandsummertimeemployeesplayanim-portantroleincompletingmanyofourprojects.FMCTCisluckytohavetwoexcellentyoungmenhelpingusoutthissummer. JustinGraeve(topright)isbackforhisfourthsummeratFMCTC!HewillreturntoISUthisFallwhere he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.Justinisahardworkerandisalwayswillingtohelpoutwhereneeded. NickPetsche is the‘rookie’atFMCTC,buthelearnsquicklyandworkshard.Nickwillbea Freshman at ISUthisFall.(755-3130) JustinandNickmostlyworkwiththeFMCTCconstructioncrew.TheyaretwoofthereasonswhyFMCTC’sFTTPprojectismakingexcellentprogressthissummer. WelcomeJustinandNick!Weappre-ciateyou.
Ifthenewchargesonyourphonebillconcernyou,weencourageyoutocontactyourCongressmanorSenatorsandaskthemforhelp.TellthemtosupportaneffectiveUniversalServiceFundandtostoptheFCCfromtakingactionthatincreasestheratesforbroadbandandtelephoneservicestoruralAmerica. senator Chuck grassley135HartSenateOfficeBuilding,WashingtonD.C.20510;Phone202-224-3744;Webforum:grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm senator tom harkin 731HartSenateOfficeBuilding,WashingtonD.C.20510;Phone202-224-3254;Webforum:harkin.senate.gov/contact_opinion.cfm Congressman steve King1131LongworthOfficeBuildingWashingtonD.C.20510;Phone202-225-4426FederalCommu-nications CommissionChairmanJuliusGenachowskiFederalCommunicationsCommission44512thStreet,SWWashington,DC20554;[email protected]
A sample letter follows. Feel free to customize your own letter. Dear(Legislator): IamconcernedabouttherecentFCCreformplan.ItincludessubstantialchangestotheUniversalServiceFund(USF).Itchangesthewaycarrierschargeeachothertosendtrafficoneachother’snetwork. Iamamember/owner/customerofasmall,community-basedtelecomcompanyinruralIowa.SinceimplementationofthenewFCCreformplan,Ihaveseenincreasedratesandchargesonmymonthlyphonebill.AndIunderstandthispatternofnewchargesandratesformeisjustthebeginning. IamwritingtoaskthatyouconsiderchangestotheUniversalServiceFundthatwillsupport,notharmsmallruraltelecomcompanies.PleasestoptheFCCfromtakinganyfurtheractionthatincreasestheratesfortelephoneandbroadbandservicesforusinruralAmerica.Irelyonmylocaltelecommunicationsprovidertosupplymewithaffordableandreliablephoneandhigh-speedInternetaccess.I’mnottheonlyone.Thousandsofpeopleandbusinessesalsorelyonruralcarrierssuchasmine. Pleasedon’tforgetaboutusouthereinruralAmerica.PleasetelltheFCCtostopmakingdecisionsthatwillincreasecoststoruralAmericansandcouldcausemetolosemyconnectiontotheworld. Sincerely, Yourname
We need your letters and emails, please…
Hot Weather, Cool Flicks Hereisasneakpeekatwhat’sshow-inginJuly. The Big Year:Saturday,July7,Com-edy/Adventure,RatedPG13,HBO Men in Black: Saturday,July14,Comedy/Thriller,RatedPG13,HBO Contagion:Saturday,July21,Action/Thriller,RatedPG13,HBO Fast Five:Saturday,July14,Action/Drama,RatedPG13,Cinemax Dream House:Saturday,July28,Suspense/Thriller,RatedPG13,Cinemax Fair Game:Saturday,July7Mystery/Thriller,RatedPG13,Showtime
FMCTC announces winner innational college scholarship program
fromtheeducationfield.Tobeeligible,recipientsmustbesponsoredbyaNTCAmemberandmustindicateadesiretore-turntotheirruralcommunitiesoncetheircollegiatestudieshavebeencompleted. “Wearethrilledtoofferthisprogram,withthegoaloflevelingtheplayingfieldforruralstudentswhooftenfacefinan-cialobstaclesintheirpursuitofhighereducation,“saidTomConry,FMCTCManager.“TheFRSscholarshipprogramenablesruraltelecommunicationspro-viderslikeFMCTCtoshowtheirsupportoftheyouthlivinginthecommunitiestheyserve.” The scholarship program is open toallgraduatinghighschoolseniorsthatreceivelocaltelecommunicationsservicefromFMCTC.Applicantsmustbeenrolledinanaccreditedtwo-yearorfour-yearcollegeoruniversity,orvoca-tionaltechnicalschool,andhaveatleastaC-gradepointaverage.(799-4737)
