In 2021, the Margaretville Telephone Company (MTC) completed construction of an advanced fiber-optic network throughout its designated telephone service area where access to high-speed broadband services were not currently available via its cable television (cable modem) system. The newly deployed fiber-optic network provides customers with access to new video (cable television) and residential broadband packages as well as landline voice (telephone) service. Going forward, the fiber-optic network will be a replacement for the legacy copper-based telephone network which has been providing telephone service since the early 1980’s.

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MTC has started the process of transitioning customer connections to the new facility in regions where reliability challenges with the legacy network are becoming more pronounced. In the below section we will answer a few questions related to what fiber is and how it functions in comparison to our legacy networks.

 

What is fiber?

Fiber is a form of facility-based (wiring) technology used by MTC for your internet, video (television) and landline phone services which sends information or data as pulses of light through strands of fiber made of glass or plastic. Optical fibers have been measured as being close to the diameter of a strand of human hair. When manufactured into a fiber-optic cable, this increases its capacity for sending large amounts of data over longer distances at much faster rates than other technologies such as copper-based facilities.

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Fiber optic services delivered by MTC continues to expand throughout our footprint. We encourage you to contact us toll-free at       1-877-727-2288 to see if it’s available in your area.

 

What is a fiber-optic network?

There are different types of fiber-optic networks, but they all begin with cables running from a central office or hub to a pole near or straight to your home providing a fiber-optic service connection. The fastest type of fiber network is called Fiber to the Home (FTTH) or Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) because it’s a 100% fiber-optic connection with optical fiber cables installed to terminals directly connected to houses, apartment buildings and businesses.

 

What are the benefits of MTC’s fiber services?

The new fiber-optic network offers enhanced reliability, expanded service options, and extremely fast broadband connectivity.

Fiber facilities have significant bandwidth advantages over legacy technologies like copper-based facilities. When your MTC services are connected via fiber, you’ll have access to broadband speeds up to a symmetrical 1 Gbps download and 1 Gbps upload per second connection where the legacy copper-based Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) could only reach 9 megabytes per second. This means more bandwidth for homes equipped with multiple connected devices demanding increased bandwidth from your internet package.

 

Fiber offers vast improvements for video and game streaming. The fiber-optic network creates an internet experience that makes streaming videos and games even more seamless. Graphics in games will load nearly immediately, and you will see less buffering pauses while streaming your favorite shows and movies.

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Enhanced services for television include the TiVo™ experience plus you can bundle unlimited local and long distance calling with cable phone when you connect through fiber.

 

Regarding durability and reliability, fiber is not compromised by extreme temperature changes and severe weather, which have a greater effect on copper cables. Copper cables are electrical conductors, and the data being transported through these cables is susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Therefore, copper cannot be placed near any significant power sources, industrial equipment, or an abundance of other active copper cables.

 

If severe weather events cause a commercial power outage, MTC fiber-based services are deployed with a battery back-up solution to the equipment on the exterior of the premise which can give our customers 8+ hours of network resiliency. Additional batteries can be purchased and added to the power supply as an option to provide additional operating time during power outages. For more information on how your MTC services function and what you can do to ensure they stay active during a commercial power outage, visit our Power Outage FAQ page located here.

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