1. What will LVC Broadband do for me?
  2. How can LVC Broadband save me money?
  3. Are my files safe if I switch to LVC Broadband?
  4. Will LVC Broadband affect my TV reception?
  5. What if I have several computers?
  6. Do I have to sign a contract for a year or longer?
  7. What do I do with my cable modem if I move away or want to discontinue service?
  8. Do I have to give up AOL (or some other dial-up service)?
  9. How does data work over a television cable?
  10. What do I have to do to my computer to connect to a cable modem?
  11. Can I use LVC Broadband to create my own web site?
  12. What does my installation charge pay for?
  13. If my web site is on a distant server, how do I maintain it?
  14. What about a dial-up access number for backup or when I'm traveling?
  15. What speed can I expect on the Internet?

 

 

 

 

Broadband Internet FAQ

1. What will LVC Broadband do for me?

If you are accustomed to dial-up Internet access, you will be surprised at how much more efficient you will be with LVC Broadband:

  • Connect Time. LVC Broadband is always on, always ready. You won't have to wait 10 or 20 seconds (sometimes even longer) just to get a connection.
  • Telephone Availability. LVC Broadband makes your online activity independent of your telephone. That means that you can work online whenever you want without having to worry about whether somebody might be trying to get through on your telephone. And you won't have to disconnect when somebody else in your household wants to make a call. You can even make a call while still online.
  • Data Rate. LVC Broadband has a much higher data rate than dial-up service. Because Upper Lucas Valley is over three miles from the telephone company's central office, even 52Kbps modems rarely go faster than 42Kbps, many only capable of half that rate. LVC Broadband offers 484/128Kbps (even more for those who select higher speed options).

2. How can LVC Broadband save me money?

After the initial investment in a cable modem and installation charge, Broadband will cost only about a dollar more than the standard dial-up account with a full-service ISP like AOL. Many homeowners, however, have ordered in a second telephone line so their telephone will not be tied up while they are online. Since LVC Broadband makes no demands on your telephone, you may find that any such extra telephone line can be removed, resulting in substantial net savings.

3. What about the security of my data transactions?

LVC offers "baseline encryption" on all data transactions on its Family, and Business, and Wireless plans. Each modem in the neighborhood is assigned a random encryption key when it is started or restarted, so your data is never sent over the cable system in the clear.

4. Will LVC Broadband affect my TV reception?

While LVC Broadband shares the television cable, it only uses a small amount of of the cable's bandwidth--equivalent to one television channel. An additional "sub-band" channel is also used, but this is in a frequency range not used for television distribution. Because of this use of spectrum, your television signal should not be effected by LVC Broadband, whether you subscribe to the service or not.

5. What if I have several computers?

Because our system provides a maximum of one IP address per customer, multiple computers can share a cable modem only if a special modem-sharing device is installed between your cable modem and your computers. This is accomplished by "Network Address Translation (NAT), which allows your several computers to appear as a single computer to our equipment by using an artificial address scheme for all data transactions in your home, translating them to single "real" IP address that our equipment provides. The Linksys router that is included in our Family, Business, and Wireless plans is capable of NAT.

6. Do I have to sign a contract for a year or longer?

LVC's Basic Plan has no minimum-time contract so you may order your service disconnected at any time. We do require that you sign an agreement, however, that limits our liability and places some restrictions on how our services may be used.

7. What do I do with my cable modem if I move away or want to discontinue service?

In the event that you no longer need your service, you may find a buyer for your cable modem in the community. If you move away, you might be able to sell the modem to the family that purchases your home.

8. Do I have to give up AOL (or some other dial-up service)?

Most full-service, content-added ISP's offer a reduced rate to customers who give up their dial-up privileges in order to access their service via broadband.

9. How does data work over a television cable?

All data transmission over coaxial cable longer than a few hundred feet must be attached to a carrier by some form of "modulation." LVC Broadband uses a television channel as a carrier and applies a scheme that allows a very large data rate to be "broadcast" to all homes in the community. A special purpose "cable modem" monitors that data stream, picks out the packets addressed to you, and passes them on to your computer. The modem also negotiates with head-end equipment to give your computer a time slot on a low-frequency sub-band channel so that it can send packets in the return direction.

10. What do I have to do to my computer to connect to a cable modem?

All of our access plans allow connection to computers through an 10/100baseT Ethernet port (an eight-pin RJ-45 connector on the back of your computer). Virtually all Macintosh computers have an Ethernet connector. If your Windows-based computer does not have such a port, it may be possible to add one through the installation of a NIC card (we can provide and install these for most computers at a reasonable cost).

If you have selected the Basic plan, you may connect to your computer with an extra USB port in the event that you do not have an Ethernet port on your computer.

11. Can I use LVC Broadband to create my own web site?

A personal web site option is included with each standard installation, if desired--however it is not hosted on community equipment, but rather at a distant server with extremely broadband access to the Internet. We also offer additional hosting services, including domain name registration and support. However we do not permit you to configure your computer as an Internet web site server for the following reasons:

  1. Web traffic can add a significant traffic load to the critical upstream path. Were this to be allowed, the whole system could experience degradation.
  2. Your web site will provide better service to your visitors when hosted by server farm such as the one with whom LVC Cable contracts. This is because co-location servers have very wide bandwidth connections to the Internet and provide features such as data backup and power outage protection.

12. What does the installation charge pay for?

The installer will attach a small plastic "Service Box" to the outside of your home near where your TV drop cable emerges from its underground trench. The underground cable will be routed into the box, from which two additional wires emerge--one for your television service and one for your cable modem. The installer will route the latter cable to the room where your computer or router is located and attach it to your cable modem. The cable modem, in turn, will connect to your computer over your choice of a router, USB port, or Ethernet cable. The fee also includes the administrative expense of configuring the head end equipment to recognize your modem and to configure your e-mail and/or FTP options.

13. If my web site is on a distant server, how do I maintain it?

You may transfer files between your computer and your web site several ways, all of which require a logon name and password for your protection:

  • iManager. We make a browser-based application called iManager available to you. This requires no installation on your computer and works equally well on all computer platforms. You may also use iManager to access your e-mail remotely or to change your password.
  • FTP. If you have FTP software, you may use it to transfer files between your computer and your server file space. WS_FTP is popular on computers running Windows, and Fetch is a good choice for Macintosh computers. Special Software Many web-maintenance programs have built-in FTP features.

14. What about a dial-up access number for backup or when I'm traveling?

We do not have a dial-up service at this time. If you want to keep dial-up access, we recommend that you order an inexpensive low-service plan from your choice of ISP's.

15. What speed can I expect on the Internet?

Please see the separate article on this subject.