What services are offered through Hometown Utilicom?
Cable TV, broadband Internet, telephone, VOIP, and security systems for the home and business.
HU Terms and Conditions
Read our Terms and Conditions here. (Acrobat Reader is required.)
HU Privacy Statement
Read our Privacy Statement here. (Acrobat Reader is required.)
Television uses the same traditional coax connection inside the home. Our system is 860Mhz, which translates to 109 6Mhz channels without the requirement of a set top box.
Why Fiber?
Fiber optics play a big part in the move to new television standards, providing the only viable means of signal transport, by offering the bandwidth required for these television standards.
Currently, analog video signals can be carried over relatively long lengths of coax cable.
With a bandwidth of only 4.5 MHz, analog signals do not tax the limited bandwidth of coax cable, but coax cable introduces a great deal of frequency dependent
distortion requiring an equalization network. A digitalized video signal's increased bandwidth usurps coax's ability to carry the new signal. [Information provided by www.fiberoptics.com]
Reaching Higher Channels
Older televisions that cannot scan past channel 68 or do not have a remote can use a VCR to compensate and achieve recieving the higher channels.
Do I need to rewire my home for Fiber?
No. The HUDP (home demarcation unit) or NID has the same style connectors as traditional coax and telephone. The fiber is the primary feed from our system to your home. The demarcation unit converts the light signal back to traditional analog for typical service use.
I cannot receive all the Channels
First thing to do is scan for all the channels. Scanning will realign the
channel frequencies and queues your television to start receiving channels
at specific frequency.
I am experiencing Channel Bleeding, Sound distortion
If you notice channel bleeding, which is the sound from a lower channel coming
in on a channel you are watching, or if you see shadowing of another channel on
the channel you are watching, then the problem may be in the existing coax, coax
jumper, or the connector. Some homes have the original RG59 coax in place and
the cable has "reached its life expectancy." The cable will begin to crack and
"lose" its overall capability to carry "high band frequency" channels as "hot"
has the 860Mhz our system uses.
The least expensive solution may be to begin replacing the jumper from the wall to the TV or from the cable between the VCR/DVD player and TV.
HU Technical Assistance
HU will work with you to help attain the quality of service you would like to have. Some issues are out of our direct control, but we will do everything possible to remedy a situation.
Internet is online all the time. The requirement of Internet is a network-capable computer installed with a 10/100 Ethernet Network Card.
A category 5 or 5e Ethernet cable is required to connect the computer to our HUDP (Home Demarcation Unit), which is the Fiber Optic Unit attached to your home. Standard phone wire will not work properly. To sustain the quality of service, we HIGHLY recommend Category 5 or 5e Ethernet Cable.
The HU Advantage! Unlike other broadband options, the HU bandwidth is only shared within your location. If you are receiving 1Mb at the demarcation unit feeding your residence, the bandwidth use is only shared within that premise.
How do I configure my e-mail software to access Hometown Utilicom e-mail accounts?
The specific steps depend on which e-mail software product you use.
Click here for instructions. Remember: When configuring your e-mail, be sure to enter all of the necessary information using the domain "hometownu.com" instead of "dejazzd.com"
Addressing
Every computer connected to the HU system will receive a "Dynamic" address,
which identifies the computer to the system. Your computer must be configured to receive "DHCP" addressing. This can be found under "Networking" on the control panel of Windows.
Cannot Connect
Most connection problems occur due to a configuration issue. If you previously used a dial-up connection, be sure and delete this configuration. Some dial-up configurations have conflicted with on-line all the time Internet connections.
When would I use and why the need for a Static IP Address?
If you are hosting Web servers or mail servers, it is recommended that you lease a STATIC IP. A static IP is an assigned number that identifies you and does not expire. The outside world can then access your servers by using this assigned address.
Wireless Connection
Yes, wireless is a solution within a property location. To use a wireless
connection, you must purchase a wireless router and a wireless network card.
The wireless router is connected to our Fiber HUDP and the wireless router will control the internal network configuration. Our system will pass a dynamic IP
address to the wireless router and the router will assign IP addresses to the wireless cards within your residence.
Wlreless Security
Security is a major issue for wireless networks. We highly recommend activating Key Encryption on your wireless router.
Routers
A router acts like a "traffic cop" and controls access to computers networked together. The router can assign IDs, trap IP addresses, control access and perform many more functions. A router is used when control must be given to all connected computers within a network.
Firewalls
A firewall is the door between you and the outside world. This door will allow in and out valid connections. Firewalls are configurable to your specifications. Most routers have built-in firewalls. It is recommended that you configure and use a firewall to protect your computer and network from intrusion.
Windows XP operating systems come configured with a firewall. There could be conflicts with a remote router configured with a firewall and an XP computer configured to use the internal firewall. One or the other should be used, but not both.
Virus Protection
No matter how you cut it, it is to your benefit to use some sort of virus protection software. Virus protection software will protect against most adware intrusion and email viruses.
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