ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT UNITED'S HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
We've listed many of the most common questions we've received here. Check back often, as we amend these periodically as the project progresses. People who still have questions may want to fill out the question form to the right or bring up the live chat option on this page.
Common Questions About United's High-Speed Internet Service
United Cooperative Services will build a fiber network throughout our service territory. The project will enhance our Smart Grid technology by connecting substations and other infrastructure with fiber. This fiber connection also will provide members with an opportunity for an affordable and reliable high-speed internet connection.
High-speed internet service is defined as 25 Mbps service and greater. It is the most desirable form of internet access because of its high access speeds. It can be accessed in four different forms: fiber optic, DSL (or Digital Subscriber Line), cable and satellite. The old dial-up connection is the only non-high-speed internet service available. DSL may be faster than dial-up, but it does not typically provide high-speed service up to the minimum 25 Mbps definition of broadband. Fiber optic is the superior way to receive high-speed internet service, but its availability is severely limited in United's service territory.
A recent advancement in high-speed internet technology, fiber optic provides super-fast speeds for surfing the internet. Its name comes from the use of plastic or glass cables, which allow for faster data transfer compared to the standard copper wires which are used in regular internet connections. Optical fibers permit transmission over longer distance and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than were cables.
Fiber to the home (FTTH) is a relatively new and fast-growing method of providing significantly higher bandwidth to consumers and thereby enables more robust video, internet and voice services, such as telephone.
United's responsibility is to enhance the quality of life of our members, and an affordable, reliable high-speed internet service is as important to our membership today as electricity was 80 years ago.
An estimated 87 percent of United members did not have access to affordable and/or reliable 25 Mbps high-speed internet service, according to a 2019 independent third-party business plan study. Which is why in 2019 United took a vote amongst the membership, and 90 percent of United members voted “Yes” for the cooperative to provide high-speed internet.
Fiber is the best medium available to ensure consistent, fast speeds, and United already has the infrastructure (poles and substations) in place.
Internet service providers want users to receive information as quickly as possible without interruption. A fiber networks is best positioned to do that because of its ability to manage and route extremely large volumes of internet traffic, and by providing the highest amount of bandwidth and speed capability. Other metrics, such as latency, jitter and error correction, are becoming more important than ever due to today’s computing power and user needs.
United’s network provides best-in-class performance metrics so that all users are positioned to have an exceptional experience whether a casual user browsing the web, employees working from home with a heavy cloud requirement, gamers who expect super-fast connections with limited latency, or professionals operating businesses who prefer to not worry about their internet connection on a daily basis. Fiber, being non-conductive, eliminates most of the issues related to copper- or wireless-network outages, which makes United’s network incredibly resilient and able to withstand many disruptions that inferior networks cannot.
United’s project plan serves the unserved and underserved to ensure that members who lack access to quality internet will no longer be left unconnected. Since the inception of United’s internet project, other internet service providers have received state or federal grant funding to provide quality internet service to areas within United’s footprint. Those companies receiving funding have an obligation to provide quality internet. As a fiduciary of the membership, United does not expect to overbuild any areas already slated to receive fast and reliable internet from another provider. United’s website provides the most recent information related to construction. Please reach out to us for any location specific information.
Yes, you should allow for conduit near the electrical entrance to your home. If you have questions, or to discuss details, please:
We ask all members be patient, as the network involves installing thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable along United's existing electrical path (which took 80 years to build to today's current service area). The original 5-year project plan included a mix of both fiber and fixed wireless. Fixed wireless proved not to be a viable long-term solution for our membership. This service comes with a host of issues, including a short life-cycle – something we did not find beneficial or valuable when delivering a state-of-the-art network.This adjustment has extended the fiber build out plan by a few years, however we are confident this pivot will provide members with the best internet and experience for decades.
The answer depends on how far apart the buildings are, but it is possible one modem will work. Using a WiFi booster or running an Ethernet cable between the two buildings could allow one connection to serve multiple buildings.
The internet and VoIP telephone service we may provide will require electricity.
United will have an extremely reliable network. Four unique internet sources will connect at the headends in Burleson and Stephenville. Those four separate head-end connections not only will provide redundancies for improved reliability, they also will be Tier 1 ISP internet connections (better quality fiber pipelines) provided from top internet service providers.
Once service is available in your area, we suggest you cancel service after we have come into your home to complete and test your connection. Our process installs a fiber drop on the outside of your home about 1-2 months prior to a live connection so you will not want to cancel too soon and risk no service.
Electric cooperatives across the United States are stepping in to provide their members high-speed internet service where no other providers will. Currently, about 90 electric cooperatives across the U.S. (about 11 percent) provide high-speed internet service to their members. About 200 more electric cooperatives are studying the viability of providing such a service to their members (including United).
Estimated total cost of the project to deliver a targeted fiber optic download speed of 100 Mbps or greater to the majority of members in United's territory is near $200 million.
Members who would like to receive United’s High-Speed Internet in their area can advocate their community by signing up online at www.ucs.net/internet and encouraging neighbors to do the same. This helps United make informed decisions about where it is financially viable to go based on interest rates in a given area.
Members who are curious about the status of their neighborhoods or area can view United’s coverage map. Start by typing in the address of interest to find theneighborhood. Blue areas indicate “not enough interest” because not enough people signed up in a particular area for United to begin construction. However, by signing up and building interest amongst neighbors, members can change this, and United will re-evaluate an area for an installation project
No. Texas Senate Bill 14, passed in 2019, stipulates that rates charged for electric service cannot be used to recover broadband (fiber) service costs. Therefore, the fiber project is not permitted to negatively affect electric bills for cooperatives like United that provide high-speed internet service.
