Network Transparency Statement

Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (“HTC” or “Company”) provides this Network Transparency Statement in accordance with the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Rules to ensure that you have sufficient information to make informed choices about the purchase of broadband services. Information about HTC’s other policies and practices concerning broadband are available at htcinc.net (“HTC Website”).

HTC engages in network management practices that are tailored and appropriate for achieving optimization on the network considering the particular network architecture and technology of its broadband Internet access service. HTC’s goal is to ensure that all of its members experience a safe and secure broadband Internet environment that is fast, reliable and affordable. HTC wants its members to indulge in all that the Internet has to offer, whether it is social networking, streaming videos and music, to communicating through email and videoconferencing.

HTC will not unjustly or unreasonably prevent or interfere with competition among Content, Applications, Service, or Device Providers.

HTC’s network management includes congestion- and security-protocol-management and members generally will not be impacted by the protocols and practices that HTC uses to manage its network.

A.     HTC’s Network Transparency Disclosures

 HTC uses various tools and industry standard techniques to manage its network and deliver fast, secure and reliable Internet service. HTC believes in full transparency and provides the following disclosures about its network management practices:

1. Blocking: HTC does not block or discriminate against lawful
2. Throttling: HTC does not throttle, impair or degrade lawful Internet
3. Affiliated Prioritization: HTC does not prioritize Internet traffic and has no plans to do
4. Paid Prioritization: HTC has never engaged in paid prioritization. We don’t prioritize Internet for consideration to benefit particular content, applications, services or HTC does not have plans to enter into paid prioritization deals to create fast lanes.
5. Congestion Management: HTC monitors the connections on its network in the aggregate on a continuous basis to determine the rate of If congestion emerges on the network, HTC will take the appropriate measures to relieve congestion.

On HTC’s network, all members have access to all legal services, applications and content online and, in the event of congestion, most Internet activities will be unaffected. Some members, however, may experience longer download or upload times, or slower surf speeds on the web if instances of congestion do occur on HTC’s network.

Members using conduct that abuses or threatens the HTC network or which violates the company’s Acceptable Use Policy or the Internet Service Agreement will be asked to stop any such use immediately. A failure to respond or to cease any such conduct could result in service suspension or termination.

HTC’s network and congestion management practices are ‘application-agnostic’, based on current network conditions, and are not implemented on the basis of members’ online activities, protocols or applications. HTC’s network management practices do not relate to any particular member’s aggregate monthly data usage.

HTC also checks for abnormal traffic flows, network security breaches, malware, loss, and damage to the network. If a breach is detected or high-volume users are brought to light by complaint, HTC provides notification to the member via email or phone. If a violation of HTC’s policies has occurred and such violation is not remedied, HTC will seek to suspend or terminate that member’s service.

6. Application-Specific Behavior: Except as may be provided elsewhere herein, HTC does not currently engage in any application-specific behaviors on its Members may use any lawful applications with HTC.

7. Device Attachment Rules: Members must use PPPoE for authentication of point to point connections between devices on the network. There is a limit of one (1) PPPoE session per account. For best results, DSL modems, wireless modems, or other proprietary network gateways used on the HTC broadband network should be provided by HTC. Members may attach devices of their choosing to their modems, including wired or wireless routers, laptops, desktop computers, video game systems, televisions, or other network-enabled electronics However, members are responsible for ensuring that their equipment does not harm HTC’s network or impair the service of other members. HTC is not responsible for the functionality or compatibility of any equipment provided by its members. Members are responsible for securing their own equipment to prevent unauthorized access to HTC’s broadband network by third parties and will be held responsible for the actions of such third parties who gain unauthorized access through unsecured member equipment. 

8. Network Security: HTC knows the importance of securing its network and members from network threats and The company promotes the security of its network and patrons by protections from such threats as spam, viruses, firewall issues, and phishing schemes. HTC also deploys spam filters in order to divert spam from an online member’s email inbox into a quarantine file while allowing the member to control which emails are identified as spam. Members may access the spam files through the email. Spam files are automatically deleted if not accessed within 30 days.

 

B.      Network Performance

1.  Service Descriptions: HTC deploys hardwired broadband Internet access to its subscribers via Fiber optic technologies.
2. Network Performance: HTC makes every effort to support advertised speeds and will dispatch repair technicians to member sites to perform speed tests as needed to troubleshoot and resolve speed and application performance caused by HTC’s HTC measures availability, latency, and aggregate utilization on the network and strives to meet internal service level targets. HTC is also required by the FCC to test a random set of members for speed and latency periodically during the year. This transparency statement discloses that HTC will perform these tests. If additional equipment is required for a selected member for this testing, HTC will contact the member to schedule installation of the equipment.

However, the bandwidth speed at which a particular distant website or other Internet resources may be downloaded, or the speed at which your member information may be uploaded to a distant website or Internet location is affected by factors beyond HTC’ control, including the speed of the connection from a distant web server to the Internet, congestion on intermediate networks, and/or limitations on your own computer equipment, including a wireless router. In addition, your service performance may be affected by the inside wiring at your premise. Accordingly, you, the member, must consider the capabilities of your own equipment when choosing an HTC broadband service. Your computers and/or wireless or other networks in your homes or offices may need an upgrade in order to take full advantage of the chosen HTC broadband plan.

For the wireless service, HTC measures Bit Error Rate (BER) and the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) parameters for transmission rates, latency, and traffic every 15 min. For DSL, Fiber and T1 service, HTC measures traffic every 5 min. All services are best effort.

HTC tests each service for actual and expected access speeds at the time of network installation to demonstrate that the service is capable of supporting the advertised speed. Members may also test their actual speeds using the speed test located on HTC website (htcnetracer.speedtestcustom.com/) and may request assistance by calling our business office at 800.365.2154. If HTC Smart Wi-Fi is in the home, members can get an accurate speed reading through the Plume Home app.

Based on the network information HTC receives from its monitoring efforts, HTC’s network is delivering data transmission rates advertised for the different high-speed Internet services. To be sure, HTC has implemented a program of testing the performance of its network by using a test protocol similar to the one sanctioned by the FCC. We installed specific network performance monitoring equipment at aggregation points across our network and conducted a series of tests using this equipment. HTC reports the results of this testing below. This result applies to both upload and download data rates, and applies for measurements made both at peak times and over a 24-hour period:

DOWNLOAD & UPLOAD SPEEDS, LATENCY

Residential Cable ModemTier	Advertised Speed Download	Advertised Speed Upload	Performance Latency	Performance Packet Loss
Standard	300 Mbps	20 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Premium	500 Mbps	20 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Ultra	1000 Mbps	20 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Residential Cable Fiber Tier	Advertised Speed Download	Advertised Speed Upload	Performance Latency	Performance Packet Loss
Standard	300 Mbps	300 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Premium	500 Mbps	500 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Ultra	1000 Mbps	500 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Residential Cable DSL	Advertised Speed Download	Advertised Speed Upload	Performance Latency	Performance Packet Loss
Standard	10 Mbps	1 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Business Tier	Advertised Speed Download	Advertised Speed Upload	Performance Latency	Performance Packet Loss
Standard	100 Mbps	10 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Premium	200 Mbps	10 Mbps	15 ms	-1%
Ultra	300 Mbps	20 Mbps	15 ms	-1%

 

3. Impact of Non-BIAS Data Services: The FCC has defined two types of broadband services: Broadband Internet Access Service (“BIAS”) and Non-Broadband Internet Access Service (“Non-BIAS”) service. BIAS is a mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all, or substantially all, Internet endpoints. Non-BIAS services include services offering connectivity to one or a small number of Internet endpoints for a particular device (i.e. heart monitors) or don’t provide access to the internet at all. Non-BIAS (previously known as “Specialized Services”) may share capacity with BIAS over the last-mile facilities. If both are offered, they may compete for bandwidth in the last mile.

Real time services, such as Non-BIAS, include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol (IP) video services, command optimal bandwidth. As Non-BIAS traffic is combined with general Internet traffic on HTC’s network, broadband members could experience service delays, although very unlikely, if there is an occurrence of congestion on HTC’s network. In any such event, the Non-BIAS traffic is given priority over general Internet traffic.

IP Video Non-BIAS data services: The Company offers IP video service to end-users. This non-BIAS data service does not adversely affect the last-mile capacity available for the Company’s broadband Internet access services, or the performance of such services. Member should note that significantly heavier use of non-BIAS IP video services may impact the available capacity for and/or the performance of its broadband Internet access services. The Company will monitor this situation, and appreciates feedback from its members.

C.  Commercial Terms

 Pricing and additional service information may be found at htcinc.net/internet/. 

In addition to this Network Transparency Statement, patrons may also find links to the following on the HTC Website at htcinc.net/policy-guidelines.

• • HTC Privacy Policy
  • HTC Network Management FAQ (frequently asked questions)
  • Acceptable Use Policy

For questions, complaints or requests for additional information, please contact HTC at 843.365.2154.

 Revised  October 2021