About DataNet

How can I benefit by becoming a Hudson Valley DataNet customer? You can benefit in several ways by becoming a DataNet customer. Specifically, you can receive more bandwidth than you are currently capable of receiving. The bandwidth you receive can be fully redundant which will increase your network's performance and assurance of continual service. Additionally, our network is designed for continuous growth that will allow DataNet to quickly upgrade your DataNet service within 24 hours of request. [Back to Top]

Does the DataNet network carry traffic only in the Mid-Hudson Valley? No. While our local network is capable of handling all of your local bandwidth requirements, because DataNet is interconnected to the major national and international networks, we are fully capable of delivering all of your high bandwidth needs from the Mid-Hudson Valley outward to virtually anywhere in the world. [Back to Top]

Are you an affiliate of my current telephone company? No. Hudson Valley DataNet is a totally independent company. We are certified by the New York State Public Service Commission as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), a new type of telephone company. [Back to Top]

Why do I need to sign up with Hudson Valley DataNet? Why would I not go to my existing telephone company for these services? The incumbent telephone companies have historically been focused on providing voice services for business and residential customers. While they have begun offering some data services, this has not been their primary focus, nor have their networks been designed to deliver primary data services. The DataNet network, on the other hand, has been designed with a primary focus on delivering a fully integrated high-speed data solution. A total service offering of voice, data and video is bundled into a simple single customer offering. [Back to Top]

How does DataNet's services differ from recently advertised high-speed data services like DSL and cable TV modems? While these new services are a tremendous improvement from traditional dial-up data services, they do not provide large data users the capacity, speed, redundancy or network customization capabilities afforded by the fiber optic DataNet network. [Back to Top]

When using DataNet for Internet access is my local connection secure or is it on a "party-line" like some other high-speed Internet offerings? Your data is secure. You are not on a party line. Your circuit, from your location, over DataNet's network to our headend is a distinct circuit, not a "shared line". Therefore, no one in your neighborhood can see or trap your data transmission as it travels the local lines. [Back to Top]

How does DataNet's services differ from satellite or other wireless services being discussed in the media? Satellite and wireless data services meet the specific needs of many customers throughout the country. However, in the case of satellite technology, it is unlikely to be cost competitive with the DataNet solution in the foreseeable future. Wireless data now being implemented in more dense urban areas, as a point-to-point line of sight technology, is often constrained by local topography and as such is not necessarily the primary solution for the smaller less dense population centers of the Hudson Valley. [Back to Top]

If my current communication needs can only be filled using two or more phone companies, can DataNet simplify my communication solution? Yes. As a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) our network traverses through all local phone companies' territories. As such, DataNet can provide a single carrier solution if multiple telephone companies currently serve your network.[Back to Top]

Can businesses that require good Internet access and secure data transmission to branch offices accomplish both with DataNet service? Yes. DataNet can provide dependable Internet access on a portion of the fiber optic bandwidth brought into your building, and utilize another portion of the fiber bandwidth to seamlessly connect several customer sites together to form a local area network for the customer.[Back to Top]

With DataNet provided transport to the Internet, can I use that DataNet connection in such a fashion that my computer can act, effectively, as a server for web services? Yes. DataNet does not restrict your use of bandwidth from any lawful activity that does not interfere with or damage the service of others. Due to our tremendous bandwidth capacity and individualized circuit design, we are more than able to carry large "upstream" traffic that can often clog limited or "shared party circuits". [Back to Top]

As a residential customer, what can DataNet offer me? There are opportunities for DataNet to serve residential customers who require higher than normal bandwidth. This situation is rapidly becoming commonplace, as more individuals utilize their home for data-intensive business purposes. [Back to Top]

What protocols does Hudson Valley DataNet Support? DataNet's network is capable of multiple access protocols including SONET (up to OC-192), Lambdas, Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gigabit Ethernet, IP, ATM, Frame Relay and DSL.[Back to Top]

Does Hudson Valley DataNet provide redundancy on their network? DataNet's customers achieve network protection in several ways. The primary DataNet network is built in a geographic ring configuration, providing full path diversity for traffic on the primary ring. Secondly, the electronic components handling the traffic on the ring utilize self-healing protocols and as such provide circuit redundancy. Thirdly, for customers with extremely critical needs, DataNet can construct a fully redundant set of paths from its primary traffic ring to and from the customer, thereby assuring complete redundancy including entrance and exits to and from the customer's premise.[Back to Top]

What is the estimated time frame for upgrading to a higher bandwidth? As DataNet has constructed a state-of-the-art fiber optic network, it has an abundance of capacity available to meet current and future customer needs. With this abundance of capacity, customers' increased requirements can typically be met with in hours and most certainly within a 24-hour period. [Back to Top]

How will my billing be handled? Once you have entered into a service agreement with DataNet, you will be billed at an agreed upon interval (monthly, quarterly, or annually), on a flat fee basis with no additional charges for mileage or usage beyond contract terms. As with all telecom services, taxes, fees and surcharges will be assessed as applicable.[Back to Top]

What is SONET and why is it desirable? Synchronous Optical NETwork is a transport method that enables the movement information over the DataNet optical fibers using a "bi-directional" redundancy that can be configured to send the information in two directions at the same time. This bi-directional transmission option insures that any single interruption does not result in any data loss and the data, video, or voice is rerouted within 50 milliseconds. Any dropped data is retransmitted automatically. [Back to Top]

What is DWDM and is it utilized in the DataNet network? DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) is a way of increasing the capacity of fiber optics by using multiple wavelengths of light (color) to transmit separate streams of data over the same fiber. As currently constructed, the DataNet network has an extreme amount of capacity to meet all customer needs for the foreseeable future. Should our customer base begin to approach the full utilization of this capacity, DataNet can and will implement capacity enhancing measures such as DWDM. The DataNet network equipment is designed to gracefully migrate to these new technology enhancements. [Back to Top]

What is the difference between an ILEC and a CLEC? An ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) refers to the former Bell Operating Companies (Bell Atlantic, Bell South, etc.) and independent telephone companies (Citizens, GTE, Warwick Valley Telephone, etc.) A CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) is a competitor to the ILECs. They have been granted permission by the state regulatory commission to offer local telephone and data services in direct competition to the ILEC. [Back to Top]

What are LATA's? Is DataNet restricted by this regulatory boundary? ILECs historically have carried communication traffic only within there own LATA (Local Access Transport Area). For traffic beyond the LATA, the ILECs historically handed off the traffic to a long distance carrier, thereby forcing the customer to utilize two separate companies to meet their cross LATA communications needs. As DataNet is not restricted by these LATA's, we have designed our networks around community boundaries and not artificial regulatory boundaries. [Back to Top]

Is fiber optics a health hazard? No. The glass fibers used in our systems are not unlike ordinary window glass and are completely safe. The light that passes along the fibers is fully contained inside the fiber. The Fibers are individually wrapped which is in turn contained within an opaque plastic jacketing material. [Back to Top]

Questions