Open Internet FAQs

Network Management

Q: Why does Everfast manage its network?

A: Everfast manages its network with one goal: to deliver the best possible broadband Internet experience to all Everfast customers. High-speed bandwidth and network resources are not unlimited. Managing the network is essential to promote the use and enjoyment of the Internet by all our customers. All Internet service providers need to manage their networks and Everfast is no different. In fact, many of them use the same or similar tools that Everfast does. These reasonable network management practices are consistent with industry standards. We also try to use tools and technologies that are minimally intrusive. If we didn’t manage our network, our customers would be subject to the negative effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other risks and degradations of the service. Just as the Internet continues to change and evolve, so too, will our network management practices evolve to address the challenges and threats on the Internet. By engaging in reasonable and responsible network management, Everfast can deliver the best possible broadband Internet experience to all Everfast customers.

Q: How does Everfast manage its network?

A: Everfast manages its network so that all customers will equally experience the best level of service possible. While our network is engineered to greatly reduce the possibility of congestion, even the fastest fiber optic technologies have their upper limits. Adequate available bandwidth is Everfast’s primary method of managing the network. We carefully monitor bandwidth usage throughout the network so that we can prevent congestion before it occurs. If an event occurs in which abnormal bandwidth patterns reach the point of creating network congestion, we utilize predefined tools and processes that ensures the least possible impact possible and that all users are impacted equally.

Q: Does network management change over time?

A: Yes. The Internet is highly dynamic. As the Internet and related technologies continue to evolve and advance, Everfast’s network management tools will evolve and keep pace so that we can deliver an excellent, reliable, and safe online experience to all our customers. We will provide updates here and in other appropriate locations if we make important or significant changes to our network management processes.

Network Management for Congestion

Q: How does the current congestion management work?

A: The current congestion management techniques are very basic. All internet data traffic is considered “best effort,” and is, therefore, subject to congestion management processes. The actual techniques will use a combination of buffering and “first in first out” tools to accomplish the goal of lessening the impact caused by the congestion. Selection of traffic to delay during times of congestion will be completely random and all customer traffic regardless of their bandwidth usage or network application will be equally subject to the same factors of randomization.

Q: Does the congestion management target peer-to-peer (“P2P”) or other applications, or make decisions about the content of my traffic?

A: No. The technique is “protocol-agnostic,” which means that the system does not manage congestion based on the applications being used by customers. It is also content neutral, so it does not depend on the type of content that is generating traffic congestion. Customer traffic is congestion-managed based on current network conditions and recent amounts of data transferred by users.

Q: How does the congestion management impact me and my use of the Everfast Internet service?

A: Being protocol-agnostic, customers will most likely not notice a change in their Internet experience. The goal of congestion management is to enable all users to have access to a fair share of the network at peak times even if congestion should occasionally occur. Congestion management focuses on the consumption activity of the network as a whole whereby everyone is impacted the same. In fact, it is rare our High-Speed Internet customers are ever affected because of our bandwidth capabilities.

Q: How often does Everfast expect to use any congestion management processes?

A: Based on our experience, network performance congestion is not common. Everfast monitors how user traffic is affected during high usage periods and makes the adjustments reasonably necessary to ensure that our Internet customers have a high-quality online experience. Everfast also routinely evaluates its overall network performance and periodically enhances its network by adding capacity which continues to alleviate possible network congestion.

Q: Does this congestion management process apply to both Commercial and Residential services?

A: Yes.

Q: Is Everfast Digital Voice affected by congestion management? What about other VoIP providers?

A: Everfast Digital Voice is a separate facilities-based IP phone service that is not affected by these processes. This phone service also does not affect the last mile capacity for, or the performance of, the Everfast Internet service. Everfast customers who use VoIP providers that rely on delivering calls over the public Internet who are also using a disproportionate amount of bandwidth during a period when congestion management processes go into effect may experience a degradation of their call quality at times of network congestion. It is important to note, however, that VoIP calling in and of itself does not use a significant amount of bandwidth. Furthermore, our experience does not indicate any significant change in the quality of VoIP calls, even for managed customer traffic during periods of congestion.

Q: Does Everfast block P2P traffic or applications like BitTorrent, Gnutella, or others?

A: No. Everfast does not block P2P traffic or applications like BitTorrent, Gnutella, or others as part of network congestion management.

Q: Does Everfast discriminate against particular types of online content?

A: No. Everfast provides its customers with full access to all the lawful content, services, and applications that the Internet has to offer. However, we are committed to protecting customers from spam, phishing, and other unwanted or harmful online content and activities. Everfast uses industry standard tools and generally accepted best practices and policies to help it meet this customer commitment. In cases where these tools and policies identify certain online content as harmful and unwanted, such as spam or phishing websites, this content is usually prevented from reaching customers. In other cases, these tools and policies may permit customers to identify certain content that is not clearly harmful or unwanted, such as bulk email or websites with questionable security ratings and enable those customers to inspect the content further if they want to do so.

Network Security Practices

Q: Does Everfast employ network security practices in addition to the congestion management processes?

A: Yes. As described above, Everfast employs several practices to help prevent unwanted communications such as spam as well as protect the security of our customers and network. Everfast limits the number of logins, SMTP, DNS, and DHCP transactions per second (at levels far above ‘normal’ rates) that customers can send to Everfast’s servers to protect them against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. We do not disclose the exact rate limits to maintain the effectiveness of these measures, which ensure that these critical services are available for all our customers. To further protect our customers, Everfast blocks a limited number of ports that are commonly used to send spam, launch malicious attacks, or steal a customer’s information, for example. In addition, Everfast conducts several security initiatives, and offers security tools for our customers. For more information, visit Kaspersky Internet Security.

Network Management of Device Attachment

Q: Does Everfast have rules regarding the attachment of devices to its network by customers?

A: For a modem device to be approved for use on Everfast’s network, it must pass certain certification requirements applicable to the network technology utilized in delivering the broadband service to the customer. These certification requirements may include CableLabs certification, UL certification, FCC certification, and Everfast device testing covering DOCSIS performance and integration with Everfast’s network and systems. Our Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network utilizes an architecture where retail purchase is currently unavailable. Similarly, Everfast’s hybrid cable and fiber network requires specific modems that Everfast provides as part of the service. Each device may also be subject to requirements related to specific makes, models, and firmware revisions.

The devices approved for use on the copper-based technologies are:

• ADSL or ADSL2+ modems that are deployed for Internet services and comply with ITU-G.992.1 or ITU-G.992.1. Subject to internal testing and firmware compatibility.

The devices approved for use on the Kansas operations outside plant (coax based) are:

• Cisco DPC3010 cable modem.
• Cisco DPQ3212 cable modem.

Network Privacy Protection

Q: How does Everfast protect the privacy of information received from customers and 3rd parties?

A: Occasionally traffic may be inspected for trouble shooting purposes. This information may be stored for short periods during the trouble analysis and then discarded. The only information provided to third parties would be information given to law enforcement after the proper subpoenas and other documents are provided. For more information, view our Privacy Policy.

Network Management for Specialized Services

Q: Are there specialized Internet services that may impact broadband performance?

A: No.

Residential and Commercial Terms and Services

Q: Where do I find pricing information for broadband services?

A: Commercial terms, packages and other information are available at www.everfastfiber.com.

General Service and Performance Characteristics

Q: How would you generally describe the Everfast Performance of Internet data products?

A: The Everfast Internet data portfolio includes a wide range of products. Our Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) offering provides a number of asymmetric and symmetric speed profiles ranging from bidirectional 1Mbps all the way up to bidirectional 1Gbps. For those who are unable to take advantage of the benefits of our all-fiber network, we offer Internet access over copper using xDSL at speeds up to 100Mbps Down and 5Mbps Up. Over coaxial for cable modems, we offer speeds up to 100Mbps bidirectional. Business offerings include speeds generally up to 100Mbps Down and 3Mbps Up to 10Gbps bidirectional using fiber optics technology. Optimum speeds are dependent upon many factors including specific technology deployed for a customer connection, loop length, cable gauge, and a variety of other factors that may or may not be within our control.

Q: What are the factors for determining performance for a Broadband Provider?

A: Everfast provisions its network such that its customers are able to enjoy the speeds to which they subscribe. However, Everfast does not guarantee that a customer will actually achieve those speeds at all times. Without purchasing a dedicated Internet connection, no Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) can guarantee a particular speed at all times to a customer. Everfast advertises its speeds as “up to” a specific level based on the tier of service to which a customer subscribes.

The “actual” speed that a customer will experience while using the Internet depends upon a variety of conditions, many of which are beyond the control of an ISP such as Everfast. These conditions include:

• Performance of a customer’s computer, including its age, processing capability, its operating system, the number of applications running simultaneously, and the presence of any adware and viruses.
• Type of connection between a customer’s computer and modem. For example, wireless connections may be slower than direct, wired connections into a router or modem. Wireless connections also may be subject to greater fluctuations, interference, and congestion. Everfast does not recommend wireless modem connections for use with its higher speed tiers as many wireless connections do not perform at the speeds delivered by these tiers.
• The distance packets travel (round trip time of packets) between a customer’s computer and its final destination on the Internet, including the number and quality of the networks of various operators in the transmission path. The Internet is a “network of networks.” A customer’s connection may traverse the networks of multiple providers before reaching its destination, and the limitations of those networks will most likely affect the overall speed of that Internet connection.
• Congestion or high usage levels at the website or destination. If too many visitors are accessing a site or particular destination at the same time, your connection will be affected if the site or destination does not have sufficient capacity to serve all of the visitors efficiently.
• Gating of speeds or access by the website or destination. To control traffic or performance, many websites limit the speeds at which a visitor can download from their site. Those limitations will carry through to a customer’s connection.
• The performance of the cable modem you are using. Modem performance may degrade over time, and certain modems are not capable of handling higher speeds.
• Latency is another measurement of Internet performance. Latency is the time delay in transmitting or receiving packets on a network. Latency is primarily a function of the distance between two points of transmission, but also can be affected by the quality of the network or networks used in transmission. Latency is typically measured in milliseconds, and generally has no significant impact on typical everyday Internet usage. As latency varies based on any number of factors, most importantly the distance between a customer’s computer and the ultimate Internet destination (as well as the number and variety of networks your packets cross), it is not possible to provide customers with a single figure that will define latency as part of a user experience.

Q: How do I determine general performance levels for my Everfast Internet?

A: Everfast offers its customers to the ability to test the speeds that they are receiving on Everfast’s network both from the customer’s computer as well as a test site on Everfast’s network. These tests are heavily dependent on a customer’s home network configuration, modem, and computers, and therefore do not reflect the performance of the Everfast network only.

There are other speed tests that measure Internet performance. We have provided links to a few of these sites below for your reference. Please note, however, that all speed tests have biases and flaws. Each of these tests measures limited aspects of an ISP’s speed and therefore must be seen as a guide rather than definitive measurements of performance.

Customer Documents Related to Network Management

Q: What other documents outline the information detailing the customer rights and requirements of the network?

A: Refer to the Terms and Policies link found at the bottom of the home page at www.everfastfiber.com

Contact Information for Network Management

Q: How can I contact Everfast if I have any questions about network management?

A: Go to the website reference www.everfastfiber.com for more information about contacting Everfast Customer Service or send an email to contactus@everfastfiber.com.

Complaint Process

Q: How do I register a complaint?

A: A customer may register a complaint for immediate action by providing information located at this link www.everfastfiber.com or by sending an email to contactus@everfastfiber.com.