Traveling internationally? Here's how to access your email on the go!
As a valued customer of Valley TeleCom Group, we wanted you to be aware that we have international security measures in place to prevent automated connections to email from countries that typically host malicious attacks.
Because of these protections, if you’re traveling internationally, your ability to sync email to your desktop client will be restricted to the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Canada. Outside of those countries, you’ll still be able to access email through a browser by visiting our webmail at https://userportal.vtc.net/login.
Alternatively, you can use a commercial VPN to connect through one of those three countries to sync email to your desktop client.
We understand this may be inconvenient for some of you when you travel, but we hope you understand how important it is for us to protect your data in this increasingly connected world.
Valley TeleCom Group Upgrades Core Router for Enhanced Services
In an endeavor spanning over a year, Valley TeleCom Group (VTG) has completed a significant milestone in its mission to provide cutting-edge Internet and Voice services to its ever-expanding customer base. The company embarked on a core router upgrade, a crucial component of their network infrastructure, designed to meet the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.
The core router upgrade, which recently saw its new equipment delivered in October 2023 due to a long back order, is poised to equip VTG to be able to offer the speed and reliability our customers deserve. The new equipment has a 100G connection for core routing services, ensuring that VTG can not only accommodate a burgeoning customer count but also meet the surging demands for Internet services, including streaming, gaming, and data services.
While preparations were well underway for the core router upgrade, the incumbent core router began experiencing issues in August 2023, leading to intermittent disruptions in Valley's network, particularly affecting bandwidth speeds. VTG's team diligently employed troubleshooting measures to maintain services until the new equipment arrived.
However, upon integrating the new hardware alongside the aging core router, network performance issues escalated, culminating in more pronounced disturbances on October 26, 2023. It was at this point that the transition to the new core router became imminent.
The migration to the new equipment officially commenced in the early morning of October 31st and is scheduled to wrap up by November 2nd. The planning and execution of this project have aimed to minimize downtime for VTG's valued customers. As technology continues to advance, so does Valley TeleCom Group, with this upgrade representing a significant leap forward in their pursuit of delivering top-quality services.
This challenging but transformative project serves as a testament to VTG's commitment to its customers, as the company overcomes growing pains to offer better-quality services to both current and future clientele. With the successful core router upgrade, Valley TeleCom Group is poised to meet the needs of of our current and future customrs, reinforcing their position as a leader in the telecommunications industry.
Thinking About Digging? Check in with Arizona811 or NM811 first.
Call 811 in either Arizona or New Mexico (depending on your location).
Click Here to go to the Arizona811 website.
Click Here to go to the NM811 website.
Protection is available your whole network with Premium Valley WiFi.
Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. - Interconnection Agreement with Teleport Communications America, LLC
Description of Agreement:
Network Interconnection Agreement between Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. and Teleport Communications America, LLC, providing terms, conditions and pricing under which the parties, both operating as local exchange carriers, will offer and provide to each other interconnection within the State of New Mexico that is within Valley's exchange areas and where all such exchange areas are geographically located in New Mexico in which they both operate as local exchange carriers within the State of New Mexico.
Within thirty (30) days after the date of the filing of this Advice Notice, any person, including Commission Staff, believing that the Commission should reject the agreement submitted with this Advice Notice or any portions thereof, must file an original and two copies of a request for rejection with the Commission's Utility Division, P.O. Box 1269, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504. A request for rejection must state with particularity the basis for rejecting the agreement or portions thereof pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 252, including any violations of the standards set out in 47 U.S.C. Section 252( e )(2)(A). When it is filed with the Commission, a request for rejection must be served on the contracting parties at their addresses listed above and on the New Mexico Attorney General, Post Office Drawer 1508, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1508, by the person making the request. Within thirteen (13) days after the request is filed, the parties to the agreement or any other interested person may file a reply to the request.
Click here to read the full agreement
Trouble with ParentVUE or PowerSchool
If you are having trouble with ParentVUE or PowerSchool, please report the service issue through SmartHub, your online portal, and our support team will review the support ticket
.
Click here to log in to SmartHub
Click here to register for SmartHub
If you need instructions for registration, click here
Public Notice of Financing Application
Valley Telephone Cooperative has applied for Arizona Corporation Commission approval of financing for construction that will make fiber-to-the-home available for up to 90% of current VTC customers . Click here for details.
ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program)
The Affordable Connectivity Program is a
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to help households struggling to pay for internet service. This program is currently winding down and no new applications are being accepted. It is anticipated that those already signed up for this program will have a dis-continuance of assistance sometime in April, 2024.
CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information)
Click here for important information regarding your
privacy and records with Valley TeleCom Group.
UNBLOCKER ISSUES WITH STREAMING SERVICES
An update regarding the following message some customers have received while attempting to stream: "You seem to be using an un-blocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again."
Valley TeleCom has received confirmation from Netflix that they are aware of the issue, it is widespread, and they are currently working on a resolution. It looks as though changes from streaming service providers have been implemented in order to crack down on VPN users (Virtual Private Network). This includes Netflix and Amazon Prime, with some others having been affected as well. In the process of implementing these harsher protocols, they have inadvertently blocked some carrier translations, ours included. Rather than waiting on streaming services to provide a resolution for this issue our Networking team has implemented a possible workaround to get our subscribers back to using their streaming services without interuption.
Again, this is a POSSIBLE workaround as we have not been provided information regarding precisely which area of our network is being flagged on their end.
FCC 988 TEN-DIGIT DIALING
Ten-digit dialing will soon be required nationwide in response to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adoption of 988 as a new three-digit number to be used to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline. Click Here to learn more.
CALL COMPLETION ISSUES
Long Distance Call Completion Inquiries: For more information on long distnce call completions resolution click the following link to the FCC website
BACKUP POWER CUSTOMER NOTICE
Backup Power for Voice Telephone Services during Power Outages:
For many years, your telephone would allow you to stay connected to emergency voice services during a power outage. However, if your voice telephone service is provided using fiber optics rather than the traditional copper-based line, the voice telephone service requires backup battery power to continue functioning during an outage. To avoid a disruption of voice service during an outage and to maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services, Valley TeleCom Group offers two battery options for the backup power for your voice telephone service.
What Your Battery Can and Can’t Do for You:
The backup battery for telephone equipment is installed in a location near where the fiber enters your home or business, and it allows you to continue to use your voice services during a power outage. Without a backup battery or alternate backup source such as a generator, customers with fiber-based telephone service will not be able to make any calls, including emergency calls to 911 during an outage. The only way to maintain the ability to use your telephone is by using some form of backup power.
Our backup battery does not provide power to any services other than voice. Security systems, medical monitoring devices and other equipment will not run on a voice telephone backup battery.
Replacement Options:
Batteries may need to be replaced every three to seven years or when the battery is no longer functioning.
- Valley TeleCom Group backup battery options – For $1.95 per month, Valley TeleCom Group will provide and install, am 8-hour backup battery and provide free replacement when it becomes known that the battery needs to be replaced. If you have any questions, please call 800-400-1273, or go to your local Valley TeleCom office. For $12.95 per month, you can opt to have a battery that will last up to 24 hours if you prefer to have the extended time coverage.
- Third Party provided spare backup batteries - You may also be able to purchase a replacement backup battery through local retailers or on-line. If you have a backup battery unit from Valley TeleCom Group, the type of battery that you need is a Haze HZS12-8 – 12 Volts.
Expected Backup Power Duration: Backup batteries are expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. The backup battery should give you at least 6 hours of talk time. If you feel that is not enough time, you may extend your standby power by purchasing from our company or a third-party additional spare 8-hour batteries.
Instructions for Proper Care and Use of Your Battery: Please follow the more detailed instructions included with any extra battery for proper use, storage and care of your battery to ensure that it will function as needed during a power outage. If you do not store an extra battery correctly, it may shorten its useful life. Environmental factors such as temperature can shorten an extra battery's useful life. We recommend that any extra battery be stored above 41°F and below 104°F for optimum life. These batteries are usually not rechargeable except under controlled situations. They will not last forever and should be replaced every 3 years, or when your device starts to make a loud beeping sound and/or the indicator light for the battery shows that it is low or out of charge.
Federal Transparency in Coverage Rule.
The following link leads to the machine-readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data
Important note: Each of the JSON files accessible may be as large as one Terabyte (TB) in file size, which has significant system requirements for use. Please ensure you have the required memory capacity, hardware, and software capabilities before attempting to download.