Telephone is restricted to a certain geographic area of the state. Each telephone company has a set of boundaries that they are allowed to provide service in. Glenwood has exchanges that cover the communities of Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, Roseland and the surrounding rural areas. We are not allowed to go outside this area without the permission of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. To see our telephone area map click here.
Glenwood has exchanges that cover the communities of Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, Roseland and the surrounding rural areas.
There are several charges on your statement that will remain constant from month to month. Certain charges and taxes are collected by Glenwood on a monthly basis and paid directly to the appropriate agency. The telephone company is required to collect these fees and at no time has the authority to increase or decrease these fees without the agencies permission.
Local Service: This is the basic charge for unlimited local calling.
Universal Service Charge: The federal government established national programs to support universal telephone service. This fund assists with the costs of providing "affordable" services to low-income individuals and to residents in rural, high-cost areas. In addition, Congress has expanded the program to help schools, libraries and rural health care providers obtain advanced services, such as Internet access. All providers of telecommunications services contribute to the support of these programs. The amount on your bill depends on the services you order and the number of telephone lines you have. Generally, the surcharge is applied per line. This rate may be adjusted quarterly.
Emergency 911: Fee collected and sent to the County you live in to support access to emergency assistance such as Police, Fire, Ambulance, etc.
It’s still a better service.
Many Glenwood Telephone members have been asking themselves why they should keep local “land-line” phone service. Why not just switch exclusively to cell phones? Good question. And here are some good answers:
Quality
The poor quality of wireless communications is well known. The wireless industry acknowledges that quality will not improve in the foreseeable future. While we are prone to put up with problems, it’s not really what we need when we want to have a good, old-fashioned conversation. Nothing will compare with the excellent quality of the landline phone system in the United States.
Regulated
Landline use is regulated, meaning there are quality and service standards put in place by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Wireless is not regulated, and the FCC has no control over quality or pricing.
Member-Owned & Locally Operated
We live here too, we have to do it right! You also help support your local community when you use your Glenwood phone service. Dollars from the cost of your Glenwood Telephone service are invested back into your communities, through network upgrades, school programs, community development projects and community involvement. This is YOUR Company! Money spent here, stays here.
911 Service
This is seriously compromised when using wireless. All emergency calls should be made from a landline phone. Glenwood phone service gives you address recognition by 911 emergency personnel, cell phones do not.
But these are not the only reasons to keep your local Glenwood phone service. As a Glenwood member, you earn capital credits, which is our way of making sure you benefit from our success! Plus, you pay less and get more!
Other
You would need to live in an area served by our cable service. Cable service is owned by the provider (us) who pays each community to offer service as a franchise. Cable service is available in the city limits of Superior, Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, Roseland, Guide Rock, and Lochland Country Club area (north of Hastings). We are currently working to provide cable service in the rural areas of the communities we serve with both telephone and cable service.
Cable service is available in the city limits of Superior, Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, Roseland, Guide Rock, and Lochland Country Club area (north of Hastings).
There are several charges on your statement that will remain constant from month to month. Certain charges are collected by Glenwood on a monthly basis and paid directly to the appropriate agency. The company is required to collect these fees and at no time has the authority to increase or decrease these fees without the agencies permission.
City Franchise Fee
This is the fee we are charged by the Cities we provide service in to have the franchise for cable. This fee is passed on to you and directly benefits each community.
Federal Communications Committee (FCC) Regulatory Fee
We are required to collect this fee as payment to the FCC for regulatory fees to recover the regulatory costs associated with the enforcement, policy and rulemaking, user information, and international activities.
Retransmission Fee
In 2008, the FCC gave local television broadcasters the option of collecting a transmission fee for their programming.
Digital cable is a technology that allows for increased capacity to offer more channels in the same amount of space it takes to provide one standard channel. Digital cable gives you better sound and picture quality.
Digital cable requires a set-top box on each television you want to receive the additional channels. The televisions you don’t have a box on will continue to receive the expanded basic channels. See our digital cable page for more information.
HDTV is the ultimate home viewing experience. Some are even calling it the most exciting thing to happen to TV since the introduction of color. You get a wider screen, superior picture quality and the very best in sound. While watching TV, you may see messages pop up stating that the program you are watching is available in high definition. Some may see this message and mistakenly think you are watching HDTV, when in fact you are not.
To experience true high definition television in your home, you need a source of HDTV signals (now available from Glenwood), a tuner to receive and decode these signals (must have a QAM tuner, which is standard with all new HDTV’s) and an HDTV set.
Don’t confuse Digital cable with HDTV. Digital cable is a high tech way to get you more channels at less cost, and the picture quality is better than analog TV, but it is not HDTV. The main reason HDTV pictures look so much sharper and clearer than conventional TV is the higher resolution of HD. This is where it gets technical. Conventional TV pictures have 480 lines of vertical resolution – 480 scanning lines stacked tightly one on top of the other. Each of these horizontal lines is 720 pixels across, which is why conventional TV is often described as 720 by 480. Because they are interlaced-scan they are often referred to as 480i. This is the best quality analog signal available today; however, it’s the lowest quality signal in digital TV. HDTV is a widescreen, high-resolution format. The most common HDTV varieties are 1080-line interlaced scan (1080i). SDTV (standard definition TV) offers significantly less resolution than HDTV. All SDTV formats are 480i or 480p. Still, even the lowest resolution SDTV signals produce better picture quality than analog broadcasts, because digital images don’t suffer from analog distortions, such as “snow” or “ghosting”. Digital broadcasts produce a clear picture or no picture at all.
To summarize, you need an HDTV set that is capable of displaying 1080i. The program you are watching must also be broadcasting 1080i format to receive the best picture available today.Home-town
You get professional service from a home-town Company you can trust. Typically you will receive same day service.
Free HD Channels
If you have an High Definition TV, you can receive free HD channels. For a complete list click on your community listed to the left.
Customer Service
When you call you get to talk to a live person, not a recording. Plus, you get a friendly face who will handle your question promptly.
One Bill
All your communications service come on one bill, from one local Company. Check out our service bundles to save money.
Local Channels
The local channels we offer (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) are FREE and need no additional equipment or equipment upgrade to receive service.
Local Content
Our local channel (6 &18), provides you with information about all the local happenings. Plus, replays of local church services and school events in your area.
HDTV
Our local channel (6 &18), provides you with information about all the local happenings. Plus, replays of local church services and school events in your area.
Weather Proof
Our cable service in not affected by heavy rain or wind. Glenwood’s cable is much more reliable and stable than satellite companies
Digital Cable TV
See attached
Digital Set-Top Box
When you subscribe to Glenwood’s Digital Services, you are furnished a settop box (STB), which is also called a Converter, and a remote control.
The TV is not on the channel that the STB is sending to the TV. A switch on the back of the STB can be set for Ch. 3 or 4 with Ch. 3 being the most frequently used. The TV must be on the same channel as the switch indicates.
The remote control transmits an infrared signal to the TV to control these functions. There are over 200 of these codes so it would be unusual to end up with the same code for both the old and new sets, even if they are the same brand. Step by step instructions are included in the booklet or pamphlet you received when your STB was installed. This setup guide lists two ways to reprogram your remote. One being a list of known codes used by the manufacturer. Since manufacturers are continually changing these codes as they produce new models, Glenwood recommends that you use the second method where you can scan through all available codes. These may take a few minutes since there are so many codes.
The program guide is updated via a data stream delivered to your STB via the cable system. If something happens to interrupt the STB processing the guide data, such as a power glitch, the display will be interrupted when the existing stored data runs out. The STB can be forced to update guide information by going to any 3 digit digital channel and pressing “Info – 0 – 0” on the remote. Do not enter other commands or change channels for at least 10 minutes though you can continue to watch the selected channel. At this point you will see some channels starting to list program info. A complete guide update may take up to two hours
This is caused when one device or the other does not receive the inferred signal from the remote control. Something may have been blocking the inferred light path or the remote may have been pointed away from the STB and TV before it had a chance to complete the sending of the control signals. To get the devices back in sync, press the power button, on the upper left corner of the converter box, once. This will get both devices back in sync so that they will operate together the next time you press the remote power button.
Some models of the STB remote control have to be programmed to send functions to both the STB and TV at the same time. This is called the “Master Power Feature”. This can be activated by pressing and holding the STB device button about 3 seconds till it blinks. (The STB device button is located just below the top right “Power” button on the STB remote control.) Now press the “Power” key and the light will stay on steady. Press the “Power” button again and the light will blink telling you that the command has been saved.
Yes. You can block channels, set general ratings locks and content ratings locks. It is recommended that you utilize a password with these settings for best security. These functions can be accessed via the “Options” button on the remote control. Full details are available in the “Digital Receiver User Guide” that was delivered with your STB.
Yes. The program guide will allow you to go backward 1.5 hours and forward about 3 days. Access the guide by pressing the “Guide” button on the remote control. This allows you to find out the name of the program that you just caught the end of or to set reminders for when a desired program is going to be aired. Setup details and guide navigation tips are available in the “Digital Receiver Users Guide” that came with your STB.
This usually indicates that the batteries in the remote control are getting weak. The remote uses 2 AAA batteries that are accessed through a cover on the back of the remote. The unit will maintain its memory for several minutes after the batteries are removed but you are encouraged to remove and replace the batteries as quickly as possible so as to not lose the programmed memory.
High speed Internet access or “broadband” allows users to access the Internet and Internet-related services at significantly higher speeds than those available through “dial-up” Internet access services.
We acknowledge that the Internet may not be for everyone, but with the Internet your opportunities are endless. Whether researching illness, banking, shopping, checking the weather or staying in touch with family & friends, the Internet makes all this possible from the comfort of your home or business.
Glenwood currently offers DSL to our rural customer’s living in the exchanges of Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, and Roseland. We are in the planning process to offer fiber to these customers, eliminating the need for DSL.
You would need to live in the rural areas of Lawrence, Blue Hill, Bladen, Campbell, Upland, Norman, Funk, Holstein, and Roseland and be in Glenwood’s telephone network. See map here.
Future Proofing
Fiber optic cables carry voice, video, data and video signals at speeds as much as 20 times faster than today’s fastest high-speed data connections by using laser generated pulses of light to transmit the signals. Fiber technology provides almost unlimited bandwidth, which means it has thousands of times the transmission capacity of copper wire. This allows FTTH to accommodate a wide variety of data and video applications, from interactive content and telecommuting to audio and video on demand.
Greater Reliability
Fiber-optic cables are less susceptible to glitches or interference and can withstand shock and vibration, such as potential disruption from inclement weather.
More Secure
Voice and data transmissions via FTTH are more secure than when they are sent over conventional copper cable connections. The use of fiber eliminates the ability to tap, or eavesdrop, through contact with the delivery system.
Flexibility
FTTH provides the flexibility to more easily adapt to customer preference, since new products and services can be activated remotely, either permanently or on demand.
Less Expensive
Several miles of optical cable can be made cheaper than equivalent lengths of copper wire. This saves money!
How can I get on Glenwood’s fiber Internet?
You would need to live in our telephone area. See telephone FAQ for more details.Superior, Nebraska is the only location where we have cable Internet available.
You would need to live in the city limits of Superior, Nebraska.
An antenna is mounted on the customer’s home or business and wirelessly connects to an antenna on a tower location in your community. Wireless is our method of transmitting the Internet to you, just like the telephone company uses the telephone line and the cable company uses the cable system. In areas where we don’t have telephone or cable service, we use Wireless to get the Internet to customers.
No. Our wireless system is what is considered a point-to-point. We use a series of towers to get the Internet service to each community and to your home or business.
All Internet can be affected by weather. We have no proof that our system is affected by weather, however this does not mean it can’t be affected. The issue we deal with the most is a high wind moving an antenna out of alignment. This is easily fixed by calling our business office and we will send a technician out to move the antenna back in its appropriate location.
All the equipment you need is furnished by Glenwood. We will install an antenna on your roof, run cable into your home, install a modem near your computer and connect it to the Internet. All of this equipment and installation is free with a signed agreement. Additional networking of computers and other devices are an additional expense.
No, the wireless Internet we provide is a fixed service. The wireless term is used to signify the transmission method we use to get the Internet to your home or business. If you want to be mobile in your home or business we can install a secure wireless for you. Router installation is free at the time of install. Customer is responsible for the purchase of the router.
There are instances when we can install the antenna on the side of your home or business. However, in most cases the antenna needs to go on the roof in order to get the best signal and provide you with the best Internet service possible. Our technicians will consult with you on the antenna placement prior to installation.
Contact the business office or visit the Internet page on this web site.
Axtell, Doniphan, Fairfield, Franklin, Giltner, Glenvil, Guide Rock, Hastings, Hildreth, Holdrege, Inland, Juniata, Kenesaw, Minden, Prosser, Ragan, Red Cloud, Trumbull, and Wilcox
We are central Nebraska’s leading provider of technology products and services. Established in 1957, Glenwood Telephone Membership Corporation is a member-owned telephone service provider covering 9 communities in south central Nebraska. GTMC has one subsidiary in Glenwood Telecommunications (GT). GT provides a wide range of communications products and services including: cable television, Internet, computer sales & repair, IT consulting, networking, security systems, surveillance systems, web design and more.
Glenwood’s corporate office is located in Blue Hill, Nebraska and we have one satellite location in Holdrege, Nebraska. For more information visit the about us section of our web site.
We are not completely sure, but Glenwood originally started in the Bladen area, which is part of the county sub-division called Glenwood.