Two community cable TV systems recently acquired by Fidelity Communications will be completely rebuilt using Fiber to the Home technology, the company announced today.
The systems, located in Buffalo, MO near Springfield and Adrian, MO near Kansas City, were acquired from Provincial Cable in February. Fidelity plans to offer a full suite of high-speed Internet, digital TV and phone services in both towns by the end of the year.
Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is the only way to provide virtually unlimited bandwidth to consumers, enabling better quality video, internet, and voice services by running a fiber connection directly into the home. It replaces traditional copper and coax infrastructure.
Large multiple system operators (MSOs) have been using FTTH to upgrade service in selected areas of major metropolitan areas for some time, but Fidelity Communications is one of only a handful of smaller telecoms to invest in a citywide FTTH network.
Buffalo has a population of 3,068 and Adrian has 1,634 residents. “Fiber to the Home is rare in towns this small,” said Don Knight, Fidelity Missouri General Manager. “This will really put them on the map with major municipalities as far as broadband speed availability. It will be a differentiator in economic development for these towns.”
Knight described the old Provincial Cable systems as “neglected and underserved” with a minimal TV lineup and Internet speeds ranging from 256 kilobits to 3 megabits per second (MBPS). Fidelity will maintain those services for existing customers until the rebuild is complete. The old coax network will be removed as part of the project.
The new fiber plant will allow speeds of 1 or more Gigabits (1,000 megabits) per second. “With fiber, the sky’s the limit,” Knight said.
Rebuilding an entire town with fiber will be a first for Fidelity. “We’ve done some subdivisions, but not a full blown, citywide, FTTH network,” he said. “We’re excited to see this come to fruition.”
Fidelity has the potential to serve 1,530 homes in Buffalo with about 28 miles of fiber, while in Adrian, 750 homes could be reached with about 15 miles of fiber, engineers estimate.
Fidelity Communication’s Director of Engineering Jarrod Head said the decision to go with FTTH followed an engineering review of how service could be significantly improved in the two markets.
“We realize that time, money and resources must be invested to provide a more robust channel lineup and faster Internet speeds,” he said. “We believe FTTH is the best way to achieve those goals, and also will future-proof those systems with the latest technology available.”
About Fidelity Communications
Since 1940, Fidelity has been committed to bringing the latest technology and services to the customers it serves. Fidelity Communications is a family-owned Internet, Cable TV and phone company headquartered in Sullivan, Missouri. Fidelity has been providing services in Missouri for 75 years and in Lawton, Oklahoma for the past seven years. Fidelity now provides about 115,000 Internet, Cable TV and local phone services in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The acquisition of former Cobridge systems in four states were rebranded as Fidelity in early June of 2012. To learn more, visit www.fidelitycommunications.com.
