As 72-ft-dia rotor blades spin overhead, a fearless crew of specialized workers perches atop the four legs of a half-erected communications tower at a desolate mountaintop site, ready to receive the next section of tower. As far as the eye can see, there are no roads, no buildings, no other people. Above, a heavy-lift helicopter, nicknamed Annie, hovers, with her pilots methodically lowering the 18,000-lb payload down toward the workers, aiming to precisely mate the new tower section with the previous one.

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Source: Engineering News Record | October 4, 2017

Alpine Communications is pleased to announce the launch of its all-new fiber optic Fusion Network to all homes and businesses within the city limits of McGregor, Iowa. Once activated on the new Fusion Network, current Internet customers can look forward to receiving increased Internet speeds at no extra charge. Plus, Alpine will also begin offering FusionTV — a new and enhanced TV viewing experience more than 230 channels, more than 90 HD networks, and whole-home DVR. Introductory specials will be available for a limited time.  Read More

Source: Press Release | October 10, 2017

Blue Ridge Communications, a cable operator that serves parts of Pennsylvania, is entering the premium whole-home WiFi market through a partnership with eero. Blue Ridge’s new premium offering, called HomeFi, offers eero’s compact WiFi access points for $5.95 per device (Blue Ridge’s FAQ for the product suggests one HomeFi eero for every 1,000 square feet, or one to two devices per floor). Those access points, which extend coverage in the home, work in tandem with the customer’s cable modem and an MSO-branded app that enables users to manage their home WiFi networks and set up elements such as parental controls.   Read More

Source: Multichannel News | October 13, 2017

EDINBURG, Va., - Shentel is proud to announce the completion of a fiber network upgrade and expansion in the town of Buchanan and Botetourt County, Va. Shentel has completed a high-capacity, state-of-the-art fiber optic network along the Interstate 81 corridor in Botetourt County. As a result, residents in the town of Buchanan and surrounding areas now have access to residential Internet packages up to 101Mbps. In addition to the new speeds, more than 20 new HD video channels are now available to cable customers. During the past year, Shentel has invested more than $2.5 million to expand fiber optic network facilities in Botetourt County. Because of this investment, businesses along the Interstate 81 corridor now have access to ultra-fast broadband speeds up to 100Gbps.   Read More

Source: Press Release | October 19, 2017

Wave Broadband, a leading provider of fiber data and voice solutions on the West Coast, has upgraded its fiber backbone, connecting the San Francisco Bay area to its three local on-net data centers, to support multiple 100-Gig circuits. These infrastructure updates now give companies seeking data center connectivity and hosting services a local carrier option via Wave’s data centers in Mountain View, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, all of which support the surrounding Bay Area. “We are continuously upgrading our infrastructure to meet the colocation needs of companies handling large data volumes, for cloud computing applications, and more,” said Derrick Hofmann, VP of Data Center Services at Wave. “At our core, we are all about connecting local infrastructure to the cloud and broader internet with low latency, high quality, and cost-effective service. That’s why we’re happy to serve Mountain View/Palo Alto businesses with custom capacity in their own backyard.”   Read More

Source: Press Release | October 19, 2017

Mediacom Communications announced its launch of 1-gig Internet speeds in areas of southern Delaware and eastern Maryland, passed by the company's fiber-rich digital network. As a result, homes and businesses in 23 communities have access to Internet download speeds that are up to 40 times faster than the minimum broadband definition set by the FCC. "Creating true gigabit communities across our national footprint was a central component of the three-year, $1 billion capital expenditure plan announced by Mediacom in 2016," said Pat Hynes, Mediacom area operations director for Delaware and Maryland. "Our aggressive rollout of gigabit speeds provides residents and businesses in these Mediacom-connected communities with a distinct technological advantage in today's global marketplace." Read More

Source: Cape Gazette | October 10, 2017

BendBroadband installed the second of four new routers, marking the halfway point of a multimillion-dollar network upgrade to improve service. Once the upgrade is complete, possibly by Thanksgiving, BendBroadband will offer faster maximum download speeds, 600 megabits per second, and it will consider whether to completely eliminate caps on data consumption, said TDS spokeswoman Deanne Boegli. Read More

Source: The Bulletin | October 8, 2017