Wave Broadband’s business division has connected 39 Modesto, Calif., school facilities to the district’s data center hub with dark fiber, giving the competitive provider a foundation to attract local businesses and other wholesale carrier customers. Like other local school districts, the Modesto City School district can take advantage of dark fiber due to changes in the FCC’s E-rate program rules. By leveraging dark fiber, the school district can deploy its own network equipment to deliver connections between any sites at whatever top speed their hardware supports, enabling greater flexibility to support data connections needed for students, faculty, and staff. Read More

Source: Fierce Cable | Jan. 12, 2018

In the spring of 2017, Shentel began to work with Altec, a leading equipment and service provider for the electric utility and telecommunications markets, to find a solution to the unnecessary idle time and fuel consumption of their bucket trucks. Shentel managers and technicians inspected and tested a new hybrid bucket truck which utilized an electric lift system and took the diesel engine offline. The results of the field test and further research positioned Shentel to make the decision to purchase the new platform for conventional bucket truck replacements. Read More

Source: Press Release | Jan. 15, 2018

TDS Telecom is finding that in the markets where it offers IPTV via its FTTH network, a majority of its customers subscribe to a triple-play package. Jane McCahon, SVP of corporate relations and corporate secretary for TDS, told investors during the 2018 Global TMT West Conference that the service provider sees IPTV as a key component of its broadband strategy. "We still think IPTV is important," McCahon said. "We have been rolling out IPTV in 29 markets that we have fibered up and 96% are taking a triple play and our churn is under 1%." Read More

Source: Fierce Cable | Jan. 12, 2018

A major Internet provider in the area says it will not make any changes to services after the FCC repealed in December rules that ensure all data on the internet is treated equally. Cass Communications, one of the largest Internet providers in Morgan and Cass counties (Illinois), said it will continue to respect the Net Neutrality regulations set in 2015 under former President Barrack Obama. Chad Winters, vice president of cable TV services for CassComm, said there would be no push to block content from customers. “Cass Communications has never taken any action to throttle content and we make the conscious effort to help our customers,” Winters said. “We do not and will not block or favor any content. We will always provide access to lawful content.” Read More

Source: Journal Courier | Jan. 9, 2018