Fidelity Communications Nearing Completion on Fiber Project in Adrian, MO

Adrian, MO, August 12, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​Fidelity Communications construction crews are hanging and splicing fiber in Adrian with an eye toward offering services there by the end of October.

“We’re getting close to completion on that portion of the project,” said Don Knight, Missouri General Manager. “When it’s done, we can start migrating existing customers to the new services and making those services available to new customers this fall.”

"This really puts us miles ahead of many of the rural towns in the region...It's a huge tool to add to our development toolkit."

Shayla Sparks, Bates County Economic Developer

The cable TV system acquired in February from Provincial Cable is being completely rebuilt using Fiber to the Home technology. Fidelity plans to offer a full suite of high-speed Internet, digital TV and phone services for residential customers and a wide range of business services. Pricing is still being determined.

Fiber to the Home (FTTH) provides 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 while having enough bandwidth to handle the ever increasing consumer demands for reliability and affordability.

Bates County Economic Developer Shayla Sparks called the Fidelity fiber project “a driver for economic development and growth” in Adrian. “This really puts us miles ahead of many of the rural towns in the region,” she said. “It puts us on the precipice of being able to attract more business and industry. It’s a huge tool to add to our development toolkit. Adrian is blessed to have this.”

The new fiber plant will allow speeds of 1 or more Gigabits (1,000 megabits) per second. Engineering Manager John DeBroeck estimated the project will involve about 15 miles of fiber, with the potential to serve 750 homes. “We still have some aerial and underground lines to run,” he said.

The new FTTH system will replace a Provincial Cable system that featured 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.

“This is an opportunity for us to dramatically improve service while rebuilding an entire town with fiber, a first for us,” Knight said. “It’s exciting because Fiber to the Home is rare in towns this small and will really help economic development. Fidelity Communications looks forward to being a part of the Adrian community.”

To learn more about Fidelity Communications, please visit www.FidelityCommunications.com.

Source: Fidelity Communications