HickoryTech Achieves 10,000 Digital TV Subscribers Milestone

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MANKATO, Minn. – Oct. 18, 2010 – HickoryTech Corporation (Nasdaq: HTCO) announced today it has surpassed 10,000 Digital TV subscribers. This milestone demonstrates HickoryTech’s long-term commitment and success in growing its broadband services throughout southern Minnesota.   “We’re proud of our broadband expansion and excited to reach this Digital TV milestone,” said Damon Dutz, president of HickoryTech’s Consumer and Network Solutions Division. “On behalf of our entire HickoryTech team, we appreciate the loyalty of our customers and are committed to providing competitive broadband services and outstanding local support to our neighbors and friends in the communities we serve.”

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GAO Report Sees Tough Implementation of National Broadband Plan

BroadbandBreakfast.com Staff, BroadbandBreakfast.com

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WASHINGTON, October 13, 2010 – The United States plans to take actions to promote broadband similar to other nations, but achieving those goals will be challenging, says a new government report.

The Government Accountability Office looked at the plan offered by the Federal Communications Commission and how it reflects the experiences of leading countries on the issue. It found that the United States has a tough road ahead.

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Consumers Willing to Upgrade, but Slow to Embrace Super-Fast Technology

The reason that consumers are not willing to pay for super high-speed services at the moment is because they do not have a need to utilize all of the bandwidth for the high price.  As more content is delivered over the Internet and prices come down, then demand will grow.  This finding is not really surprising.  It is a typical technology adoption process.  Broadband investment is decreasing because the incumbents have cherry picked the most densely populated areas that will produce an ROI within their corporate requirements.  There are still huge parts of the country that have limited access to broadband.  Allowing governments to enter into public/private partnerships to build last-mile infrastructure will spur investment into broadband networks in the rest of the nation.

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Rahul Gaitonde, Deputy Editor, BroadbandBreakfast.com

WASHINGTON, October 5, 2010 – Consumers are willing to pay a large amount to upgrade their internet access speeds from slow to fast, but are more reluctant to upgrade from fast to super-fast, according to a research paper discussed at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference last week.

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Gathering to explore ‘digital divide’

Charlotte summit today will discuss how N.C. have-nots lack needed broadband.

By Eric Frazier
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When Pete Pruitt asked Comcast Cable how much it would cost to get high-speed internet service at his Caswell County home, officials told him they’d need to run fiber lines to his street, a mile-long artery that 12 families call home.

Cost: a one-time fee of $48,000.

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On Tuesday Morning, Illinois Broadband Advocates Gather for Better Broadband and Better Lives

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Drew Clark, Expert Opinion,

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, September 28, 2010 – Broadband high-speed internet services are stimulating the economy, creating jobs and enhancing lives in Illinois through enhanced telemedicine, training, and public safety benefits.

On Tuesday, dozens of federal broadband stimulus recipients will gather together in Springfield, Illinois, to celebrate and plan how more than $351 million in federal, state and private investment will be used to build infrastructure and frontline programs to eliminate the digital divide.

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Chattanooga’s speedy Internet may give it jobs edge


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Chattanooga has become the first U.S. city to provide blazing-fast Internet — with download speeds 20 times faster than anything now offered to big business users in Nashville or anywhere else, for that matter.

The question now is whether Chattanooga’s high-tech fiber-optic system puts Music City behind in the race for new jobs.

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Chattanooga to Offer 1 Gigabit Internet

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Mid-size southern city will likely be the first in the country to break the one gigabit speed barrier here in the US.

Ed Oswald, Technologizer

When you’re thinking of ultra-high speed Internet and its expected rollout across the country, I’m sure the last place you’d probably name is Chattanooga, Tennessee. However if all goes right, the mid-sized southern city will likely be the first in the country to break the one gigabit speed barrier here in the US.

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