BREVARD, N.C. – ( October 22, 2014 ) – The Comporium Digital Video system in Transylvania County is scheduled to be upgraded over the next 18-24 months, beginning on Oct. 27. When completed, the benefits to consumers will be faster Internet speeds and other improvements, according to Frank Porter, the company’s general manager here.

“This $5.5 million project to convert the coaxial cable TV facilities is Comporium’s commitment to providing a modern, reliable Internet system with increased speeds,” Porter said. “It will also enable us to enhance our cable TV offering with new services, such as Video on Demand VOD), Pay per View (PPV) and different channel line-ups.”

The company said that more than 7,000 Internet customers currently being served over the former Citizens Telephone’s copper facilities, known as DSL (digital subscriber line) service will be affected. About 3,600 DSL customers fall outside of Comporium’s cable TV footprint and will not be affected by the project. At this time, Comporium does not plan to add new lines to its existing cable TV network.

“It doesn’t matter if the customer does not currently subscribe to Comporium Digital Video,” said Porter. “If their premises can be converted to coaxial cable (cable modem) facilities, their Internet service will still be converted.”

Porter said that the massive undertaking incorporates modernizing cable TV lines that stretch nearly 500 miles in the county, passing approximately 14,000 addresses. In the cable TV industry, systems are segmented into clusters known as “nodes.” Comporium will install new equipment in 60 nodes, and the order of the upgrade is dependent on many factors, including node size, location and current DSL penetration.

Once a node is converted and customers have a new cable modem installed, they will be able to obtain download speeds of up to 12, 25 or 50 Mbps compared to the current DSL max speeds of 7, 9 or 11 Mbps. Only the DSL customers at the lowest tier (7 Mbps) who will be moved to the cable modem 12 Mbps tier will see a rate increase after six months of being converted. The monthly rate will go from $46.95 to $49.95, which is the standard price that Comporium charges in its other service areas.

Comporium will send mail notifications to customers in advance of their upgrade so that they will be aware of planned interruptions to cable TV service during the rebuild.

“We can’t help that cable TV service will be impacted as the nodes are upgraded,” said Porter, “but we will attempt to keep these interruptions to a minimum. If you have any questions, please contact us and speak to any of our managers.”

About Comporium
Comporium makes life easier for its residential and commercial customers to access a broad range of communications services, including local telephone, long distance, digital video, Internet, security, and media services. Please visit www.comporium.com for more information.