“You have to keep reinvesting in your network to assure performance,” says Bryan Lynch, Senior Vice President of Cable for Schurz Communications. For Schurz Communications, this has meant four major upgrades to their network in its 50+-year existence with the latest iteration being fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). Lynch points out that the investment has been substantial. He describes FTTH as essentially bringing the headend to the consumer, greatly improving reliability, relative to networks with active components in the outside plant.

And Lynch says that fiber deployment is a driver of economic development and retention. Beyond Anitetam Broadband in Hagerstown, Schurz Communications owns Long Lines Broadband in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa (reaching into Nebraska and South Dakota); Orbitel Communications in Maricopa, Arizona, southwest of Phoenix; and Hiawatha Broadband Communications in Winona, Minnesota. And, assuming regulatory approval will be the owner of Burlington Telecom in Vermont by the end of the year.