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Ashley Biles

Associate Editor

Yatesville, Culloden and Friendship are getting improved cable and internet access, thanks to federal stimulus grant funding through the Flint Digital Wave project.

Flint Cable TV, through the funding for the project, is providing a hybrid coaxial fiber (HFC) network to homes in underserved areas of Culloden, Yatesville, and Friendship communities in rural central Georgia. This HFC network uses the latest DOCSIS 3.0 cable standard, enabling channel bonding and speed up to 100 Mbps.

Flint Cable TV was awarded stimulus grant funding for the “Flint Digital Wave Project” applied for as part of the nation-wide effort under the American Renewal and Re-investment Act of 2009 and as part of the Broadband Initiative Program to improve the communication infrastructure across rural America.

This project is providing a Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) network to homes and businesses in the areas of Culloden, Yatesville and South Crawford County —- real technological growth in each of these underserved areas. The HFC network uses the latest DOCSIS 3.0 cable standard, enabling channel bonding and initial speeds up to 30 Mbps. Once completed, this network build will provide advanced broadband along with digital cable television, including HD service, and eventually VoIP phone services (voice over Internet protocol). The VoIP phone services will provide consumers with a more affordable phone solution and allow for even greater savings by bundling all three services together (triple-play).

Cecil Moncrief, Mayor of Yatesville feels that the upgrades being made will be a nice improvement for the community.

“Flint Cable has been the only cable provider in Yatesville for many years,” said Moncrief. “The upgrades they are doing will offer more channels on the basic cable package-instead of channels 2-36, we now can get 2-75. It is also offering 4G internet access which will offer better access in the area.”

Many customers will also be excited to have access to Flint Cable TV’s own Local Watch Channel 14, which provides programming totally dedicated to the Middle Georgia area and their community.

Moncrief also noted the company was in town during the Chitlin Hoedown last month and will be airing footage from the event throughout the month of November.

According to Jim Bond, President of Flint Cable TV, Phases 1 and 2 of the 3 phase project known as the “Flint Digital Wave” project are now complete. Phase 1 areas include Hwy 80 East, Carl Sutton Road, Causey Road, Chapman Road, Girl Scout Road, parts of Marshall Mill Road, Old Knoxville Road, Sandy Point Road, Sandy Point Circle, Running Deer Road, and portions of Smith Chapel and other roads not previously serviced. Phase 2 covers the remaining areas served by Flint Cable in the Lower Hartley Bridge Road, Boy Scout Road, and Marshall Mill Road areas of Crawford County, plus Culloden and Yatesville.

Phase 3 has been approved by the RUS and construction should begin right away with completion by the end of the year. Phase 3 will include the southern most areas of Crawford County including Walton Road and portions of Hwy. 42 to Hwy. 341, areas not previously served by Flint Cable.