JetBroadband customers could see their cable TV pictures become clearer and their Internet service become more reliable late this year, a spokesman for the company buying JetBroadband said.
Shenandoah Telecommunications, also called Shentel, signed an agreement in April to purchase JetBroadband for $148 million. The purchase is expected to close this summer.
JetBroadband’s network, which covers several towns, cities and counties from Central Virginia and west into West Virginia, was geographically perfect for Virginia-based Shentel, said Marketing Manager Chris Ranson.
“We can connect it to our existing fiber optic network without any difficulty,” he said. “We believe it’s a significant opportunity to invest in the plant and the community.”
Shentel plans to invest about $30 million in JetBroadband’s network after the purchase. Those upgrades will include backup batteries placed on the network, making the service less susceptible to outages, Ranson said.
For cable TV, Shentel plans to upgrade technology on the network to provide a clearer picture. It also plans to offer more channels, Ranson said.
The work on those improvements would start later this year, Ranson said. “The earliest that customers could begin to see improvements … would be probably late 2010, early 2011,” he said.
Shentel hopes to create a seamless transition for customers, although some changes will take place.
JetBroadband Internet service customers will need to change their e-mail addresses to a “shentel.net” e-mail address, although they probably would get to keep their user names, Ranson said.
The price of services could change slightly, but Shentel is still evaluating that, Ranson said. “We don’t look to make a large pricing change at all, though we will be looking at it and we have ultimate goals of standardized pricing,” he said.
Currently, JetBroadband charges $29.95 per month for Internet access with speeds up to 1.5 megabits per second, if customers purchase other services, too, according to its website. Shentel charges $24.95 per month for a 1 Mbps plan or $39.95 for a 3 Mbps plan, according to marketing analyst Cindy Rinker.
Ranson said there probably would not be a change in where customers send their bill payments or the phone numbers they call to get service.
JetBroadband has an office in Rustburg that houses a customer service call center, administrative offices and technical support. It employs about 50 people, said Bill Barbour, JetBroadband vice president of operations.
“We do plan to keep that call center open,” Ranson said.
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