Seven months after taking over troubled Classic Communications Inc., Cequel
III cofounder Jerry Kent and his team will change the rural MSO’s name to
Cebridge Connections and conduct a massive technical upgrade and total revamp of
its video offerings.
While Classic will be the largest part of Cebridge -- about 325,000
subscribers -- the MSO will be made up of two other Cequel acquisitions: former
Shaw Communications Inc. and Alliance Communications Partners systems. Combined,
Cebridge will have about 450,000 subscribers in 14 states.
Cequel came on board in February to assume management control of Classic,
which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.
The name change goes into effect next month, backed by $500,000 in media
support and touts on various company materials.
The rebranding effort will precede an aggressive upgrade of Cebridge systems
in which 300,000 subscribers will gain access to 450-megahertz plant or better
by the middle of next year. Most of the Classic plant is currently at about
330-MHz capacity.
