Cable One has completed the acquisition of the data, video and voice business and other assets from Fidelity Communications Co.
Fidelity provides business and residential connectivity in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The provider passes about 190,000 homes and serves about 87,000 customers. Cable One serves more than 900,000 residential and business customers in 21 states through the Sparklight and Clearwave brands.
“The addition of Fidelity will create excellent opportunities for associates, a superior experience for customers and increased value for our shareholders,” Cable One President and CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “We take great pleasure in welcoming Fidelity associates to the Cable One team, and as we begin to integrate our businesses in the coming months, our commitment to the communities we serve will remain our top priority.”
The deal was initially announced on April 1. At that time Telecompetitor reported that the transaction was to be valued at $525.9 million and that it covered 5,100 plant miles and more than 1,600 fiber route miles. Both Cable One and Fidelity focus on tier two and tier three markets.
Last November, Cable One announced a definitive agreement to acquire another provider, Harrisburg, Illinois-based Clearwave Communications. Clearwave operated a regional fiber network that primarily served customers in southern Illinois. At the time of the announcement, the company had 2,400 route miles of fiber with about 2,700 on-net businesses, towers and data centers.
Cable One is the seventh largest cable operator in the United States and has a history going back about 80 years. That history is changing a bit; the company completed a rebranding as Sparklight. Though the company is a top ten cable operator in the United States, the name change took the word “cable” out of the name as the company no longer wants to define itself so narrowly. Its business focus has shifted away from traditional cable TV services to data and broadband.
