Bresnan Cable TV announces high-tech upgrades including broadband access in Bozeman.

Bozeman cable television customers will have access to many more channels and high-speed Internet connections within a year, Bresnan Communications President Bill Bresnan announced Thursday.

By NICK GEVOCK, Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

The cable TV company will spend $7 million to modify its Bozeman operation to a broadband system that can deliver a sharper picture and more channels, Bresnan said.

Work will begin in June and take a year, but some neighborhoods will see the new service before then, he said.

"We’ll start turning on sections of the community as they’re completed," Bresnan said during a noon press conference at Montana State University. "The last section should be done by next June."

In addition to higher quality pictures and more channels, the new equipment will give customers access to video on demand. That allows customers to order a movie to run at any time.

It could also open doors for distance-learning opportunities if MSU chooses to partner with Bresnan to offer tele-courses, Bresnan said.

"One of the things we’re looking into is how can we help the university reach out to the outlying communities," Bresnan said.

Several MSU representatives and area business owners attended the event.

The high-speed Internet connections will be just as exciting, Bresnan spokesman Terry St. Marie said. The new technology will allow connections comparable in speed with digital Internet service and competitive in price.

"When you have that sort of high-quality network, it gives you all these possibilities of capacity that businesses need," St. Marie said.

Top-notch Internet service for a good price is crucial for businesses that rely on the Web to do business, he said. But it’s also nice for residential customers because users don’t have to dial up an Internet connection.

"You launch your browser and it’s on," he said.

Right Angle Communications owner Frank Palazzi thanked Bresnan for making the investment in technology that can really help his advertising company.

And Bozeman resident Bill Freese asked if the new technology will make a public-access channel in Bozeman possible, something he said he’s worked on for 20 years.

Bresnan said it would be possible because so many channels will be available.

"I just wanted to make sure we aren’t going to be coming back to you in a year asking you to tear up the streets again," Freese said.

Bresnan also said his company would drop adult pay-per-view options from its lineup, saying he finds them exploitative of women.

He was on a whirlwind tour of the state Thursday. He spent the morning in Butte, where the company is installing $4 million in new broadband equipment, before flying to Bozeman and then finishing the day in Great Falls.

When Bresnan bought out cable company Comcast, which owned AT&T Broadband, in April it acquired 314,000 cable television subscribers in Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2003/05/23/news/03cablebzbigs.txt

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Cable TV executive visits Butte

By Leslie McCartney of The Montana Standard

The local cable company has undergone several ownership changes in the past few years and, until Thursday, no one could recall if the owner had actually ever visited Butte.

That changed with the visit of William J. Bresnan, president of Bresnan Communi-cations, who visited Butte’s 24 cable employees and also announced a $4 million upgrade of the cable television system serving Butte.

Bresnan, 69, has been called a cable television legend. He has invested 45 years with the industry, holding influential positions with cable operators before striking out on his own in 1984. He has been inducted into the Cable Television Hall of Fame and received other honors as well. In addition to his work in the U.S. cable industry, Bresnan also oversaw systems in Chile and Poland during his four-decade career.

"I could have retired," Bresnan mused of the sale of his former network in 2000 to Charter Communications, and his decision to re-enter the cable market with the purchase of properties including Butte. "But I just didn’t want to … I wasn’t done."

He added that he enjoys working with his sons and brother, who are also involved in the business, and the team he has assembled over the years.

"It’s a real family business," he said of Bresnan, which is headquartered in Purchase, N.Y.

The sale of the former AT&T system in Montana and Wyoming, with a smattering of properties in Utah and Colorado from Comcast to Bresnan, was completed in March.

"These are wonderful markets, the people are so great," Bresnan said of the company’s decision to stick with small- and medium-sized markets.

Bresnan, a Minnesota native, is familiar with the markets, having overseen cable territory in parts of Montana during his career.

Only after about eight weeks of owning the local system, Bresnan announced Thursday that the company plans to "significantly" upgrade the cable in Butte, making it possible for increased channel capacity and high-speed data services.

"When completed, Bresnan’s rebuilt system will provide our Butte customers with a variety of advanced television and computer services," said Mike Oswald, general manager of the Butte system.

The upgrade incorporates some of the cable’s industry’s most advanced designs, making good on Bresnan’s ideal of offering state-of-the-art technology to its users. Construction of the upgraded plant is due to begin in July and areas will be brought on line gradually with full completion in mid-2004. Areas in the Butte system include Bozeman, Livingston, Deer Lodge, Anaconda, Dillon and Belgrade.

Overall, Bresnan serves 314,000 subscribers.

The cable system has not determined new channels or services to be added to its lineup as yet.

"Bresnan believes strongly in the importance of a careful assessment of the entertainment and information needs and wants of each community. We then do our very best to tailor our programming efforts to fit those needs and wants," Oswald added.

Reporter Leslie McCartney may be reached via email at [email protected].

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2003/05/23/newsbutte_top/hjjgjehgjbjieb.txt