* SureWest wraps buy of Everest Broadband
By Brian Santo

SureWest Communications said it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Everest Broadband for $173 million. Everest is a competitive provider of high-speed data, video and voice services in the greater Kansas City area. The transaction more than doubles SureWest’s triple-play residential base and facilitates the rapid expansion of its business services.

* SCTE calling for Safety Awards nominations
By Traci Patterson

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) is calling for nominations for the 2008 SCTE Safety Awards. The annual awards identify and recognize MSOs, contractors and individual divisions/systems of MSOs that have achieved an outstanding level of safety throughout the previous year.

The applications for the awards must be by facility and reflect the information on the system’s OSHA 300A Summary that is posted in every facility. Also, only individual Technical Operations Centers are eligible for awards (no regional offices, call centers or executive offices).

The deadline for nominations is March 21, and nomination forms can be found here. The recipients will be recognized at the Annual Awards Luncheon, set for June 25 at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2008 in Philadelphia.

* SCTE Foundation gives TWC exec major grant
By Traci Patterson

The SCTE Foundation recently awarded a grant to SCTE member Geoffrey S. Burr of Time Warner Cable.

Burr, who is a technical support supervisor in Centennial, Colo., will apply the grant toward his study of operations management for an MBA from Regis University.

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• More than 62 percent of Cox customers bundling services 

• NCTA files comments with FCC on broadband network management 

• Promise of dual-carry waivers for small ops is ‘window-dressing’ 

• Nielsen: TV usage on rise due to DVR playback 

• Spurning Microsoft, Yahoo turns to Rupert 

• Broadband Briefs for 2/14/08