This is uh....odd. We've gotten so used to FiOS TV creeping into new areas that we've had to create a weekly roundup just to keep track, but today the company announced it is pulling out of rural areas in 14 states, turning over operations to Frontier Communications. The transition should take place over the next year, and includes around 69,000 FiOS TV subscribers in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, plus some in California (Note: FiOS wasn't yet available in all the areas affected by the switch, so this only applies where it was.) Fiber to the premises and video will still be provided after the merger, and the 11,000 Verizon employees in these areas will transfer over as well. The real questions is if affected subs can expect the same packages and level of service they've come to expect, but really it seems we'll just have to wait and see.

For an estimated 29,000 Smithville customers in 17 counties in the central, south central and southern part of Indiana, they could soon find themselves smack dab in the middle of a fiber heartland. The aforesaid telco is investing some $90 million to build a fiber-to-the-home network over the next 48 months in order to give rurally located individuals and businesses access to ultra-quick data, voice and video services. The upgrade is so extensive, in fact, that none of Smithville's customers will be relying on copper or hybrid (copper, fiber or coaxial) systems once the build-out is complete. Who needs FiOS TV / U-verse anyway, right Hoosiers?

[Via DSLReports]

Hold onto your cattle, folks, as Championship Bull Riding is indeed making the move to RFD-TV and RFD HD in a month. Yep, the show reportedly voted as a "#1 fan favorite" on the Outdoor Channel for three consecutive years is moseying on over to another network in March -- the same one that finally landed a carriage agreement with Comcast just last week. Apparently, the move will enable the program's hours to expand, as new episodes will premiere on Wednesday nights with repeats airing just after the debut and on Saturday nights as well. Overall, the CBR will be able to produce 32 new episodes per year on RFD HD (up from 20), and you can wrangle up your pals on March 5th at 10:00PM EST to celebrate the occasion. Yeehaw!

[Image courtesy of Pictopia]

If you've never heard of RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery) -- the channel that aims to "serve the needs and interests of rural America and agriculture" -- don't be shocked. Particularly if you rely on Comcast for your programming needs. Nevertheless, the boutique station has finally landed a carriage deal with the aforementioned cable company that will allow it to appear in both standard-definition and high-definition. Whether or not anyone is actually enthused about receiving RFD HD, however, is another matter entirely.