CHARTER ANNOUNCES IT WILL CONSTRUCT 'MASTER HEADEND' FACILITY HERE

Charter Communications Inc., which offers cable television, digital video programming and high-speed Internet access, will include Cape Girardeau in its plans to construct a national electronic nerve center for its digital network.

Andy Morgan, Charter communications manager, announced on Monday that Charter had purchased property in 630 Industrial Park near the Dana Corp. plant on Corporate Circle.

Charter recently announced it would construct more than 500 buildings, from the larger master "headend" facilities to primary hubs and secondary hubs over the next three to four years.

Master headends and hubs are control centers where Charter processes signals from satellites, local television stations and other sources to transmit to customers through the cable system.

The new buildings are a key to Charter's national plan to implement a master headend-to-hub distribution concept, said Morgan. Charter will gain in efficiency and increased network reliability; customers will receive advanced services. The four-year, national program will cost the company approximately $3.5 billion.

The master headend buildings at Cape Girardeau and St. Louis mark the start of Charter's network upgrade. Smaller hubs of 2,400 square feet will be installed at Perryville, Jackson, Scott City and Sikeston, said Morgan.

The Cape Girardeau facility will be about 5,800 square feet and include office space and electronic equipment.

The company will hold a groundbreaking at 11 a.m. May 19 and begin construction soon after, said Morgan.

"This program represents a sizable commitment by Charter to build an advanced network that will deliver both today's broadband services as well as those planned for the future," said John Pietri, Charter's senior vice president of engineering. The new structures boost the company's reliability through the use of enhanced security, fire protection and emergency power supplies.

Each new building will take up to six months to complete.

Besides the headend and hub buildings, another 325 secondary hub buildings will be built in nearby communities.

They also serve as processing centers for two-way Internet traffic for customers who use Charter Pipeline high-speed Internet service.

Charter, which serves about 6.2 million customers, will be the 18th company in 630 Industrial Park.

Two weeks ago, Lorimont Place Ltd. announced the sale of 12 acres on the east side of Dana to the city for a maintenance plant.

The Jim Wilson Co., a local automotive distributor, is also building a warehouse and offices, to be on a five-acre site along Southern Expressway.

A day after Charter bought Falcon Communications it agreed to purchase Fanch Communications of Denver, Colo. Fanch will bring 547,000 subscribers to Charter's list of almost 5 million customers.

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen is president of Charter.