Harlan Community TV
- Standing the Test of Time -
(Source: KCTA, August 2004 www.kycable.com)

In the mid-1950s, when Charlie Hale met with 11 other entrepreneurs in London, Kentucky, to form an association of cable operators (KCTA), he never could have imagined everything that was in store for him in the next four decades.

As secretary and treasurer of Harlan Community TV, one of the oldest cable systems in the state, Hale remembers cable's early years-cable running from the antenna tower on the hilltop down to the homes in the valley below. This was the only way for rural areas to receive a television signal-not a movie channel-but basic, local network television. Without this, people in the rural areas of the state would have been isolated from viewing the news and other local and world events that bind communities together.

Hale recalls that when his cable system first began, it offered only one channel. But, for the people of Harlan, that one channel was better than nothing-which is exactly what they'd get without cable!

From its one-channel beginnings to its current 47-channel lineup, Harlan Community TV has evolved to meet the needs of its customers. And that commitment can still be seen today as this small, independent system, which serves 3,250 people in Harlan, installs fiber optics throughout its territory.

"Even though we are a small system, we try to keep as up-to-date as possible," Hale stated. "By installing fiber optics, we will be in a position to offer more services and better quality."