Charter Communications and Oregon Health Network, an OCHIN, Inc. Organization, announced completion of a broadband fiber optic network--made possible by the Federal Communications Commission Rural Health Care Pilot Program--that brings advanced capabilities for video telemedicine, broadband Internet speeds and high definition television to customers in southern Oregon and Crescent City, Calif. The completed fiber optic network is the final segment of an 87-mile route from Grants Pass, Ore. to Crescent City, Calif.

consisting of a 720GB circuit with capacity to service thousands of people across multiple cities. It brings high-speed Internet, phone and high definition (HD) television service to numerous households and businesses, makes advanced telemedicine possible and creates opportunities for businesses such as call centers with heavy data applications. It also completes a redundant, fiber optic loop connecting southern Oregon and northern California, establishing a more reliable connection.

A new, 1GB circuit connects directly to Sutter Coast hospital with the capability to transmit a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) X-ray in less than one second or a pathological study.