The mom 'n pop carrier strikes again, and this time it's Braintree, Massachusetts' BELD Broadband showing up the big guys. This localized provider has added in a number of NBC Universal properties in high-def just in time for (some of) the Olympics, including Bravo HD (535), CNBC HD+ (533), USA HD (549), Sci-Fi HD (516) and -- for the duration of the Beijing Games -- Olympic Basketball Channel (516) and NBC Olympic Soccer Channel (535). Additionally, NFL Network HD will be added in "soon," presumably before the nearby Patriots attempt to redeem themselves at home on September 7th against the Chiefs. Not bad for someone you've never heard of.

Charter has done its fair share of work to earn a less than stellar reputation as a cable company, but it's looking to help customers out (and, you know, compete) in the Westport, Massachusetts region by setting up a mobile office and adding a whopping 16 HD channels to the lineup. According to Thomas P. Cohan, the company's director of government relations, the company is "working on identifying the equipment and staffing it will need to establish a consistent, part-time, local presence to handle walk-in customer service issues," and it's utilizing a makeshift office 'til then. There's no mention of what high-def stations are being added, but with 16 of them on the way, surely there's one or two in there you'll dig.

[Thanks, Nick]

Coming off a somewhat busy week last week, it seems that Verizon's worker bees are still out in full force (begrudgingly or otherwise) in order to keep those FiOS TV installations going at a rapid pace. Up first, we're seeing the fiber-based programming service head to even more apartments in Northern Virginia, this time to Archstone Apartments in 14 NoVA communities. Next, we're seeing that yet another locale in Washington state (Brier) has awarded Verizon with a video franchise, while four more Massachusetts towns (Northborough, Stoughton, Stow and Sutton) now have the ability to order FiOS TV. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.

Read - Virginia expansion
Read - Washington expansion
Read - Massachusetts expansion

Comcast's obsession with adding these three HD channels seems to be over, but that doesn't mean it's not slotting 'em in at a slower pace. A little while after gifting Boston with its so-called favorite trio, summer dwellers in Cape Cod / Plymouth, Massachusetts can now check out Disney Channel HD (783), ABC Family HD (784) and Science HD (785) whenever the gorgeous weather influences you lucky souls to come inside. So yeah, you'll be dusting off the remote and checking things out in October, right?

[Thanks, Chris]

As the race to 200 HD news stations in America continues, Boston's own WHDH-TV is bringing us one closer. After nearly being no-hit last night in their own ballpark, Bean Town residents can actually flip on the evening news without worry of having to relive any embarrassing history. Based on the before and after shots in the read link, we'd say the local NBC affiliate did an outstanding job at renovating the studio. For locals who have tuned in already, how is the broadcast quality? Good enough to make you start watching on a regular basis?

[Thanks, James]

You probably realized that our weekly FiOS TV expansion post was nowhere to be found last week. Just an FYI: that's a direct result of Verizon not announcing a single new locale for its service. Apparently it was shoring 'em up, though, as this week a whole slew of neighborhoods are getting service. We've got eight more communities in New Jersey, yet another Bay State region, Hampton, Virginia and the very first community in Washington state to land a FiOS TV video franchise. If you're near any of these places, check out the links below for all the details. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.

Read - Washington State expansion
Read - Hampton, Virginia expansion
Read - New Jersey expansion
Read - Massachusetts expansion

New England cable customers better get used to the digital cable box, as both RCN and Comcast made moves in the last week to shrink analog lineups with an eye towards eliminating them entirely in the future, making room for more HD. Comcast says its HD stations in Western Massachusetts will go from 30 to 50 by the end of the year, plus more VOD options, while analog customers can expect to have their channels halved within the next two years. Meanwhile RCN kicked off project Analog Crush on July 4 to go all digital, planning to double its current 40 HD channels and increase to more than 100. Dedham is first on the chopping block, while other Boston-area residences will go digital throughout the rest of the year. Got a TV still connected to analog? Check out the links below to find out when you'll be moving to digital or losing service entirely.

Read - RCN
Read - Comcast

Being a holiday week here in the USA, we didn't expect too many Verizon installers to be on the clock. Even still, Verizon announced that FiOS TV would be headed to three new locales this week. Two of the three are in New York (Rockville Centre and Northport on Long Island) while the other is in the Bay State (Stoughton). Given that Verizon just boosted the high-definition lineup of its fiber-based programming service, we'd say you folks in these locations have even more reason to be excited. For more details on each announcement, venture on into the links below. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.

Read - New York expansion
Read - Massachusetts expansion

Another week of expansions are in the books, and it looks like just two new locales got the good word this week from Verizon. A meager 347 households in Poquoson, Virginia are one step closer to having access to FiOS TV (service will be turned on this summer), but Verizon did note that it will "make the service available to all households in Poquoson within three years." Further north, we see the town of Stow, Massachusetts approve a video license for the carrier, though it wasn't stated when residents there would be able to order and enjoy any of that fiber-based programming. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.

Read - Poquoson, Virginia expansion
Read - Stow, Massachusetts expansion

Verizon's simply expanding too quickly for us to dedicate an entire post to each and every new locale, so from here on out, we'll be rounding these up weekly for those who care to take a peek. This week, the operator stretched its fiber-based TV services to Amherst, Hamburg and Lawrence, New York, six more communities in New Jersey and two more towns (Ashland and Plymouth) in Massachusetts. Furthermore, service is finally available to order in North Andover, MA, and if you're looking for more detail on those Garden State areas, we're talking parts of Bayonne, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Loch Arbour and Lakewood. For more dirt on each, dive into the read links below. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.

Read - New York expansion
Read - New Jersey expansion
Read - Massachusetts expansion

It's about time, wouldn't you agree? Comcast last bolstered Boston's HD lineup in February when it added SciFi HD and Animal Planet HD, but shortly after Beantown claimed its 17th NBA Championship, the carrier has decided to sneak five more into the EPG. As of now, you'll find Disney HD (824), Family Channel HD (826), Science HD (857), AMC HD (859) and TLC HD (867). Not like you'll be able to watch any of 'em until the week-long party subsides, but hey, at least you've got something fresh waiting upon your return.

[Thanks, Chad]

RCN already pulled the trigger and shot down any remaining analog stations in Chicago earlier this year, and now the time has come for the same merciless execution to hit Boston. Starting next month, the cable company will be nixing analog channels in order to "make room for more digital channels." Notably, RCN will be offering up converter boxes gratis for those currently without ($2.95 per month for additional ones), although it's estimated that 80% of the carrier's Bay State subscribers are already well equipped for the digital shift. Mum's the word on when this change will enable it to toss in a few more high-def offerings, but here's to hoping it's sooner rather than later.

Hot enough for you, New England? If you've been scrounging for any reason whatsoever to remain indoors, take a listen at this. The latest Cox New England newsletter has informed its recipients that USA HD, Bravo HD, SciFi HD and AMC HD are on the way (along with one other), and our tipster in Rhode Island was able to confirm. Additionally, CNBC HD was mentioned in the pamphlet, so we'd cautiously assume that it too will surface in the near future. Sadly, no launch dates were given for any of the stations.

[Thanks, Allan]

Update: RI can expect these on June 18th; CT / MA will have them June 25th. Thanks everyone!

If it's not New York, it's Massachusetts -- well, with Oregon thrown in every now and then to keep up appearances. You guessed it -- Verizon is lighting up yet another town in the Bay State, this time heading almost to New Hampshire in order to do so. The latest city in MA to approve a cable franchise for Verizon is North Andover, though there's no word on when the outfit will actually start accepting orders. Keep those phones ringing, though.

Another locale in Massachusetts in line to receive FiOS TV? It just can't be! All sarcasm aside, another city in the Bay State is in fact waiting in tense anticipation to have the recently approved Verizon agreement lead to something tangible. Residents of Taunton can thank Mayor Charles Crowley for granting the operator a cable franchise, bringing the total amount of Massachusetts communities where Verizon's FiOS TV is or will soon be available to 71. According to Crowley, "the signing of this agreement will mean that the citizens of Taunton will have a choice for their cable TV needs, and the competitive environment that will exist here in Taunton will ensure that our families will realize competitive prices as well." Now, the unknown wait for service to actually become available begins.