Monticello — The Telecommunica-tions Board met in regular session on Wednesday, December 16 and heard an update regarding Phase I of the fiber project.

Board chairman Greg Latham noted that the first phase of the project, which is the installation of the fiber backbone, is substantially complete.

The first phase also includes the purchase of some new head-end equipment. Latham noted that this portion of the project will be bid in about 30 days.

In other action during the meeting, the board approved an agreement with New Wave Communications for the local channels that are carried by Community Telecom Services. The new agreement means that CTS will save substantially on programming costs for the network stations from Lexington.

The board also met in executive session to discuss the strategic business plan. No action was taken.