HOULTON — Officials with Pioneer Broadband, owner of Sherman Cable, have announced that construction of new Fiber To The Home (FTTH) service is nearing completion. The new service, which will be able to deliver Internet, video and phone services, is expected to be ready to add customers in early October.
The new gigabit capable service will be available throughout the former cable network footprint.
“Over 8.5 miles of new fiber installation have been completed,” Pioneer Broadband CEO Tim McAfee said. “The headend equipment has been transferred to a new building and we are on track to complete the network build by the end of September. There will be large trucks on the side of the roads as the network construction progresses. We ask that drivers use caution in the traffic areas where the lift trucks and splice vans will be working.”
The town of Sherman joined the list of “Certified Business-Friendly” Communities in Maine in December of 2014. Jeff Packard of Upper Valley Economic Council said, “The impact for our citizens and businesses will be huge — there will be more options for consumers, such as phone, and Internet packages with faster speeds and HDTV reception. But even more important is the impact for businesses and home-based businesses. Faster, more reliable broadband Internet service will be a major boost for existing businesses within the area, and the migration of new businesses to the area.”
Pioneer Broadband started rebuilding the 50-year-old cable network in July. Typical connection speeds will 30 megabits download and 10 megabits upload, but the network can deliver gigabit levels to any fiber customer that has the need. Many municipalities in Maine have been searching for a way to get better Internet service.
Over 30 new legislative bills were presented in Augusta in 2015 to see if public funds could be used to develop and deploy municipal networks. This project in Sherman is privately funded by Pioneer Broadband. Pioneer has been involved in other efforts to construct fiber optic networks in rural parts of the northern Maine, including Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou, Orient, Amity, Big Lake Township, New Limerick, Linneus and Westfield.
Municipalities seeking better Internet service can consult with Pioneer’s project team to determine the possibility of improving local Internet service.
For more information visit, www.PioneerBroadband.net.
