PORTLAND, Maine — FairPoint Communications announced March 30 the completion of broadband expansion projects in 12 Aroostook communities that extend and enhance the company’s approximately 18,000-mile fiber optic network, which is the largest, fully-owned and managed fiber-based network in northern New England.
As a result of these completed projects, improved broadband speeds are available to more than 1,500 locations in Caribou, Easton, Hodgdon, Houlton, Littleton, Madawaska Lake, New Sweden, Perham, Presque Isle, Washburn, Westmanland and Woodland, with some of these areas receiving broadband service for the first time.
“High-speed internet access fuels Maine’s economic engine by unlocking new ways to be more productive, compete for business far past the storefront, and enable learning beyond the confines of a classroom,” said Mike Reed, Maine state president for FairPoint.
“Our team has been extremely busy over the past year completing these broadband projects that bring critical improvements to the “last mile” of FairPoint’s network to increase broadband speeds to these unserved and underserved areas,” Reed said.
To help support expansion and operation of broadband services in high-cost areas, in 2015 FairPoint accepted Phase II of the Federal Communication Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF).
The projects in the following communities are funded through CAF Phase II and the Company’s own significant direct investments.
Caribou: Upgrades were completed on portions of High Street.
Easton: Upgrades were completed on portions of Bangor Road, Bear Trap Road, Center Road, Cleaves Road, Conant Road, Duncan Drive, Getchell Road, Houlton Road, Ladner Road, Legion Road, Main Street, Manor Road, Osgood Farm Road, Perry Road, Richardson Road, Spruce Road, Station Road, W Ridge Road and Windermere Road.
Hodgdon: Upgrades were completed on portions of Little Road.
Houlton: Upgrades were completed on portions of the following streets: Access Road, Airport Drive, B Road, Back Ridge Road, Callaghan Road, Clover Circle, Clover Court, Cogan Road, Foxcroft Road, Front Ridge Road, Katahdin Lane, McSheffery Road, North Street and Pine Drive.
Littleton: Upgrades were completed on portions of W. Ridge Road and Wilderness Way. In Madawaska Lake, upgrades were completed on portions of North Shore Road and South Shore Road and in New Sweden, parts of Little Madawaska Lake Road and Madawaska Road were upgraded.
Perham: Upgrades were completed on portions of the following streets: Blackstone Road, Carson Road, Connolly Drive, Conroy Road, High Meadow Road, Mouse Island Road, Nutting Road, Perham Road, Salmon Lake Road and Tangle Ridge Road.
Presque Isle: Portions of Cleaves Road, Easton Road and Egypt Road were upgraded.
Washburn: Parts of Blackstone Road, Carson Road, High Meadow Road, Nutting Road and Tangle Ridge Road were upgraded.
Westmanland: Portions of Little Madawaska Lake Road received upgrades.
Woodland: Portions of Carson Road and Davis Road were upgraded.
These locations will now qualify for download speeds of up to 15 Mbps2, based on the distance from the customer location to FairPoint’s servicing equipment.
