Faster internet in 22 towns
PORTLAND, Maine — FairPoint Communications announced on Jan. 17 the completion of broadband expansion projects in 22 Maine towns, including several in Aroostook County. The improvements make faster internet speeds available to more than 6,700 locations — and make the web available in some areas 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 Jeff Nevins, FairPoint’s director of community broadband development.
“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. These projects provide immediate benefit to the locations impacted enabling those in more rural and remote areas to take full advantage of the digital age,” Nevins said.
In northern Aroostook County, the upgrades were completed in these towns on portions of the following streets:
Ashland: Squapan Lake and Walker Street.
Chapman: Chapman Road.
Presque Isle: Chapman Road.
The following southern Aroostook towns also received upgrades: Hammond, Houlton, Linneus, Ludlow and New Limerick.
These locations will now qualify for download speeds of up to 15 Mbps, based on the distance from the customer location to FairPoint’s servicing equipment, which is more than sufficient speed to smoothly stream high-definition video, browse the web or participate in online gaming, Nevins said.
The completed work extends and enhances the company’s approximately 17,000-mile fiber optic network. In 2015, FairPoint accepted Phase II of the Federal Communication Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF).
Since April 2008, FairPoint has invested more than $900 million in its communications infrastructure and technology to bring broadband to northern New England.
For details, including internet service speed eligibility,prices and bundled plans, residential consumers can call 1 (866) 984-2001 and business customers can call 1 (866) 984-3001.
