Maine Fiber Company’s Fiber Optic Project Hits 500 Mile Mark, Serves Customers in Rural Maine
PORTLAND, ME (February 16, 2012)
Maine Fiber Company’s Fiber Optic Project Hits 500 Mile Mark, Serves Customers in Rural Maine
Maine Fiber Company, Inc. (MFC) the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) middle-mile grant recipient for an 1,100 mile fiber optic network in Maine, announced today it has completed the construction and testing of 531 fiber route miles, approximately 50% of the overall project. MFC, whose partners in the project include Tilson Fiber Technology, LLC and nextGen Telecom Services Group, Inc., expects to have all 1,100 route miles up and running in Q4 2012, slightly ahead of the original schedule. “It’s exciting to be part of a successful BTOP project like this. As a round one awardee, we moved quickly to secure top notch partners and suppliers. That, plus careful oversight by MFC has allowed us to put close to half of our dark fiber in service in 2011” said Jeff McCarthy, VP of Business Development for MFC. “We are rapidly moving into an operational mode, with the implementation of Telvent Fiber Manager software and the addition of network enhancements such as multi-tenant repeater sites at 100km intervals along the three primary distribution rings and the Canada to Boston route. We are definitely open for business” according to McCarthy.
Pioneer Broadband, a service provider based in Houlton Maine, has already extended their coverage utilizing the MFC fiber infrastructure. “Having MFC’s dark fiber in place allows us to extend our reach without the complexities and costs associated with building everything ourselves. We can now serve some areas of the state that would have been cost prohibitive prior to MFC’s build out” said Tim McAfee, CEO of Pioneer Broadband.
Other early adopters of MFC dark fiber include higher education institutions and municipalities. “We have a lot of interest, with potential customers ranging from international carriers to small municipalities. We are particularly encouraged that service providers plan to use the MFC fiber to expand their coverage, upgrade capacity, and add route diversity to their offerings.” said McCarthy.
Contact: Jeff McCarthy at jmccarthy@mainefiberco.com or (207) 523-8937
About Maine Fiber Company, Inc.: Maine Fiber Company, Inc. is a Maine owned an operated private company that is overseeing the construction, leasing, and maintenance of the Three Ring Binder, an open access, 1,100 mile high capacity fiber optic network. The Three Ring Binder will make broadband access more readily available to 110,000 households and 600 community anchor institutions across the state of Maine. To learn more, please visit www.mainefiberco.com.