Premium Choice Broadband nears last stages of connection project
Premium Choice Broadband is nearing the final stages of its latest project to bring high-speed fiber internet connections to rural Maine. The company has invested $2 million in private funds and installed over 40 miles of fiber-optic cable connecting Dover-Foxcroft and downtown Monson with what is the fastest internet connection in the state. The next phase of the massive project will be running fiber 13 miles to connect with Greenville and Greenville Junction where 16 miles of fiber-optic cable is up and waiting for the connection.
Residential and business customers have access to speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second) – both upstream and downstream – for the first time ever. “One of the greatest challenges facing Piscataquis County, and most rural communities, is the ability to access broadband. Premium Choice is tackling this issue head on,” said Christopher Winstead, Piscataquis County Economic Council executive director.
“This represents a major financial commitment to the people and businesses of the Maine Highlands, an area we believe in,” said Bill Varney, Premium Choice’s president.
Unlike many fiber internet offerings, Premium Choice offers a true “fiber-to-the-home” service. A fiber cable runs up to the customer’s property, as opposed to the more common practice of completing the last leg of the installation with cheaper copper cable. “When we say state of the art, we mean it,” said Andy Hinkley, Premium Choice’s executive vice president. “Very few towns in Maine have speeds as fast as our customers enjoy.”
The project’s fiber-optic route serves several Dover-Foxcroft streets, including Lawrence Street, Pine Street; Douty Hill Road and Pleasant Avenue in Sangerville; Hudson Avenue and Elm Street in Guilford; and Maine routes 6/15 through Abbot and Monson. A recent build in the town of Sebec was just completed. Premium Choice plans continued expansion in Dover, Atkinson, Dexter, Guilford, Greenville, Greenville Junction and Abbot.