FairPoint expands broadband footprint in 6 New Hampshire towns

FairPoint Communications (Nasdaq: FRP) is extending its broadband service to six New Hampshire towns as part of a program it established with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC).

The towns targeted in this latest expansion are Claremont, Danbury, Goshen, Newport, Pelham and Wilmot. In Pelham, the service provider has extended service to over 210 homes and businesses.

Earlier this year, the NHPUC approved the telco's proposal to invest about $2.8 million of the service quality penalties it incurred between 2009 and 2011--after purchasing Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) Northern New England telephone lines to expand broadband access in the state. The total amount invested in New Hampshire is $3.3 million, complemented by FairPoint's contribution of $500,000.

Working in conjunction with NHPUC staff and the state's Dept. of Resources and Economic Development, FairPoint said it has identified regions in the state that are unserved.

In addition to the agreement it has with the NHPUC, the service provider applied for $848,000 from the FCC's Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase I program. Part of those funds will used to expand broadband service in 18 New Hampshire towns that either have no broadband access at all or can only get low-speed connections.

Outside of New Hampshire, the service provider allocated $1.03 million and $2 million in in CAF funding to expand service to 44 Maine towns and 53 Vermont towns that either don't have any broadband access or can only get dial-up services.

For more:
- see the release

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