FairPoint brings 1 Gbps Ethernet to 32 New England markets

FairPoint Communications is bringing its new 1 Gbps speed Ethernet services to 32 markets across its New England serving territory of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Available to more than 35,000 eligible locations, FairPoint's Ethernet Private Line and Ethernet Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) products are targeting a host of large businesses such as regional healthcare facilities, financial institutions, government agencies and local school districts and colleges.

One of the beneficiaries of the new 1 Gbps speed service is the New England Telehealth Consortium (NETC), a three-state consortium of more than 300 healthcare facilities. In 2012, FairPoint won a four-year, $16 million contract to provide connectivity for the NETC.

"We offer each location speeds up to 1 Gigabit, fostering the connections needed to meet the industry requirements for fast, reliable bandwidth," said Jim Rogers, president of ProInfoNet and the founder of NETC, in a release.

Having a 1 Gbps option is another element that FairPoint can use to potentially differentiate itself from cable operators like Comcast Business and emerging competitive providers such as FirstLight, which has been growing its network presence throughout northern New England. FirstLight began offering its Ethernet Access service across its entire footprint targeting its wholesale customers.

Ethernet services continue to be a major source of growth for FairPoint.

In the first quarter of 2014, Ethernet contributed about $19.9 million in revenue, up from $14.9 million a year ago, as retail and wholesale circuits grew 56.6 percent year-over-year. 

For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
FairPoint Ethernet service revenues rise to $19.9M on strong retail, wholesale sales
FairPoint expands Ethernet, hosted PBX service reach in Maine
FairPoint adds CoS, Layer-2 control features to its wholesale Ethernet service line
FairPoint's data and Internet services revenue grows 13% to $42M, partially offsets legacy losses