FairPoint and good news in the state of Maine typically aren't two things you hear about in the same sentence these days. But this week the ILEC won a five-year, $25.8 million contract to provide broadband services to schools and libraries in Maine.
With this contract in hand, FairPoint will extend its VantagePoint fiber-based core network to 650 schools and libraries that belong to the Maine School and Library Network. The network is statewide consortium of about 1,000 schools and libraries allows members to purchase Internet access and other telecom services. Administered by the University of Maine System, the project is being funded by telecom usage fees from the Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund and the Federal E-Rate Program.
Since the VantagePoint network already passes through many Maine cities and towns, it's possible that other businesses that need fiber-based network connectivity could potentially turn to FairPoint.
For more:
- see the release here (pdf)
- Bangor Daily News via AP has this article
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