Pioneer Broadband completes international fiber optic link

    HOULTON – Pioneer Broadband has completed its new fiber optic connection from Pioneer’s datacenter in Houlton to Woodstock, New Brunswick. This new connection provides increased broadband capacity for Pioneer’s Internet traffic, and also completes construction of a new segment of the Internet superhighway for other businesses in the state of Maine that need internet diversity and redundancy.
    “In Maine, virtually all Internet traffic flows in and out of the telecommunications centers in the greater Portland area,” said Tim McAfee, chief technology officer for Pioneer Broadband. “In the past, Maine was an ‘Internet cul-de-sac’ and when problems occurred north of Portland; Maine’s telecommunication network was heavily affected. Now Maine businesses can get the Internet diversity they need … if the connection fails in one direction, service will continue from an alternate source.”
    Efforts made by Mobilize Maine and the state’s economic development commissions have shown that Maine has great potential for datacenter growth, according to McAfee.
    “With the construction of this new northbound Internet path, businesses and service providers that need a redundant network connection can stay in Maine … or build new in Maine,” he said.”
    Pioneer collaborated with Bell Aliant, one of North America’s largest communications suppliers, to provide this new north-south pipeline.
    “For years Pioneer’s motto has been, ‘Crossing the Digital Divide,’” McAfee said. “This new fiber optic connection is one more major crossing in the overall network improvement for Pioneer. It has potential for many other businesses, healthcare and educational facilities and in Maine to be better served.”
    Pioneer will be offering lit services for Maine businesses and service providers that require diverse Internet connectivity.
    Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Houlton, Pioneer Broadband is a privately owned, local Maine company. Pioneer’s Datacenter in Presque Isle provides a secure co-location facility for web servers, data storage and disaster recovery purposes. For more information, visit www.pioneerbroadband.net.