PORTLAND, ME — Consolidated Communications, a broadband and business communications provider, has reached an agreement with Brooklin, Maine, a small rural coastal community located on Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula to upgrade and expand the community's current high-speed broadband infrastructure in such a way that it will pave the way for future growth and enhancements.

“We've been working closely with Brooklin town leaders to find an innovative alternative broadband solution for their community,” said Rob Koester, vice president of consumer product at Consolidated Communications. “Consolidated Communications believes arrangements like this one are quickly becoming the model for improving and expanding broadband services in rural communities, and we’re very excited to be at the forefront of its design and implementation.”

Together, the town and the Company have designed an incremental network build that will add fiber capacity, upgrade equipment and provide network back-up provisions, resulting in significantly faster, highly reliable, broadband connectivity. Consolidated and Brooklin will share the cost of constructing the network, which is targeted to be completed by June 2020.

Collaboration Between Communities and Service Providers
“Brooklin has carefully explored a number of options over the years to improve broadband access and services for the community, but they were beyond taxpayer’s means,” said Bill Cohen, chairman of the Brooklin Select Board. “We’re choosing the approach that best fits not only our present needs, but one that helps us plan for the future. Consolidated Communications’ willingness to work with us on this cooperative solution is an innovative example of how collaboration between service providers and communities can solve one of the most vital challenges towns like ours experience.”

In 2017, Consolidated Communications completed four broadband projects in Brooklin under the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Connect America Fund, Phase 2, (CAF II) program. The FCC CAF II program expands access to voice and broadband services in areas where it is unavailable by providing funds to local service providers to subsidize the cost of building new network infrastructure or performing network upgrades. The Company also has completed 304 broadband projects in Maine or more than 80 percent of its funded locations, exceeding the 60-percent 2018 program requirement. When the program ends in 2020, Consolidated Communications will bring broadband services to a minimum of 35,500 eligible, underserved locations in the state.

Last year, the company completed a significant broadband upgrade project delivering faster speeds to 500,000 residents and small businesses throughout Northern New England, including 200,000 across Maine. Upgraded homes and businesses throughout New England now can get speeds two to three times faster than what was previously available. Additionally, residents and businesses now have access to the latest, on-demand streaming content, including HBO Now, DIRECTV Now, fuboTV and Philo.