FairPoint expands its broadband to Merrimack neighborhood 

FairPoint expands its broadband to Merrimack neighborhood

MERRIMACK, Dec 23, 2012 (Menafn - The Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --In recent months FairPoint Communications has expanded its broadband service DSL to towns up north, but that doesn't mean there aren't spots in Greater Nashua that still could use upgrades.

Last week, the company announced that six streets in central Merrimack -- Amherst, Davidson, Meetinghouse, Nathan Hale, Piedmont and Riverside -- with about 120 homes and business now have the service, which provides high-speed Internet over copper telephone lines.

The company added a piece of equipment called a DSLAM to a remote terminal, which connected the neighborhood to the phone network, allowing download speeds of at least 3 Mbps.

Since April 2008, FairPoint says it has invested more than 190 million in its infrastructure and technology to bring broadband to northern New England, including building thousands of miles of new fiber across the region.

This expansion is part of FairPoint's plan to increase broadband access to 95 percent of its service areas in New Hampshire.

Such expansion was mandated by the state when it allowed FairPoint to buy Verizon's landlines four years ago, and it's vital to the company's future, since the business of traditional voice calls continues to decline, and Internet service is increasingly important to phone companies.

David Brooks can be reached at 594-6531 or dbrooks@nashuatelegraph.com. Follow Brooks' blog on Twitter (@GraniteGeek).

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