Moody’s: 5G Could Cut Into Cable’s Broadband Pricing Power
October 10, 2019Redzone Delivers on Its 2019 Commitment to Expand Rural Broadband Access Statewide in Maine
January 2, 2020Redzone Wireless, LLC, a Maine-based broadband services company, announced that is has constructed and activated 9 new fixed wireless broadband sites serving 33 Maine communities, extending broadband access to 33,650 new homes & businesses in mostly rural locations during the month of October.
The new sites provide connectivity which meet FCC and ConnectME broadband standards of 25/3 Mbps, and support video streaming on multiple devices, online gaming, distance learning, remote business applications, tele-health, video conferencing, and the full range of Internet applications typically used within a home or business.
Redzone’s new network coverage extends broadband to portions of 33 total Maine communities including:
- Arundel
- Appleton
- Belmont
- Biddeford
- Bucksport
- Dayton
- Durham
- Easton
- Frankfort
- Farmingdale
- Gray
- Greene
- Leeds
- Lyman
- Monmouth
- Morrill
- New Gloucester
- North Pownal
- North Yarmouth
- North Raymond
- Orland
- Presque Isle
- Prospect
- Readfield
- Searsmont
- South Poland
- Union
- Verona Island
- Wales
- Washington
- Westfield
- West Gardiner
- Winterport
Redzone’s total Maine broadband coverage now reaches 349,000 households – more than 63% of all Maine homes. The new fixed wireless broadband network operates on FCC licensed Mid-band wireless spectrum, and is considered one of the the largest FCC licensed fixed wireless broadband deployments in the US delivering 25 Mbps broadband speeds in rural areas.
“Wireless has become the new gold standard for rural broadband deployment across America,” said Jim McKenna, Redzone President & CEO. “While Redzone is leading Maine in the development of fixed wireless infrastructure, national mobile carriers, regional telcos, and cable operators are increasingly deploying LTE and 5G fixed wireless as the preferred rural last mile broadband solution.” added McKenna.
Redzone’s strategy to disrupt the conventional model for delivering broadband access via cable, wire or fiber by extending Maine’s existing fiber infrastructure wirelessly has been highly effective, and dramatically reduced both the cost and time required to connect Maine homes to broadband.
Redzone uses powerful Gigabit microwave “backhaul” radios to quickly and cost effectively connect clusters of towers to to a single fiber optic line. This innovative approach has reduced broadband network capital costs by 90%, and it has accelerated the delivery timeframe to a few months versus the multiple years commonly required to complete a comparable fiber-to-the-home network.
“If Redzone can provide true broadband access to 349,000 Maine locations in just 4 years without tax payer funded subsidies, there is significant logical justification to shift the focus in Maine from funding fiber-to-the-home projects to favoring hybrid fiber/fixed wireless solutions,” said Michael Forcillo, Executive Vice President of Redzone Wireless. “In 2019 alone Redzone has delivered premium affordable broadband access to 55,000 new Maine locations without a single dollar of investment from taxpayers.”
According to ConnectME, Maine’s publicly funded organization dedicated to improving broadband in the state, there are still nearly 80,000 locations around the state that lack access to 25 Mbps service. Redzone estimates that it will address 20% of these un-served locations upon completion of its 2019 expansion – closing Maine’s digital divide by 25% this year.
Redzone offers a range of broadband plans and price options – including the most popular among Maine cord cutters providing FCC recommended 25 Mbps download speeds, including unlimited data, with no contracts or installation fees. Complete coverage and service information is available at www.redzonewireless.com.
