In rural areas where cable Internet companies and DSL providers don’t believe it’s cost effective to run wires, many homes are without access to high-speed Internet. In the last year, several local towns have turned to wireless high-speed Internet to fill in the dead zones.
In Jefferson, wireless Internet provider Midcoast Internet Solutions (MIS) has installed several towers to broadcast Internet to local residents without other access.
However, in some parts of Jefferson, coverage is still incomplete, and MIS has not been as forthcoming about whether or when those areas will receive access as some residents would like, said Jefferson resident Bob Saulniers.
DSL and cable Internet covers both ends of the Senate Road, but does reach his house at 346 Senate Rd., Saulniers said. Saulniers currently uses satellite Internet, which goes down whenever the weather is bad, he said. His two-year locked in contract is up, and he was hoping to switch to Midcoast Internet Solutions.
Saulniers estimates there are 15 homes in his area that do not have access to DSL or cable Internet and are not covered by MIS.
“I’d let them put a tower on my house,” Saulniers said. “I just want Internet.”
Saulniers’ road has a clear line of sight to an MIS tower on Rt. 215. The antenna on that tower only covers 120 degrees, and his home is just outside that range.
He contacted MIS two months ago, and then again two weeks ago, and was told that they “might put up another array,” Saulniers said, but they would not commit to letting him know when they had made a decision or give him a timeline for when they would know.
Saulniers brought the issue to the Jefferson Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting Nov. 22. He asked the board to call MIS on his behalf and request an answer about whether coverage would be expanded.
“We could call for you,” said Selectman Jim Hilton, “but we’ll probably get the same answer you did.”
On Nov. 23, MIS said they will be placing another antenna on the Rt. 215 tower soon to service Senate Road homes.
“The equipment has been ordered to cover that area,” said Midcoast Internet Solutions Project Manager Cameron Kilton.
The company was waiting for enough potential customers to contact them from that area, Kilton said. They now have about eight homes they’ve identified and will be moving forward with expanding coverage, Kilton said.
