Bangor area Internet connectivity (Skowhegan, Caribou: work, houses, business)

[starwalker]

After many frustrating hours spent looking at -- and falling in love with -- property, only to find that there is not Internet service -- or none sufficient for my business needs, and having had Time Warner tell me to "call my town office" to find out if there is service or not, I did just that... made a list of the towns within an hour or so of Bangor and (mostly) north of 95, where I want to live.

I have found phone numbers for most of them, and below is what I have thus far. some -- marked by o before the town name -- were not open today or did not answer. I was asking about "business class high speed DSL or cable Internet" service. Most of the folks I spoke with where helpful and friendly. Those who could tell me there was service were usually quick to note that cable usually was limited to certain areas (usually main roads, which I know...)

I share this info for what it is worth, and will update as I can contact the missing towns. However this gives me a "short list" of more likely areas to look in... those where a "yes" on connectivity that meets my needs is at least possible! Thank you to all the town office folks I chatted with today; most of you were great!!

THE list --

Glenburn (207) 942-2905 Dial-up only
— -Edington (207) 843-5233 townofeddington@roadrunner.com TimeWarner
-Bradley (207) 827-7725 Dial-up only
o Kenduskeag (207) 884-7947 ktown@midmaine.com
— Levant (207) 884-7660 TimeWarner
Hermon

— Carmel (207) 848-3361 townmanager@townofcarmel.org Verison and TimeWarner
o Etna (207) 269-3551 townofetna@tds.net
o Hudson (207) 327-1284
Orneville Twp
Bradford (207) 327-2121 Dial-up only

Newport (207) 368-4410 nprtto@adelphia.net totally unhelpful
— Corinna (207) 278-4183 corinnamanager@adelphia.net TimeWarner, she thinks
— Dexter (207) 924-7351 manager@dextermaine.org TimeWarner
Exter (207) 379-2191 TDS DSL
o Garland (207) 924-6615
Charleston (207) 285-3637 Cornerstone DSL no cable
Howland (207) 732-3513 howland@midmaine.com DSL, Polaris cable (TV only)
o Lagrange (207) 942-2085

Canaan
— Palmyra (207) 938-4871 palmyratown@roadrunner.com TimeWarner
o Hartland (207) 938-4401 hartland@tdstelme.net
St. Albans
o Harmony (207) 683-2030
Guilford (207) 876-2202 Verison DSL – within 4 mi radius of their station
— Dover-Foxcroft (207) 564-3318 TimeWarner; Cornerstone DSL
— Milo (207) 943-2202 TimeWarner
Medford (207) 732-4079 Mid-Maine in certain areas
Sebec (207) 564-8161 Sebec Village and Sebec Corner DSL
— Brownville (207) 965-2561 manager@brownville.org and Brownville Junction; TimeWarner
-Enfield (207) 732-4270 Fairpoint DSL
o Sangerville 207) 876-2814

-Lincoln
o -Winn (207) 736-2703
Bowerbank (207) 564-3303 Dial-up only
Barnard Twp
Willimantic
Monson
o Athens 654-3471
Skowhegan (207) 474-6902 Verison DSL, Bee Line Cable some locations (Bee Line has no web page but when I spoke with them they said they also serve some of Madison
Hermon townclerk@hermon.net (207) 848-3485 Don’t know

[Bydand]

Holy Suffering, you've been busy today! Good luck in your search, wish I could offer any help, but don't know what is down that direction for service.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Holy Suffering, you've been busy today! Good luck in your search, wish I could offer any help, but don't know what is down that direction for service.

yeah, and I just LOVE making phone calls... (NOT!!!) LOL

Now to make my "short list" and start looking at properties

[maine4.us]

Your only hope is a satellite internet connection. For about $80 a month you can get decent high speed internet. Due to lag time (distance of the satellite from your computer) internet game playing is a no no. Many people use the satellite hookups in the areas without high speed. Out west, they even use solar powered computers and satellite internet where there is no electricity. They will do about 1.5mps reliably.

It is a bit pricey though.....

[maine4.us]

PS - if by business class high speed you mean 6mps, you are not going to find it at all in the boonies......it isn't even everywhere in towns.

[Bydand]

Time Warner can usually deliver 5 or 6 Mbps if it is available. I mean, if Caribou and surrounding areas can reach that speed, Bangor area should be able to match it with cable I would think.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Your only hope is a satellite internet connection. For about $80 a month you can get decent high speed internet. Due to lag time (distance of the satellite from your computer) internet game playing is a no no. Many people use the satellite hookups in the areas without high speed. Out west, they even use solar powered computers and satellite internet where there is no electricity. They will do about 1.5mps reliably.

It is a bit pricey though.....

no, that is not an option for us... I have checked into the fine print and their "fair access" provisions will most likely end up with us having to pay that $80 a month for less than dial-up speeds for the remainder of the contract time... after I have sent up a big project or two.

There are many options for those who use computers in a more typical fashion (email, research, up and download of low resolution images and text files) that will not work at all for us.

Sorry...

and my SO does game, but that is not our primary concern.

[Siobjuan]

I telecommute through a VPN system in Dexter and although I can get a great connection, it does NOT mean it will stay that way through the day. Just FYI.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Time Warner can usually deliver 5 or 6 Mbps if it is available. I mean, if Caribou and surrounding areas can reach that speed, Bangor area should be able to match it with cable I would think.

Download Speed: 4786 kbps (598.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 363 kbps (45.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
here in Milo just now

PC pitstop speed test

[maine4.us]

Cable internet speed is directly dependent on how many houses are on your node. The more houses, the less bandwidth you get. I know people who pay for 6 and are lucky to get 3. They have 13 houses on their cable node. You can have all sorts of speed issues with cable if you have a bunch of bandwidth hogs on your node. None of the providers guarantee their speeds, if you read their fine print. They say that is what you usually (big indefinite word) can expect. Sorry about the fair use clause for satellite. Your projects must be huge as those usually don't kick in until gigs have been sent. I had 3mps DSL and never got anywhere near that in reality. I switched to 768kbs and can't tell the difference. That's because that is just about what I was getting in reality with the 3mps service. Good luck and happy hunting for your Maine "nest", complete with high speed internet!