Here is a brief overview of our company's history.
CONCEPT
The idea of connecting all F. A. Peabody Company branch offices together via a microwave network was realized on a napkin at a break room table one morning while discussing the high cost of wired data circuits.
In 2006, Pioneer acquired MFX Internet, CCP Wireless, and Wabanaki Wireless ISP. A data center was also constructed in the basement of the former Key Bank building at 480 Main Street in Presque Isle, Maine in the room that used to house the bank's mainframe in the 80s.
Pioneer became a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in the state of Maine originally to acquire pole attachment rights. Phone service rapidly became a popular product in Pioneer's portfolio.
2010 was a big fiber year for Pioneer. We realized the future was based on fiber, so we negotiated a right-of-way at the Houlton, Maine-Woodstock, New Brunswick border and placed a 144 count fiber cable across to our new connectivity partner, Bell Aliant. This was also the year we started putting fiber in our hometown of Houlton, Maine. Pioneer purchase Aroostook Internet in 2010.
Pioneer bought the Sherman Cablevision holdings that served Sherman, Maine and Stacyville, Maine with the intent of upgrading to to fiber and make it the origin of our future Cable TV system.
2014 marks the first real foray into Fiber To The Home (FTTH) deploments for Pioneer with a Park/Green Street GPON deployment. This project would set the tone for future investments in the town of Houlton with regard to FTTH.