5G Wireless Internet coming to Maine in 2018

Portland to get 5G Wireless Internet in early 2018

Residents in Maine’s largest city will soon have a wireless broadband option that is promised to be at a “distruptive” price.

Redzone Wireless, LLC, a Rockland, Maine-based company, announced plans this week to begin offering gigabit broadband speeds to residential and commercial customers in selected areas of the City of Portland in the first quarter of 2018.

The company plans to use millimeter wave spectrum capabilities in its 5GX network to deliver Internet service without the traditional cable or fiber optic lines.

Millimeter wave spectrum operates at extremely high frequencies – above 30 GHz. It is widely recognized for its substantial capacity to deliver high speed wireless data, at extremely low latency.  Redzone’s 5GX multi-spectrum network approach combines the benefits of millimeter wave broadband speeds with the coverage benefits of mid-band 2.5GHz licensed LTE.

Redzone to go head to head with Spectrum using 5G wireless

In a phone interview with Telecompetitor.com, Redzone Executive Vice President Michael Forcillo declined to provide pricing details but said it would be “disruptive.”

Currently, the Portland area only has one residential and commercial broadband provider, Spectrum, according to broadbandnow.com. There are four other DSL providers available to the city’s roughly 67,000 residents.  Redzone’s plan to bring a new choice of residential internet may shake up more than just Spectrum’s hold on the region. It could also be a boon for those wanting to shed their cable package in lieu of live TV streaming over the Internet with services like Sling TV and DirecTV Now. 

The multi-phase millimeter wave project, expected to be completed in 2018, will include deployment of Redzone’s enhanced 5GX wireless broadband transmission sites to serve thousands of residential and business locations throughout the Portland metro area.

“Redzone is driving innovation in the convergence of licensed and unlicensed spectrum to deliver on the promise of affordable next generation 5G gigabit broadband access for underserved areas of the country,” said Jim McKenna, President Redzone Wireless, LLC. 

Since Redzone’s network launch in 2015, the company has received over 100,000 broadband service inquiries, and the expansion of 5Gx network with millimeter wave spectrum allows Redzone to provide a true cost effective alternative to fiber optic (FTTP) broadband.

Michael Forcillo, Redzone Wireless, LLC Executive Vice President said in a statement that the company’s use of millimeter wave spectrum, “has the potential to change the way people across the US connect to the Internet – ultimately making it better, faster and cheaper.”

He added, “While national mobile carriers like AT&T & Verizon are talking about future 5G fixed wireless deployments, Redzone is bringing 5GX to customers today.”