CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FairPoint Communications, Inc. (NasdaqCM: FRP), a leading telecommunications provider across 18 states, says its Ethernet mobile backhaul business in northern New England is expected to increase by more than 39 percent in 2013.

By the end of 2012, less than two years since FairPoint embarked on its fiber-to-the-towers initiative, FairPoint has increased the number of its mobile carrier contracts to more than 950 mobile connection points on its fiber backhaul network.

FairPoint intends to increase the number of these mobile connection points to more than 1,300 in 2013 based on signed contracts – a better than 39 percent increase. On any particular cell tower, there can be one or more of these connections, know in the industry as Ethernet virtual connections, or EVCs.

With these signed contracts, FairPoint expects to increase its Ethernet mobile backhaul services to more than 1,000 towers in by year's end in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

"FairPoint's investment in wireless space is smart business," said Tony Tomae, executive vice president and chief revenue officer. "This demonstrates that our initial investment has had a significant payoff because the major carriers have joined FairPoint's Ethernet mobile backhaul network."

FairPoint has invested more than $200 million in its network, which provides its wireless carrier customers with the latest technology.

This next-generation network is strategically located, allowing FairPoint to provision new technology advances like small cell applications.

"This is further confirmation that FairPoint provides best-in-class capabilities for wireless carriers," said Michelle Hymson, vice president of wholesale sales. "Wireless carriers continue to choose FairPoint for our network, our expertise and technical support to meet the critical reliability and speed needed for their best customer experience."

Ethernet mobile backhaul refers to the technology used to transmit signals carrying voice and data communications from a cell phone tower to the public network and the Internet. As consumer demand for mobile devices like smart phones and tablets with fast Internet capabilities increases, cellular carriers are adding more backhaul capacity to their cellular networks.

FairPoint's fiber-to-the-tower initiative provides the foundation for the 4G and LTE services the wireless carriers are implementing to meet these needs. 

About FairPoint Communications, Inc.
FairPoint Communications, Inc. (NasdaqCM: FRP) is a leading communications provider of broadband Internet access, local and long-distance phone, television and other high-capacity data services to customers in communities across 18 states. Through its fast, reliable fiber network, FairPoint delivers high-quality data and voice networking communications solutions to residential, business and wholesale customers. FairPoint delivers VantagePoint^SM services through its resilient IP-based network in northern New England. This state-of-the-art fiber network provides carrier Ethernet connections to support the surging bandwidth and performance requirements for cloud-based applications like network storage, disaster recovery, distance learning, medical imaging, video conferencing and CAD/CAM along with traditional voice, VoIP, video and Internet access solutions. Additional information about FairPoint products and services is available at www.FairPoint.com. You can also connect with FairPoint on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/fairpoint) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/myfairpoint).

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SOURCE FairPoint Communications, Inc.