Atlantic Broadband has completed construction and activated a new direct, dedicated fiber optic link to Gateway Communications Services, Inc. in Stevensville’s Chesapeake Bay Business Park. The new high-speed Internet connection is designed to boost the digital voice capacity and quality at Gateway CSI’s technical support call center serving telecommunications provider clients nationwide.
The fiber link to Gateway CSI is the first major project in a new initiative by Atlantic Broadband to provide mid-sized and larger businesses in its Eastern Shore service area with dedicated fiber optic data and voice Internet transport resources that support all their digital communications needs – with speeds, quality level and flexible options surpassing those available from other telecommunications providers.
KRM Development Corporation, the primary developer of the Chesapeake Bay Business Park, sees Atlantic Broadband’s fiber voice/data initiative as an attractive option for the 80-plus businesses now in the park and a powerful draw for potential new tenants. Likewise, a Queen Anne’s County official cited the importance of high-speed Internet infrastructure, and Atlantic Broadband’s new commercial offering, as an economic development resource for retaining existing and attracting new businesses to the area.
To service Gateway CSI, Atlantic Broadband installed one mile of new fiber optic cable and supporting electronic equipment capable of handling voice and Internet traffic at speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, from its digital signal delivery hub in Wye Mills to the Chesapeake Bay Business Park. Talks with other businesses at the park are under way.
President Gilbert Smith said Gateway CSI contracted with Atlantic Broadband for service at a speed of 8 megabits per second, both up and downstream, because of the need for fast, two-way, Voice-Over-Internet capacity to handle both in and outbound technical call center support phone calls — including bandwidth-hungry queues of waiting calls – at consistently high quality levels around the clock. This fiber connection allows for Gateway CSI to have redundant broadband capacity for future expansion.
“For cable, Voice-Over-Internet, and Internet service providers around the country that are our call center clients, we are their first line of defense for technical support, so they demand high-quality, 24/7 service with no downtime,” Smith said. “As we were expanding our call center operations in Stevensville, no other service provider but Atlantic Broadband could provide us with the two-way speed and hassle-free, quick turnaround we needed – as well as the flexibility to easily upgrade capacity in the future as our business grows. Atlantic Broadband delivered on broadband connectivity on time.”
Said Dara Leslie, Atlantic Broadband Vice President and Maryland/Delaware General Manager: “We are gratified that Gateway CSI chose Atlantic Broadband and came aboard as our first direct-fiber-delivered data customer. Like Gateway, many other mid-size and larger businesses on the Eastern Shore are hungry for more telecommunications bandwidth. We are committed to expanding our high-speed broadband network to meet their needs by offering the only direct fiber-delivered commercial service in the Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Kent counties areas we serve.”
Noting the growth opportunities at Chesapeake Bay Business Park, with 20 to 25 acres still to be developed, KRM Development Vice President Kate Gray said, “We are thrilled that Atlantic Broadband is now offering our current tenants increased bandwidth and faster Internet speeds. Hopefully, expanded telecommunications options will draw more, and also different types of, businesses to our park in Stevensville.”
Also citing the potential of Atlantic Broadband’s expanded business telecommunications offering, Faith Elliott-Rossing, director of the Queen Anne’s County Economic Development & Tourism Department, said, “Queen Anne’s County recognizes the importance of high speed Internet service as a key infrastructure component in retaining and attracting businesses to our area. We are extremely pleased Atlantic Broadband is working diligently to reach out to our business base and offering alternative options, services and support.”
About Gateway Communications Services, Inc.
Gateway CSI is an advanced communications and IT technology solutions company with offices in both Central and Eastern Maryland. In addition to being a leading provider of business communications solutions, Gateway CSI also provides Technical Support solutions for cable TV systems, telephone companies, Internet and Application Service Providers, as well as a complete line of private label, value-added products for carriers.
About Atlantic Broadband
Atlantic Broadband serves 22,000 customers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore (Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Kent counties) and northern Delaware (Middletown, Odessa, Delaware City and Chesapeake City, MD).
A privately held company ranked as one of the 20 largest cable operator in the United States, Atlantic Broadband is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. It has over 700 employees and 286,000 customers located in four operating regions: central Pennsylvania, Miami Beach, Maryland/Delaware and South Carolina. Additional information is available at www.atlanticbb.com.