Business Spotlight: Sebago Fiber

For many living in rural communities around Sebago Lake, internet service is spotty at best. But Sebago Fiber, a local, family-owned company, is striving to change that by providing reliable, fast fiber internet service to homes and businesses in the region.

Andrew Davis is passionate about
providing reliable, fast fiber internet
service to homes and businesses
in the Sebago Lakes Region and 
owns Sebago Fiber serving towns 
and communities in the area.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
   

Offering vital internet services to those that are currently unserved or underserved, Sebago Fiber takes a different approach by working directly with local towns and building its service in phases in areas where there is the most demand. Larger telecommunications companies don’t have a financial incentive to do that because the cost of updating the infrastructure is too high in rural towns with small populations and potential profits for them are too low.

“Being able to bring something as necessary as reliable internet service to people as a small local business is vitally important,” said Brandie Shydo, Sebago Fiber’s Director of Marketing and Community Engagement. “We offer excellent customer service and make it simple for customers by offering support services by email and comprehensive online account access. We don't require customers to wait on the phone for hours or visit an office to get help if they need it.”

Shydo said Sebago Fiber’s internet services are more reliable than cable or DSL and the company proactively monitors its systems as well as its customers' services so they can respond quickly if there is an issue. Its technicians and support staff all live and work locally.

Because the company is small, it’s able to provide simple transparent pricing, making cutting the cord from big cable easy and offering freedom of choice for television and phone services. Alternative services often come at a lower cost while still providing desired functionality such as DVR services.

Company owner Andrew Davis said that Sebago Fiber’s mission is to provide fast, reliable internet to its neighbors.

“Our pricing is generally competitive with other services,” he said. “We do not offer ‘introductory’ or promotional pricing that will sharply increase in 12 to 24 months “Our pricing is transparent and published online, so it's easy to understand what you're getting and how much you'll pay.”

When Davis began spending summers on Frye Island, he came to realize that working from home there would be virtually impossible because of the lack of quality internet service. He investigated working with the existing service providers to improve service, but they were uninterested. Having a technical and software background, Davis decided to start Sebago Fiber. The company was able to build out services that cover 100 percent of Frye Island in just two years with 94 percent coverage in one year, beating its initial goal of 60 percent in three years.

“We build our systems for reliability. Light traveling over fiber does not have the limits of copper telephone or cable networks,” Davis said. “Fiber is not susceptible to every power fluctuation in a storm causing power surges down the lines and frying the cable modem. We build our systems with reliable backup battery and generator power. Two thirds of internet customers on Frye Island have switched to Sebago Fiber from their previous provider. Our customers' only complaint is that they can no longer blame a bad internet connection for not being able to work remotely in Maine.”

Sebago Fiber serves Frye Island and is expanding to the towns surrounding Sebago Lake including Sebago, Naples, Standish, Raymond, Casco, and Windham in the White’s Bridge Road area and north of there.

Davis said Sebago Fiber is currently conducting a survey to gauge interest about where to expand next.

“If you want reliable fiber internet, please complete our online survey at SebagoFiber.net/lake so our company and your town know the area with the most interest,” he said. “Where we build next is based upon community response. We’ll go where the interest is. If you want a better alternative service, go take the survey.”

The company has been in business since 2021 and its leadership team is four people covering engineering, support, billing, and customer service. It also has four field service technicians. Shydo said openings are available for full and part time positions for additional field technicians and support staff to be hired in the local Sebago Lake region.

For more information about Sebago Fiber, visit www.sebagofiber.net, send an email to info@sebagofiber.net, or call 207-544-6811 or find them on Facebook under SebagoFiberWiFi. <