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Atlantic Broadband makes transition complete at festive ribbon cutting

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From left, Ed Merrill, N.H. and Maine Atlantic Broadband GM, Steve Murdough, formerly of MetroCast and Rich Shay, ABB CEO and President, cut the ribbon as dignitaries and ABB officers look on at Monday's festivities on Jarvis Ave (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Calling it a seamless transition from one cable, TV and phone provider to another, state and local dignitaries as well as Atlantic Broadband officers celebrated their acquisition of MetroCast with a festive ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday at their Jarvis Avenue facility.

One of the first to speak was Atlantic Broadband CEO and President Rich Shea, who announced that all MetroCast legacy customers have already been upgraded to higher Internet speeds.

"Beginning today Atlantic Broadband is delivering automatic internet speed upgrades to all legacy MetroCast residential and business customers," Shea said.

State Senator and Rochester City Councilman Jim Gray, left, chats with Atlantic Broadband New Hampshire and Maine General Manager Ed Merrill.

Atlantic Broadband's $1.4 billion purchase of MetroCast began in January, and since then the Quincy, Mass., based company has been working to provide a smooth transition for its residential and business customers, said ABB New Hampshire and Maine General Manager Edward Merrill.

Central to that was maintaining a consistent employee base, he said.

"We invited all current employees to stay on with ABB, and we have worked hard to fill any open positions," Merrill said. "And we created 20 new engineering positions."

For Merrill, the automatic Internet speed upgrades given to all customers across the board was one of the most gratifying aspects of the transition.

Atlantic Broadband CEO and President Rich Shea speaks about some of the improvements customers will see now and in the coming months during a ribbon cutting for Atlantic Broadband on Monday in Rochester..

"The investment they made to increase the speeds today, it's been an amazing investment in the systems and the communities," he said.

In addition to speed increases, Atlantic Broadband will roll out several new services in the coming months, including the availability of increased bandwidth to allow more devices to stream within a single household.

"People consume technology at an infinitely higher rate than they did just a few years ago. Residential customers may operate as many as 10-plus connected devices in a household daily and businesses rely on fast speeds and powerful internet to stay competitive," said Shea. "To ensure customers have the best user experience, we are committed to investing in the latest technology and will begin rolling out Gigabit Internet service to our new markets starting this summer."

"With 1 gigabit, users can enable up to 30 devices simultaneously without any interruptions and download HD movies in about 30 seconds. This has enormous implications for both home users and businesses, and we are thrilled to contribute to regional productivity and innovation," Merrill said.

Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley, right, shares a moment with Atlantic Broadband Regional Merketing Manager Stacie Paradis.

Shea said the need for bandwidth is becoming more crucial as homeowners want to watch video content on multiple platforms while also connecting things like smart appliances, home security systems and other devices to their Wi-Fi connections.

Also in the summer Atlantic Broadband will be initiating its TiVo platform, which allows users to stream Netflix directly and record up to five different programs simultaneously.

"If you want to watch Netflix you can stream it or other content as well as turn on NESN to watch the Sox," Shea said. "We want to cover all our customers' needs across all technologies, and the customer wants all those choices."

Demand for both Internet speed and bandwidth is almost unquenchable, Shea said, adding, "People today want three things. They want their power, their water and their broadband."

Crowds gather just prior to a ribbon cutting for Atlantic Broadband on Monday at their Jarvis Avenue facility in Rochester.

Merrill summed up the feeling of exhilaration and excitement that was in the air on Monday during the festive ribbon cutting.

"We've been waiting for this day, continuing to operate as MetroCast, he said. "Now we're really able to go out and tell the story. It's the final part of the transition, and we're very excited and happy about it."

He added they welcome any competition in the area, including Comcast, which earlier this year announced plans to overbuild in Rochester.

"We feel great about our products, and believe we'll be competitive with any other service out there," Merrill said.

Atlantic Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc., provides Internet, television and phone service to customers in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

It is the nation's 9th largest cable operator.

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