Copyright Bangor Daily News
BANGOR – Fidium, a leading broadband and business communications provider, and New England Telehealth Consortium are celebrating 12 years of improved access to health services through regional partnership. NETC provides critical expertise and guidance to help rural and urban healthcare providers secure funding through the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program, including the Healthcare Connect Fund. In partnership with Fidium, NETC delivers secure, reliable connectivity between healthcare facilities across the region. Today NETC supports over 1,300 healthcare sites with over 300 connected to NETC’s private network in more than 300 communities, enabling more than 100,000 healthcare professionals to serve well over 1 million patients annually. This highly dependable network has powered millions of hours of uninterrupted access to telehealth, diagnostics and real-time clinical collaboration. The result is a stronger, more connected healthcare system that reduces disparities and improves outcomes across the communities NETC serves. “When NETC was established, we had a modest vision to create an affordable, reliable high-speed private network offering quality of service, security and redundancy to 300 or so non-profit New England healthcare providers,” said Brian Thibeau, NETC president and founding board member. “We could not have imagined how vital our work would become as the healthcare community responded to a pandemic, electronic medical records implementation, and increased demand for telemedicine and telework. It is truly a privilege for NETC to play a small part assisting over 1,400 healthcare providers to obtain affordable connectivity and deliver high quality medical and behavioral health care throughout New England. None of this would be possible without our long relationship with Fidium.” NETC continues to grow, connecting more providers with the crucial component of telehealth care delivery. In the 12 years NETC has partnered with Fidium for network delivery, they have added additional services, including SIP trunking, and direct access to major cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are now part of the NETC network. All of this is supported by Fidium’s expansive fiber network. “More and more healthcare organizations are moving their applications, such as PACS and EMR to the cloud and transitioning voice services to IP-based platforms,” said Lisa Leary, vice president of National Customer Care for Fidium. “Telehealth demands and remote employees add pressure to organizations’ network performance and increase bandwidth demands. Our partnership with NETC enables healthcare organizations access to these critical services from Fidium, at reduced costs and with additional support.” “Providing our members with reliable connectivity continues to advance NETC’s vision to improve telehealth and the quality of healthcare in Northern New England,” said Jim Rogers, NETC managing agent. “Enhanced networks are the key to high-quality, efficient diagnoses and critical care. We believe the NETC network is contributing to the improved ratings and rankings some of our member hospitals have received.” Fidium is a next-generation fiber internet and network services company on a mission to be America’s favorite fiber provider. Serving people who expect more from their connectivity, Fidium delivers lightning-fast, reliable internet that’s refreshingly easy to use. With future-ready technology, a customer-first approach, and a growing national fiber footprint, Fidium is redefining what “better internet” means: fast speeds, simpler experiences, and service that’s actually helpful. Available in more than 700 communities, Fidium connects people to the possibilities of fiber – from homes and small businesses to large enterprises, schools, hospitals and entire communities. Backed by one of the nation’s top 10 fiber networks and a commitment to continuous innovation, we’re powering work, life, learning and opportunity. Fiber Up and learn more at FidiumFiber.com. NETC is a non-profit, regional healthcare consortium dedicated to improving access to affordable and reliable telecommunications services across the Northeast. NETC serves over 1,300 healthcare sites and has secured more than $100 million in funding for its members. NETC is working toward better health care in New England through improved telecommunications by developing telehealth infrastructure, access to Internet, and improving the transmission of electronic health records in one of the nation’s most rural regions.
