A dispute between a wireless broadband service and an internet provider has left 600 rural subscribers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont without access to the internet or email since Feb. 19.

Bob Parsloe, CEO of Trailrunner Broadband Internet, a wireless broadband service, said Friday he’s raising money to resume internet coverage. He accused Consolidated Communications Inc., which supplies circuits for Trailrunner, of disrupting service to “claw back, steal the customers” of Trailrunner.

“We’re not the victim. It’s the timing of us paying them,” Parlsoe said. “They were patient. (Then) they chose not to be patient.”

Consolidated is one of the biggest telecommunications companies in Maine and offers its own broadband service in the Trailrunner coverage area.

It’s unclear how much money Trailrunner owes Consolidated; neither company would say.

Parsloe told subscribers earlier this week that what began “as a network outage is now a financial dispute and unbelievably, Consolidated is taking it out on you, our subscribers.”

Spokeswoman Nicole Elton said Consolidated disputes Parsloe’s accusation. She said the company typically does not comment but said there was no service outage or disruption.

She said Wednesday that Consolidated has yet to reach agreement with Trailrunner’s parent company, Wireless Partners, on payment for services provided by Consolidated. “Our efforts to achieve a positive outcome continue,” she said in an emailed statement.

Trailrunner, based in Portland, has been using social media to update customers, with several complaining about the loss of digital access.

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Six days after the internet service ended, Michael Salisbury, who has a vacation home in Rangeley, posted on social media that the situation was unacceptable. He said he filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

“Both parties should be working to resolve the issue without shutting (off) needed connectivity to the rural communities Trailrunner serves,” he said.

Salisbury said in an interview Wednesday that the loss of internet was less critical for him and his family than for neighbors because they are using their home for vacations.

“It’s a weekend thing for us. It’s nice to have internet, but it’s not crucial. It’s more of a convenience,” he said.

“There are a lot of people who rely on Trailrunner,” Salisbury continued. “They have the issue, not me.”

Parsloe said Trailrunner partners with AT&T and can connect the AT&T network to subscribers who “really, really depend” on digital access for work, learning or telemedicine.

“They’re taken care of,” he said.

He said Trailrunner is trying to “hold the line” on pricing while upgrading service this year. Until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, its primary mission was to build, operate and own the AT&T First Responder coverage in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It is raising money to expand the AT&T/FirstNet network and upgrade its service, which would have allowed it to pay Consolidated Communications, he said.

Parsloe offered to reduce rates this year for subscribers who stay with Trailrunner and do not switch to Consolidated.

‘DAVID AND GOLIATH’

Trailrunner service is delivered on a cellular-grade network built and operated by its parent company, Wireless Partners.

Fixed wireless uses excess spectrum on cellular networks to deliver high-speed internet. It’s similar to how a cellphone works, with a signal that’s sent from a network tower to the fixed wireless receiver in a home or office. The receiver provides a high-speed Wi-Fi connection.

The dispute between Trailrunner and Consolidated came “on the heels” of Consolidated’s acquisition in December by affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners LP, a private equity firm, and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a Canadian asset manager, Parsloe said.

He characterizes the dispute as Trailrunner, a small company, facing off against a large, well-capitalized business that’s also received government help to expand its Fidium brand high-speed internet.

“It’s David and Goliath,” he said. “There’s no reason why a private equity company receiving taxpayer money should behave this way unless they want to take our customers.”