BROOKLIN – HyperMedia has sold its dial-up Internet business to Mid-Maine Communications in order to focus its efforts on its Web design and support customers.

The transfer of approximately 2,000 customers occurred at noon on Wednesday, according to Dick Flemming, president of HyperMedia. The changeover took place mainly without interruption to Internet service, Flemming said Friday.

“We tried to make it smooth,” he said. “I think we did a good job of moving them over. Most people won’t notice a difference.”

Flemming said he has appreciated the loyalty of his customers over the years, but said the decision to sell a portion of the company was made because HyperMedia was trying to do too many things. The company had started in 1994 doing Web design and development and added dial-up access in response to local demand. That expanded to statewide and later nationwide service.

“We were one organization doing different types of things,” Flemming said. “We were stretched in too many directions”

In addition, he said, the dial-up business is moving toward high-speed access.

“That would require a lot of investment in more advanced technology,” he said.

Mid-Maine has more capabilities than HyperMedia and was better able to meet those high-speed demands for customers. It is a Maine-based company, which was important, he said.

“If anything, our customers are going to gain,” he said.

Mid-Maine is a statewide telecommunications company that offers telephone and data communications services for businesses, local residential telephone service in the Bangor area and statewide dial-up Internet access.

“We already have an Internet dial-up base statewide,” said Mid-Maine President and chief executive officer Gary Sugarman. “This is an opportunity to bring a dial-up business into our platform, which is substantially larger than HyperMedia. We can increase our base and offer a better price and more features for those customers.”

Flemming approached Sugarman and the two companies have been working for almost four months to plan the changeover.

HyperMedia will continue to maintain the hundreds of Web sites it has developed over the years and to expand that remaining part of the business, Flemming said. As a result of the sale, HyperMedia will no longer need the tech support services it provides, which will result in the elimination of two positions.

Fortunately, Flemming said, the two people in those positions already planned to leave the company to return to school. The only other lost position was a part-time bookkeeper, and, Flemming said, the company was able to find another job for that employee.

The downsized company will now employ five people and will continue to use consultants as needed, he said.