Mills signs bill aimed at expanding internet access in Maine
(The Center Square) – Maine has approved a new quasi-governmental agency that will be tasked with expanding broadband internet service to its far-flung citizenry.
A bill signed by Gov. Janet Mills will create the Maine Connectivity Authority, which when up and running will be focused on ensuring that “secure, affordable and reliable” broadband service is available in every corner of the sprawling state.
“In today’s world, access to affordable, high-speed internet is as fundamental as electricity, heat, and water,” Mills said in a statement. “If we want a strong economy and thriving state, we’ve simply got to have it.”
The bipartisan measure was approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in the final days of its session. Members of the authority’s board of directors will be appointed by the governor.
One of the bill’s primary sponsors, Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, said expanding high-speed internet is crucial for the state’s economic survival.
“The reality is that nobody will consider moving to a community without high-speed reliable internet,” he said in a statement. “The very survival of many towns across our state is at stake, and with this action we have the ability to create a statewide broadband network swiftly, smartly, and wholly in the public interest.”
Dana Connors, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, said the initiative will be a “game changer” for the state.
“The connectivity that broadband provides is essential for Maine’s economy and the lives and livelihoods of Maine people,” he said. “Never has this been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Money to get the new agency up and running will be allocated from federal pandemic funding provided by the American Relief Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden.
The quasi-governmental agency will have the authority to build physical infrastructure, provide grants and loans for broadband projects, and partner with local governments to expand Internet access.
Maine was listed as one of the top 10 worst states for broadband coverage, according to a recent report by BroadbandNow Research.
The Federal Communications Commission estimates more than 11% of the state has little or no access to broadband service.
The state’s congressional delegation has sought to divert more federal money and resources to expanding Internet access. Some communities have partnered to create a regional municipal utility district for broadband to expand coverage.
The creation of the new agency is the latest effort aimed at expanding broadband service to connect more of Maine’s largely rural citizenry to the Internet.
Last year, Gov. Janet Mills directed $5.6 million in federal CARES Act relief money to help pay for new infrastructure for high-speed broadband to students in rural communities who struggled with a lack of connectivity during the pandemic when schools shifted to remote learning.
The funding will be doled out in grants to several internet service providers to expand broadband infrastructure in poorly served areas.
In July, the state’s voters approved a $120 million bond bill that included $15 million to pay for expanding high-speed internet service in parts of the state.
Meanwhile, a new project by the Maine Broadband Coalition is testing internet speeds around the state by asking participants to connect to its website, where users can determine how fast their connection is. The group says the results of participants will be compiled in a report to help it determine where upgrades are needed.
The FCC says upload speeds of 3 megabits-per-second and download speeds of 25 megabits-per-second are the basic thresholds for high-speed broadband connections.
Maine isn’t the only state struggling to expand broadband access following the pandemic.
Nationwide, an estimated 22% of households, or roughly 28 million, lacked high-speed access to the internet from home last year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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