Maine Connectivity Authority Allocates $10 Million to ConnectMaine for Spring 2022 Grant Round

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) will be allocating $10 million to ConnectMaine for the agency’s grant round in spring 2022 following approval from their Board of Directors on an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with ConnectMaine. Combined with existing bond funds available to ConnectMaine, $16 million will be granted to local communities and ISPs to expand broadband access — over four times more than ever before. In early January, the Maine State Legislature unanimously confirmed Andrew Butcher as president of the MCA, the new agency charged with expanding high-speed broadband access throughout the state. Butcher previously served as the director of the Maine Broadband Coalition, a diverse network working to improve broadband service throughout the state. Created through bipartisan legislation and signed into law by Governor Janet Mills in June 2021, the MCA has been budgeted more than $20 million through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan and nearly $130 million through federal American Rescue Plan funds to make universal high-speed internet service a reality in Maine.