Maine

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading statewide broadband expansion and digital equity in Maine, is seeking proposals from qualified technical and construction experts to design and construct a 536-mile fiber optic network across the state of Maine.

With Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding, the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) will deploy broadband infrastructure to un-connected, unserved, underserved, and community anchor institution (CAI) locations throughout the state. Maine’s long-term broadband deployment goals are established by statute and include: "Secure, affordable, reliable, competitive and sustainable forward-looking advanced communications technology infrastructure that can meet current and future needs." Cost is a significant barrier to broadband adoption for many Mainers.

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) awarded two grants totaling $9,600,633 to connect 15,561 homes and businesses across Waldo and Lincoln Counties to expand access to the internet. The grants were made through MCA’s Partnerships for Enabling Middle Mile (PEMM) Program which addresses large-scale, regional broadband needs by leveraging middle-mile infrastructure. These two grants demonstrate 12 collective years of concerted community-driven broadband planning, regional collaboration, and highlight the value of public-private, regional-scale partnerships.

UScellular continues network expansion in different parts of its 21 state operating territory, in mostly rural areas. Through a novel master streetlight attachment agreement signed with the Town of Rumford (ME), UScellular has completed its deployment of the Ericsson Street Radio 4402, a small cell platform created in collaboration with Ubicquia. This approach leverages existing streetlight infrastructure to enhance 4G and 5G connectivity at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional small cell solutions.

In the fourth installment of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation’s Access America series, Jess talks to Brian Allenby, program operations and communications director for the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA). They chat about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Maine's digital equity intensive approach, and how the state has been promoting regional broadband plans and activity. "The Regional Tribal Broadband Partners were convened as a working group to share information at what was happening at that local level.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in collaboration with the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, recently hosted a webinar series titled the Power of Partnership: State Strategies for Digital and Educational Equity.

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) President Andrew Butcher isn’t hyper-focused on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and the $272 million that Maine will be receiving. “Unfortunately, I think it’s a common misnomer that, once you deploy BEAD, the problem is solved,” Butcher said. The MCA was founded and structured largely based on lessons from Maine’s successful 2020 state bond campaign and 2021 bid for $28 million from National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program to support six community-driven, regional-scale, publ

The Maine Connectivity Authority awarded more than $12 million in grants to fund digital improvements to 12 community organizations across Maine. The grants are part of the Maine Connectivity Authority’s Connectivity Hubs Program, which will help community anchor institutions—such as libraries, community centers, municipal and tribal buildings, and affordable housing developments—provide workforce training, education and telehealth services in areas most impacted by a lack of access to high-speed internet.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kentucky and Maine’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Kentucky and Maine to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.