Maine

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Maine, allowing the state to request access to more than $5.7 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Maine will use the $5,784,349 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:  

BoomerTECH Adventures and Coastal Maine Regional Broadband (CMRB) held their first round of free workshops providing digital literacy training and education with the goal of helping Midcoast libraries and organizations support their clients to access and utilize high-speed internet effectively.

An $11 million investment in regional infrastructure is planned to bring high-speed, low-latency connectivity to more than 6,600 locations in western Maine. These are sites that either don’t currently have access to the internet or have access to slower broadband or copper-based connections. The funding for the project, which entails building more than 450 miles of fiber, was announced by FirstLight, a provider of digital infrastructure services. The Maine Connectivity Authority made the agreement with FirstLight to receive the funding.

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital equity in Maine, announced the launch of the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) Program to connect the hardest-to-reach places across the state. This program is one way that MCA is fulfilling the commitment to provide all people in Maine with an option to connect to the internet by the end of 2024.

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.