On June 5, 2024, Island institute joined over 80 island residents, state and federal partners to celebrate the successful completion of the Monhegan broadband project after eight years of planning and implementation.
- The island can now transmit data at much faster speeds, opening up new opportunities for islanders to access employment, education, healthcare, and resources for civic engagement.
- With the help of an Island Institute Fellow, Dan DeBord, Monhegan community members were able to apply for and receive a USDA grant that set the stage for the project’s success.
- Island Institute is now shifting focus to digital inclusion efforts, to ensure the many benefits of high-speed internet are widely accessible for communities across Maine’s islands and coast.
“Island Institute goes back to the early days of planning. They gave us money, help, people to talk to, places to go— pointed us in the right direction.” – Jaye Morency, Monhegan Broadband Champion
The project, which began discussions as early as 2016, received $47,000 in planning grants and the dedicated capacity of a 2-year Fellow from Island Institute, and a $600,000 infrastructure grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2020. Additional financial support from Lincoln County, the ConnectMaine Authority and other state funds, along with a community contribution of approximately $150,000 to $200,000, funded the $1.2 million project on Monhegan.
Island Institute began advancing broadband in 2015 offering technical assistance, facilitation support, and grant support. From 2017-2023, Island Institute provided over $450,000 in broadband planning grants to support community-driven broadband projects in Maine’s rural coastal and island communities. These investments have leveraged over $55 million dollars so far in public and private investments to connect over 15,000 homes and businesses on Maine’s coast and islands to high-speed internet service and to implement programs to help achieve digital equity.
With the advancements made in broadband infrastructure, Island Institute is now focused on digital inclusion efforts and building municipal digital capacity to ensure the benefits of the infrastructure can be fully realized in communities to support equitable access to education and healthcare, to support civic engagement and aging in place, and to spur economic diversification and prosperity.
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