Many people in the U.S. take high-speed internet service (broadband) for granted, but it’s a necessity for businesses, community services, and individuals who work from home. Most of Maine’s remote coastal communities and islands don’t have access to fast, reliable internet, which puts these communities on the wrong side of the digital divide and out of contact with customers, clients, and visitors. The lack of broadband negatively affects everyone: businesses, fishermen, students, municipal services, residents, and visitors. Many coastal and island residents are working together to solve this problem by identifying and implementing improvements to infrastructure to support broadband, while raising awareness of the challenge and the ways that broadband can be used to improve business efficiency, workforce development, and quality of life.
SOLUTION EXAMPLES
- Improving Digital Literacy – National Digital Equity Center
- Address Affordability – Islesboro’s Municipal Broadband Service
- Consider WiFi hotspots
- Choose a Financial Model – CI Fiber
- Public Funding Sources – Roque Bluffs & USDA Reconnect
- Public Funding Sources – Cranberry Isles & USDA Community Connects
- State infrastructure & planning grants
- Perform a feasibility study
- Work with an incumbent provider
- Request for information
- Consider regional and policy context
- Communicate with Stakeholders
- Identify community priorities
- Form a broadband working group
