Governor Mills Announces ConnectMaine Approval of Broadband Infrastructure Grants
May 27, 2021
Governor Janet Mills announced today that the ConnectMaine Board of Directors has voted to approve the first round of broadband infrastructure projects funded by the High Speed Internet Infrastructure Bond she spearheaded and that Maine voters overwhelmingly approved in July 2020. The $15 million bond represents the first significant funding that ConnectMaine has received in its twelve-year history and the first round of funding will support 20 projects across 11 counties.
“High speed internet is as fundamental as electricity, heat, and water. It is a necessity, and we need to have it across our state. That is why my Administration has made expanding access to broadband a priority, securing the first state-level investment in more than a decade that we’re now turning into projects,”
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Shutterstock/archna nautiyal President Biden’s recently announced infrastructure proposal calls for a massive, unprecedented investment aimed at connecting all Americans to the Internet, one that has led to some digital equity experts calling it a potential game changer for their work.
Dubbed the American Jobs Plan, White House verbiage for the proposal lists high-speed broadband alongside essential utilities, noting some of its top priorities as delivering “clean drinking water, a renewed electric grid, and high-speed broadband to all Americans.” Essentially, electricity and water have long been considered vital utilities; now, the country’s
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Digital equity advocates, state broadband offices and local government staffers are encouraged by the president’s emphasis on their work, but what do they need at the federal level to fully solve this challenge?
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Shutterstock/archna nautiyal President Biden’s recently announced infrastructure proposal calls for a massive, unprecedented investment aimed at connecting all Americans to the Internet, one that has led to some digital equity experts calling it a potential game changer for their work.
Dubbed the
American Jobs Plan, White House verbiage for the proposal lists high-speed broadband alongside essential utilities, noting some of its top priorities as delivering “clean drinking water, a renewed electric grid, and high-speed broadband to all Americans.” Essentially, electricity and water have long been considered vital utilities; now, the country’s leadersh
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New rules proposed by the state’s broadband internet authority would require taxpayer-subsidized broadband projects to be able to provide dramatically faster speeds than the current minimum standard and would greatly increase the portion of the state regarded as inadequately served by broadband.
The ConnectMaine Authority, also known as ConnectME, typically funds broadband infrastructure grants from a relatively small pot – about $750,000 to $1 million annually – that comes from customer fees on landline telephone service. But with a $15 million state bond to dole out and tens of millions of federal broadband infrastructure dollars coming, the authority’s board wanted to ensure taxpayer-supported investment would meet the needs of current and future residents, said ConnectME Executive Director Peggy Schaffer.
ConnectMaine Authority Adopts VETRO s Broadband Intelligence Platform
ACCESSWIRE
06 May 2021, 22:05 GMT+10
The company s Broadband Manager platform will be used by the Authority to maximize the impact of state and federal funds and facilitate state-wide broadband expansion
PORTLAND, ME / ACCESSWIRE / May 6, 2021 / VETRO Inc., a software company delivering unparalleled internet infrastructure intelligence™ through a unique mapping platform, announced today that it has been awarded a significant contract from the ConnectMaine Authority, a public agency of the Maine State government whose mission is to facilitate the universal availability of broadband across the state.
VETRO will be the platform of record for ConnectMaine to leverage as a central hub for all planning, mapping, and infrastructure data and provide easy collaboration across the ecosystem of stakeholders with transparency, accountability, scalability, efficiency and impact.