"Consolidated Communications to Deliver Fidium Fiber Internet to 22,000 Rural Maine Homes and Businesses through Connect Maine Partnership $18.3 million NTIA grant enables public private partnership to deliver gigabit fiber to Rangeley Lakes Region, the Blue Hill Peninsula and Farmington areas..."
Peninsula Beneficiaries:
Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Deer Isle, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Stonington
see press release and the summary at the bottom of this page!
Peninsula Beneficiaries:
Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Deer Isle, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Stonington
see press release and the summary at the bottom of this page!
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Fidium Fiber Build Update - 9 May 2023
All of the Peninsula towns that were part of the NTIA award are now open for installations, with crews even busier. Please be flexible as various installation delays have occured for this completely new build. We're rural and installations are often more complex and take longer. Crews are doing their best and working hard every day of the week!
The undersea cable from Castine to Brooksville is shown in the photos below (Click to make larger). It's not big but it's got Gigs and Gigs of capacity!
UPDATE/Clarification on fiber from the last pole to the premise.
1. Consolidated will install - at their cost - the fiber cable from the last pole to the house (pole to the house or via conduit). No distance Limit!
2. Consolidated will install - at their cost - the fiber cable using existing conduit if it can be used. No distance limit!
3. Consolidated will install - at their cost - up to 500 feet of new conduit (if needed) but conduit installations that are over 500 ft. will be at the cost of the subscriber/property owner.
4. Consolidated will come back and bury conduit/fiber cable that may have been laid on the ground due to frozen conduit or other issues.
All of the Peninsula towns that were part of the NTIA award are now open for installations, with crews even busier. Please be flexible as various installation delays have occured for this completely new build. We're rural and installations are often more complex and take longer. Crews are doing their best and working hard every day of the week!
The undersea cable from Castine to Brooksville is shown in the photos below (Click to make larger). It's not big but it's got Gigs and Gigs of capacity!
UPDATE/Clarification on fiber from the last pole to the premise.
1. Consolidated will install - at their cost - the fiber cable from the last pole to the house (pole to the house or via conduit). No distance Limit!
2. Consolidated will install - at their cost - the fiber cable using existing conduit if it can be used. No distance limit!
3. Consolidated will install - at their cost - up to 500 feet of new conduit (if needed) but conduit installations that are over 500 ft. will be at the cost of the subscriber/property owner.
4. Consolidated will come back and bury conduit/fiber cable that may have been laid on the ground due to frozen conduit or other issues.
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Fidium Fiber Connection for the "last pole" to the house
Once an installation is scheduled (that's the install day for in-house work only), installers will complete exterior tasks that need to be completed before that scheduled date. If tasks were not able to be completed, a service connection might slide. No one needs to be at the property for the the exterior work, but if conduit or any unusual situations might need to be explained it might be beneficial for someone to be there. That timing is NOT known by anyone you might call.
The tasks include:
1. Fiber down a road or long driveway to the last pole. Resident does not need to be there.
2. Fiber in a new or existing conduit to the outside of the house and then ready for the installers (or last pole to the house exterior). Resident does not need to be there.
3. Actual Installation date. Resident needs to be there.
4. If a premise has no clear communication path and a conduit is needed, it may have to be installed under or over the ground.
Monthly Pricing is shown on the Q&A Page of this site, but Fidium Fiber will have the latest.
For additional process info. see: https://www.fidiumfiber.com/Support/getting-started/getting-ready-for-your-installation
Once an installation is scheduled (that's the install day for in-house work only), installers will complete exterior tasks that need to be completed before that scheduled date. If tasks were not able to be completed, a service connection might slide. No one needs to be at the property for the the exterior work, but if conduit or any unusual situations might need to be explained it might be beneficial for someone to be there. That timing is NOT known by anyone you might call.
The tasks include:
1. Fiber down a road or long driveway to the last pole. Resident does not need to be there.
2. Fiber in a new or existing conduit to the outside of the house and then ready for the installers (or last pole to the house exterior). Resident does not need to be there.
3. Actual Installation date. Resident needs to be there.
4. If a premise has no clear communication path and a conduit is needed, it may have to be installed under or over the ground.
Monthly Pricing is shown on the Q&A Page of this site, but Fidium Fiber will have the latest.
For additional process info. see: https://www.fidiumfiber.com/Support/getting-started/getting-ready-for-your-installation
How did we get here?
Listen to: Maine Broadband Coalition Initiatives Across Maine
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) AWARD
ConnectMaine is awarded funds from the NTIA to help provide Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) for the Blue Hill Peninsula. The combination of funding from NTIA, CCI’s prior FCC RDOF award, and CCI's own financial contribution, makes this possible. ConnectMaine submitted an application on August 17th for part of the NTIA funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). The application process occurred concurrently with the 4-Town RFP process and ConnectMaine chose CCI (www.fidiumfiber.com) as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for area. The award was announced February 25th 2022 and requires no funding from the communities it will serve. It technically meets and geographically exceeds the 4-Town Joint Report's goals. Only 13 applications of 230 received were awarded.
Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle and Penobscot (The Towns) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) on July 9th 2021, receiving proposals from six (6) Respondents. The 4-Town Joint Status Report and Process Review was released January 7th.
The RFP and Joint Status Report outline the following baseline for service:
Listen to: Maine Broadband Coalition Initiatives Across Maine
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) AWARD
ConnectMaine is awarded funds from the NTIA to help provide Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) for the Blue Hill Peninsula. The combination of funding from NTIA, CCI’s prior FCC RDOF award, and CCI's own financial contribution, makes this possible. ConnectMaine submitted an application on August 17th for part of the NTIA funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). The application process occurred concurrently with the 4-Town RFP process and ConnectMaine chose CCI (www.fidiumfiber.com) as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for area. The award was announced February 25th 2022 and requires no funding from the communities it will serve. It technically meets and geographically exceeds the 4-Town Joint Report's goals. Only 13 applications of 230 received were awarded.
Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle and Penobscot (The Towns) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) on July 9th 2021, receiving proposals from six (6) Respondents. The 4-Town Joint Status Report and Process Review was released January 7th.
The RFP and Joint Status Report outline the following baseline for service:
- Full Fiber Optic Network: Fiber to the Premise (FTTP)
- Ubiquitous: Available to any location currently served by grid-connected electricity and/or wireline telephone
- Available capacity of 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) Upload and Download [equivalency] or greater
- Symmetrical service (i.e., 100Mbps/100Mbps)
- No data caps and no throttling of data
- Aerial (or existing available conduit) installation standard with minimal start-up/connection costs; reasonable connections and underground requirements identified and addressed as applicable
| State of Maine-Statewide Broadband Action Plan 2020.pdf |