Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle and Penobscot have moved forward to obtain better and more reliable Internet access for their communities - to support all of our towns well into the future. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on July 9th to start part of that process and Proposals are now in and being assessed by Town Broadband Committees. You can find more specific information on the What’s Happening page of this site. Please see the RFP Page for the document that we hope will drive the initiation of our Internet future.
| Press Release 7-9-2021 |
Blue Hill Community Broadband Conversation
The recorded August 4th event and presentation - held at the Blue Hill Public Library is available to view here:
Blue Hill Communications
The PUB meets the 2nd Friday of each month at 8 am - via WEBEX
Your PUB "rep" is noted on the contacts page.
Your PUB "rep" is noted on the contacts page.
What’s Happening (Click for more Info.)
Broadband Speed Test Initiative (Click for Info.)
Just in!
BIG NEWS: Governor Janet Mills signs LD 1484 creating the new Maine Connectivity Authority
And with the stroke of a pen - the landscape shifts. Gov. Janet Mills today signed into law LD 1484 which creates a new public agency - The Maine Connectivity Authority which will invest $150 million to support broadband expansion state-wide.
The new Maine Connectivity Authority has the power to borrow money, own infrastructure, negotiate contracts and provide grants to companies and communities.
And with the stroke of a pen - the landscape shifts. Gov. Janet Mills today signed into law LD 1484 which creates a new public agency - The Maine Connectivity Authority which will invest $150 million to support broadband expansion state-wide.
The new Maine Connectivity Authority has the power to borrow money, own infrastructure, negotiate contracts and provide grants to companies and communities.
What's Next for the definition of Broadband? - Senators push for 100Mbps/100Mbps. Broadband is a capacity/speed standard set by the FCC - currently 25Mbps Download/3Mbps Upload. In Maine, it’s now 100Mbps/100Mbps!
The ConnectMaine Authority approved the designation of broadband service as at least 100/100Mbps, and the use of 50/10Mbps for the designation of unserved areas for Grant purposes.
The ConnectMaine Authority approved the designation of broadband service as at least 100/100Mbps, and the use of 50/10Mbps for the designation of unserved areas for Grant purposes.
More at the bottom of this page.
O U R M I S S O N
Peninsula Broadband for All - Mission Statement
The Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB) advocates for fast, flexible, affordable and reliable internet to incentivize business, support schools, advance the quality of healthcare, connect homes and facilitate long term education and socialization of our rural communities.
WHO ARE WE?
The Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB) is a coalition of town working groups - formed in the Summer of 2018 - that seek to enhance the quality of life and develop opportunities in education, health care and job creation through significantly improved Internet - built to address today and more specifically - the future. We originally represented Penobscot, Blue Hill, Brooklin, Stonington, Deer Isle, Sedgwick, and Brooksville.
PUB will meet to share information and discuss opportunities for Peninsula-wide and Island communities, with collaboration to more effectively work common issues and coordinate meeting attendance, consolidate resource documentation, share planning development and insights, as well as lessons learned from the group and others.
PUB will focus on synergizing the efforts of the communities represented as well as the efforts of other state and national groups working toward the same or similar goals.
Each committee/working group and their associated town will educate and advocate Broadband/Internet service, which is affordable and available to all. Each town will ultimately be responsible for their own end state, but the potential creation of a common paper "Utility" will be available through the PUB.
PUB will meet to share information and discuss opportunities for Peninsula-wide and Island communities, with collaboration to more effectively work common issues and coordinate meeting attendance, consolidate resource documentation, share planning development and insights, as well as lessons learned from the group and others.
PUB will focus on synergizing the efforts of the communities represented as well as the efforts of other state and national groups working toward the same or similar goals.
Each committee/working group and their associated town will educate and advocate Broadband/Internet service, which is affordable and available to all. Each town will ultimately be responsible for their own end state, but the potential creation of a common paper "Utility" will be available through the PUB.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Contacting us will help us to grow and better serve you.
We are interested in what you think and what you need AND if you are willing to be Participants, Volunteers, or are just the curious or anxious.
Please let us know by going to this LINK and fill out a contact information form to better serve you. Or you can contact your local PUB rep - click here.
We are interested in what you think and what you need AND if you are willing to be Participants, Volunteers, or are just the curious or anxious.
Please let us know by going to this LINK and fill out a contact information form to better serve you. Or you can contact your local PUB rep - click here.
W H Y
For the People and Towns
FROM the 2020 State of Maine Broadband Action Plan (NEW 2020 Document Below!)
“We will redefine unserved potential subscribers as those locations where the available service is less than 25Mbps/3Mbps ..., and underserved potential subscribers as those locations where the available service is less than 99Mbps/10Mbps and greater than 25Mbps/3Mbps, .... Redefining these definitions will more closely align the Maine standards to the federal standards used by the FCC and other federal agencies and their funding programs. The current FCC standard considers service at 25Mbps/3Mbps as served.”
“We will redefine unserved potential subscribers as those locations where the available service is less than 25Mbps/3Mbps ..., and underserved potential subscribers as those locations where the available service is less than 99Mbps/10Mbps and greater than 25Mbps/3Mbps, .... Redefining these definitions will more closely align the Maine standards to the federal standards used by the FCC and other federal agencies and their funding programs. The current FCC standard considers service at 25Mbps/3Mbps as served.”
| State of Maine - Statewide Broadband Action Plan 2020 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 3, 2021
Contact: Matthew Felling/Jeff Sobotko (202) 257-7345
Maine Receiving Over $128 Million for Broadband From American Rescue Plan
Department of Treasury formalizes funds directed to Maine from March bill passage after Sen. King’s advocacy
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, applauded an announcement that the U.S. Treasury Department is allocating more than $128 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to expand Maine broadband. These funds are drawn from the ARP’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, which was secured by Senator King in the final legislation, and passed 50-49 with the Senator’s vote. In addition to $128,245,250 in broadband funding for the state, each of Maine’s five tribes will receive $167,000 in funding.
Combined with the broadband funds Maine is projected to receive from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act upon House passage – the state will receive hundreds of millions of dollars to increase affordable, high-speed broadband access statewide and narrow Maine’s digital divide.
“The American Rescue Plan is bringing more than $128 million in broadband funding to Maine, which will create new opportunities for people throughout our state – especially in rural areas,” said Senator King. “It is clear as day that a high-speed, affordable broadband connection is fundamental to participating in the 21st century economy. Too many Maine families have been forced to go without this vital tool – watching economic opportunities disappear, struggling to access their education, and missing out on convenient ways to access critical healthcare. These American Rescue Plan funds, combined with the investments included in the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, are a major step towards ensuring that every Maine person – regardless of where they live – can access the opportunities provided by a broadband connection. My colleagues and I worked hard to include these funds in the American Rescue Plan, and I’m glad to see the bill will continue to meet the needs of Maine people.”
“Thanks to the hard work of Senator King, Maine will be in a position to make significant gains in ending the digital divide,” said Peggy Schaffer, Director of the ConnectMaine Authority. “Communities and Internet Service Providers all across Maine have been diligently planning to address their broadband needs. We can now take action to implement those plans. The funding provided in the Capital Projects Fund of the American Rescue Plan allows us to shift our thinking from one of scarcity to one where almost everyone in Maine will be able to get a high quality broadband connection over the next three to four years. We are deeply grateful for the work and the focus Senator King has provided in addressing this critical infrastructure need.”
Senator King also worked to secure broadband funds in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is being considered in the House and will invest $65 billion in broadband infrastructure across the nation. The legislation’s broadband provisions include over $40 billion in block grants to states and $2 billion for tribal governments, mirroring the bipartisan BRIDGE Act introduced by Senators King, Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) earlier this year.
The IIJA also includes Senator King’s Digital Equity Act, investing $2.75 billion in an array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity.”
As co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator King has been a strong advocate for expanding affordable broadband access as a way to increase economic opportunity in rural Maine – and has raised the issue consistently during the coronavirus pandemic. The March edition of Senator King’s “Inside Maine” podcast focused on this historic investment during a conversation with Tilson Technologies’ Josh Broder, and Pew Charitable Trusts’ Kathryn de Wit. Senator King has also urged the Biden Administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses, calling for updating the definition of high-speed broadband to 100 megabits per second of upload and download speed.
September 3, 2021
Contact: Matthew Felling/Jeff Sobotko (202) 257-7345
Maine Receiving Over $128 Million for Broadband From American Rescue Plan
Department of Treasury formalizes funds directed to Maine from March bill passage after Sen. King’s advocacy
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, applauded an announcement that the U.S. Treasury Department is allocating more than $128 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to expand Maine broadband. These funds are drawn from the ARP’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, which was secured by Senator King in the final legislation, and passed 50-49 with the Senator’s vote. In addition to $128,245,250 in broadband funding for the state, each of Maine’s five tribes will receive $167,000 in funding.
Combined with the broadband funds Maine is projected to receive from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act upon House passage – the state will receive hundreds of millions of dollars to increase affordable, high-speed broadband access statewide and narrow Maine’s digital divide.
“The American Rescue Plan is bringing more than $128 million in broadband funding to Maine, which will create new opportunities for people throughout our state – especially in rural areas,” said Senator King. “It is clear as day that a high-speed, affordable broadband connection is fundamental to participating in the 21st century economy. Too many Maine families have been forced to go without this vital tool – watching economic opportunities disappear, struggling to access their education, and missing out on convenient ways to access critical healthcare. These American Rescue Plan funds, combined with the investments included in the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, are a major step towards ensuring that every Maine person – regardless of where they live – can access the opportunities provided by a broadband connection. My colleagues and I worked hard to include these funds in the American Rescue Plan, and I’m glad to see the bill will continue to meet the needs of Maine people.”
“Thanks to the hard work of Senator King, Maine will be in a position to make significant gains in ending the digital divide,” said Peggy Schaffer, Director of the ConnectMaine Authority. “Communities and Internet Service Providers all across Maine have been diligently planning to address their broadband needs. We can now take action to implement those plans. The funding provided in the Capital Projects Fund of the American Rescue Plan allows us to shift our thinking from one of scarcity to one where almost everyone in Maine will be able to get a high quality broadband connection over the next three to four years. We are deeply grateful for the work and the focus Senator King has provided in addressing this critical infrastructure need.”
Senator King also worked to secure broadband funds in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is being considered in the House and will invest $65 billion in broadband infrastructure across the nation. The legislation’s broadband provisions include over $40 billion in block grants to states and $2 billion for tribal governments, mirroring the bipartisan BRIDGE Act introduced by Senators King, Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) earlier this year.
The IIJA also includes Senator King’s Digital Equity Act, investing $2.75 billion in an array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity.”
As co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator King has been a strong advocate for expanding affordable broadband access as a way to increase economic opportunity in rural Maine – and has raised the issue consistently during the coronavirus pandemic. The March edition of Senator King’s “Inside Maine” podcast focused on this historic investment during a conversation with Tilson Technologies’ Josh Broder, and Pew Charitable Trusts’ Kathryn de Wit. Senator King has also urged the Biden Administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses, calling for updating the definition of high-speed broadband to 100 megabits per second of upload and download speed.
