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 recorded August 4th event and presentation - held at the Blue Hill Public Library is available to view here:
Blue Hill Communications
Broadband Speed Test Initiative (Click for Info.)
The recent Maine Connectivity Authority meeting recording is worth a watch. Peggy Schaffer gives a great overview of what’s happening at the state level. Watch it HERE. Learn more about MCA on their website:http://www.maineconnectivity.org/
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 with Proposals received from six (6) Respondents. Questions were provided to them and all responses have been received and are now being assessed by Town Broadband Committees. Please see the RFP Page for the document that we hope will drive the initiation of our Internet future.
Additionally: The State of Maine - through the ConnectMaine Authority - submitted an application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - a part of the Department of Commerce - on 17 August for funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). ConnectMaine is teaming with Consolidated Communications (CCI) for a FTTP effort for the entire Blue Hill Peninsula, from Castine to Stonington - excluding Surry.
That award would bring Fiber to all Premises without necessitating any funding from the communities it would serve. Results of that award are expected November 15, 2021 according to the NTIA. Maine’s proposal will compete with those from 50 other States and Territories. To see more go to: https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband.
UPDATE - Looking like December sometime for the award - in part due to the number of applicants and questions back to some of them - and yes, Maine's application has had some questions and that is GOOD!
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 with Proposals received from six (6) Respondents. Questions were provided to them and all responses have been received and are now being assessed by Town Broadband Committees. Please see the RFP Page for the document that we hope will drive the initiation of our Internet future.
Additionally: The State of Maine - through the ConnectMaine Authority - submitted an application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - a part of the Department of Commerce - on 17 August for funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). ConnectMaine is teaming with Consolidated Communications (CCI) for a FTTP effort for the entire Blue Hill Peninsula, from Castine to Stonington - excluding Surry.
That award would bring Fiber to all Premises without necessitating any funding from the communities it would serve. Results of that award are expected November 15, 2021 according to the NTIA. Maine’s proposal will compete with those from 50 other States and Territories. To see more go to: https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband.
UPDATE - Looking like December sometime for the award - in part due to the number of applicants and questions back to some of them - and yes, Maine's application has had some questions and that is GOOD!
| press_release_7_9_2021_final.docx |
Current and Updated Things Happening:
(Update 1 October)
The Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on July 9th to start part of that process and Proposals are now being assessed with questions on the proposals back to the Responders just this week. The responses to the questions are now being reassessed by Town Broadband Committees.
In addition, the State of Maine through the ConnectMaine Authority submitted an application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - a part of the Department of Commerce - on 17 August for funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). ConnectMaine teamed with Consolidated Communications (CCI) for a FTTP effort for the entire Blue Hill Peninsula - from Castine to Stonington (excluding Surry).
That effort would bring Fiber to all Premises without necessitating any funding from the communities it would touch. We expect hear the results of that award in mid to late November 2021. Maine’s proposal will compete with those from 50 other States and Territories. To see more go to: https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband.
(Update 10 September)
After a well-attended pre-RFP meeting, 6 of the 9 companies present submitted proposals to help us bring better Internet to Blue Hill, Brooksville, Penobscot and Deer Isle. That is an exceptional response. What’s next?
- Blue Hill Broadband Committee is reviewing and assessing all proposals
- The 4-Town effort will work through questions and the proposal evaluations between the Town committees and the Contractor hired to help in the process - Mission Broadband
- Following responses back and any reevaluation, meetings with Town Select Boards will then take place to discuss the Town Committee evaluations and next steps.
(Update 2 August)
All key workup elements of the RFP process have been completed to include the confirmation that we expect to see up to five Responses to the RFP on or before the 3rd of September. All documents, dates and questions received from the pre-bid conference have been posted to the RFP page of this site at: https://www.peninsulautility4broadband.org/rfp.html. No specifics of the responses or any assessments of them will be made until the appropriate time in order to protect the sensitive data they may contain and ensure the unbiased assessment of the information by the review committees of the respective towns and the town governments. They will be obligated to provide a report on the results of the assessments made in the Fall of 2021.
(Update 9 July)
The RFP was released on Friday July 9th and posted on the RFP page of this site.
(Update 5 July)
The RFP is undergoing its final revision and it is anticipated that the RFP will be released on Monday July 12th - perhaps before. Once formally released, the RFP and related information will be posted to the RFP page of this site.
(Update 17 June)
The Towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle and Penobscot are moving forward with a plan to obtain better and more reliable Internet access for their communities that will support all of our towns - long into the future. To accomplish that, a Request for Proposal (RFP) has been crafted and is now being reviewed by a consultant hired for that purpose. The RFP will then be released to vendors that would have an interest in responding to the RFP.
As a part of that process a team from each of the towns will carefully and objectively review each of the proposals based on criteria that have been established for that purpose and will work closely with the consultant. All of the responses will be held in strict confidence both during the review process and subsequent to that, as needed, to be legally compliant with such submittals.
The review teams will identify a respondent to move forward with. All proposals will be summarized and presented in a common format to support that selection. At an appropriate time and after all needed data has been captured, a proposal for the work will then be presented to each town, to include not only the result of the selection process and necessary details, but also the proposal for financing and related work needed such that town voters are able to make an education choice on whether to proceed or not.
This effort directly relates to the work needed for the towns to go after State and Federal Grant funding available for Broadband efforts such as this as a means of supplementing the costs of the project. Each towns relative cost will be part of the joint proposal to the town and will be based on the initial cost estimates provided by the chosen respondent.
The following information will be posted to https://www.peninsulautility4broadband.org under the RFP TAB once the RFP has been released.
1. RFP
2. Supporting information provided to the potential respondents,
3. Question & Answers from and to those vendors who have chosen to participate,
4. Planned schedule (which is subject to change…)
5. Other information as needed.
Voters, property owners and businesses are encouraged to participate in the educational and informational efforts the town Broadband Committees will make available throughout the process. We have chosen to use use various mediums for outreach that include: Facebook, Instagram, WebSites (Town and Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB)), local newspapers, as well as face to face venues.
(Update 4 June) A DRAFT Request for Proposal (RFP) was generated by the Towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville and Penobscot and is being circulated between all of the PUB towns for comment and potential near term processing. The goal in the release the RFP to obtain responses for a network build for Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) - for all residences and businesses that currently have conventional wired power and/or telephone service today.
This is a part of the effort to garner information that will help generate support for a "Plan" and to seek supplemental funding from the ConnectMaine Authority. Without a plan no town will be able to apply!
Past Information
1. A summary of activities related to the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) (CCI Local Awardee) and the USDA RUS Reconnect #2 program (GWI the local applicant) has been discussed at meetings and Island Institute is posting some of the same information here (Island Institute).
a. The RDOF still has some time to go before we know the specific impacts to the area as CCI is still working through the award areas and to then identify what it will actually do. The map below depicts (in Green) the areas locally awarded. The map does NOT identify or depict where or what work will actually be done - nor when. CCI was awarded 1 Gbps fiber.
b. Starlink (SpaceX) is here but in Beta testing. More to come.
2. If you would like the specific RDOF results they can be found at: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904/round-results. Please note that there are some concerns about the award with several online posts addressing the specifics of that. We are working with CCI to understand the ramifications and how it might fit into our path forward.
(Update 1 October)
The Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on July 9th to start part of that process and Proposals are now being assessed with questions on the proposals back to the Responders just this week. The responses to the questions are now being reassessed by Town Broadband Committees.
In addition, the State of Maine through the ConnectMaine Authority submitted an application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - a part of the Department of Commerce - on 17 August for funds set aside for Broadband ($288 Million). ConnectMaine teamed with Consolidated Communications (CCI) for a FTTP effort for the entire Blue Hill Peninsula - from Castine to Stonington (excluding Surry).
That effort would bring Fiber to all Premises without necessitating any funding from the communities it would touch. We expect hear the results of that award in mid to late November 2021. Maine’s proposal will compete with those from 50 other States and Territories. To see more go to: https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/broadband.
(Update 10 September)
After a well-attended pre-RFP meeting, 6 of the 9 companies present submitted proposals to help us bring better Internet to Blue Hill, Brooksville, Penobscot and Deer Isle. That is an exceptional response. What’s next?
- Blue Hill Broadband Committee is reviewing and assessing all proposals
- The 4-Town effort will work through questions and the proposal evaluations between the Town committees and the Contractor hired to help in the process - Mission Broadband
- Following responses back and any reevaluation, meetings with Town Select Boards will then take place to discuss the Town Committee evaluations and next steps.
(Update 2 August)
All key workup elements of the RFP process have been completed to include the confirmation that we expect to see up to five Responses to the RFP on or before the 3rd of September. All documents, dates and questions received from the pre-bid conference have been posted to the RFP page of this site at: https://www.peninsulautility4broadband.org/rfp.html. No specifics of the responses or any assessments of them will be made until the appropriate time in order to protect the sensitive data they may contain and ensure the unbiased assessment of the information by the review committees of the respective towns and the town governments. They will be obligated to provide a report on the results of the assessments made in the Fall of 2021.
(Update 9 July)
The RFP was released on Friday July 9th and posted on the RFP page of this site.
(Update 5 July)
The RFP is undergoing its final revision and it is anticipated that the RFP will be released on Monday July 12th - perhaps before. Once formally released, the RFP and related information will be posted to the RFP page of this site.
(Update 17 June)
The Towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville, Deer Isle and Penobscot are moving forward with a plan to obtain better and more reliable Internet access for their communities that will support all of our towns - long into the future. To accomplish that, a Request for Proposal (RFP) has been crafted and is now being reviewed by a consultant hired for that purpose. The RFP will then be released to vendors that would have an interest in responding to the RFP.
As a part of that process a team from each of the towns will carefully and objectively review each of the proposals based on criteria that have been established for that purpose and will work closely with the consultant. All of the responses will be held in strict confidence both during the review process and subsequent to that, as needed, to be legally compliant with such submittals.
The review teams will identify a respondent to move forward with. All proposals will be summarized and presented in a common format to support that selection. At an appropriate time and after all needed data has been captured, a proposal for the work will then be presented to each town, to include not only the result of the selection process and necessary details, but also the proposal for financing and related work needed such that town voters are able to make an education choice on whether to proceed or not.
This effort directly relates to the work needed for the towns to go after State and Federal Grant funding available for Broadband efforts such as this as a means of supplementing the costs of the project. Each towns relative cost will be part of the joint proposal to the town and will be based on the initial cost estimates provided by the chosen respondent.
The following information will be posted to https://www.peninsulautility4broadband.org under the RFP TAB once the RFP has been released.
1. RFP
2. Supporting information provided to the potential respondents,
3. Question & Answers from and to those vendors who have chosen to participate,
4. Planned schedule (which is subject to change…)
5. Other information as needed.
Voters, property owners and businesses are encouraged to participate in the educational and informational efforts the town Broadband Committees will make available throughout the process. We have chosen to use use various mediums for outreach that include: Facebook, Instagram, WebSites (Town and Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB)), local newspapers, as well as face to face venues.
(Update 4 June) A DRAFT Request for Proposal (RFP) was generated by the Towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville and Penobscot and is being circulated between all of the PUB towns for comment and potential near term processing. The goal in the release the RFP to obtain responses for a network build for Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) - for all residences and businesses that currently have conventional wired power and/or telephone service today.
This is a part of the effort to garner information that will help generate support for a "Plan" and to seek supplemental funding from the ConnectMaine Authority. Without a plan no town will be able to apply!
Past Information
1. A summary of activities related to the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) (CCI Local Awardee) and the USDA RUS Reconnect #2 program (GWI the local applicant) has been discussed at meetings and Island Institute is posting some of the same information here (Island Institute).
a. The RDOF still has some time to go before we know the specific impacts to the area as CCI is still working through the award areas and to then identify what it will actually do. The map below depicts (in Green) the areas locally awarded. The map does NOT identify or depict where or what work will actually be done - nor when. CCI was awarded 1 Gbps fiber.
b. Starlink (SpaceX) is here but in Beta testing. More to come.
2. If you would like the specific RDOF results they can be found at: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904/round-results. Please note that there are some concerns about the award with several online posts addressing the specifics of that. We are working with CCI to understand the ramifications and how it might fit into our path forward.
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.
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.