Maine’s Congressional delegation announces $25 million grant for broadband infrastructure in Maine--“Three Ring Binder” project will make high speed Internet more readily available to 110,000 households

U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins and U.S. Representatives Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree joined Governor John Baldacci and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today to announce a $25 million federal grant to help bring high speed Internet to underserved areas of Maine.  This major Recovery Act grant will fund the “Three Ring Binder” project—1,100 miles of fiber optic cable that will pass through 100 communities and make broadband more readily available to 110,000 households.
 
    “This significant investment in broadband infrastructure will bring real economic opportunity to Maine communities,” the delegation said in a joint statement. “Building a 21st century Internet backbone in Maine will not only create jobs in the short term, but also will lay the groundwork for long term economic growth.”

    In a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce in October, Maine’s Congressional delegation expressed support for the “Three Ring Binder” grant request.

    The Maine funding, along with a similar project announced by Vice President Biden in Georgia today, are the beginning of a $7 billion investment in broadband access across the country.  The projects will be funded by the Recovery Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama earlier this year.  This legislation allocated $7.2 billion to help facilitate, expand and accelerate the deployment and adoption of broadband services in unserved and underserved areas, as well as to expand public computer center capacity.

    The Three Ring Binder is a public-private partnership that will build three “rings” of high-speed fiber optic cable—in northern Maine, the Midcoast, and western Maine.  The network will provide wholesale high-speed Internet service to providers in rural areas. The project will also connect schools and libraries and provide critical support for telemedicine services.
 
    Major partners in the project include the University of Maine and Internet provider GWI.  Fletcher Kitteridge, founder and CEO of GWI, welcomed the announcement. “Building the Three Ring Binder will put people to work right away, and once complete, it will open new possibilities for much of the state,” Kitteridge said. “Our delegation in Washington had the vision to see its potential and advocated vigorously on behalf of the people of Maine for this project.”
 
    The Three Ring Binder will include the construction of 36,000 new poles and over $70 million in private-sector capital will be spent in Maine over the next 3-5 years to build additional infrastructure that will branch out of the backbone network.