Press Release: Commitment to Connect Every Household and Business to the Internet Advances

Program enrollment opens to connect Maine’s most rural and hard-to-reach locations

PORTLAND – Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital opportunity in Maine, announces the enrollment portal for the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) Program is now open. Approximately 1.5 percent of Maine homes and businesses have no access to any type of internet service or technology, and this program provides the option for connectivity to these previously unreachable locations.

Eligible homes and businesses can use MCA’s Enrollment Portal, or call 207-430-3112, to apply for free internet hardware, installation support, and assistance with developing skills needed to use this new internet connection. Service will be provided by Starlink, the first and largest satellite constellation using low Earth orbit to deliver reliable connectivity where internet has not been available. Starlink was selected by MCA through a competitive Request for Proposal process earlier this year.

“Ensuring that our most rural and remote community members have an option to internet access is essential,” said Andrew Butcher, President, Maine Connectivity Authority. “We are closing a very important gap in internet coverage with this program and will continue to improve broadband affordability, reliability and access to all parts of Maine now and into the future,” Butcher added.

Since 2022, MCA has made significant progress to expand and improve connectivity statewide, leveraging nearly $350 million in public and private funding to connect 86,000 locations to high-speed internet– a 26 percent increase in statewide access to broadband internet in the last two years. As a result of that progress, only 9,000 of Maine’s most rural and remote homes and businesses have no access to any type of internet service.

The WIA Program is one of the solutions MCA is deploying to fulfill the commitment to provide all people in Maine with an option to connect to the internet by the end of 2024. Enrollment for this program will remain open on a rolling basis. Consistent with all other MCA infrastructure programs, customers will be responsible for the monthly subscription fee. For more information, visit www.maineconnectivity.org/wia.

Eligible locations for the WIA Program are located across the state, with higher concentrations in Aroostook, Oxford, and Penobscot counties. Jared Tapley leads local broadband planning, hosts digital skills classes, and helps sustain investments in broadband infrastructure through the Northern Maine Development Commission, the Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partner serving Aroostook County. “Our population is older, and technology is advancing faster than many can keep up with. Providing this opportunity will help overcome the first hurdle to internet connectivity,” Tapley added. “MCA’s effort to expand access and drive competition will benefit our region greatly,” Tapley said.

To raise awareness of the opportunity available, MCA will conduct outreach to eligible locations through a marketing campaign, targeted advertising, direct mail, and coordination with Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners and other state agencies. Being that these locations do not currently have internet access, MCA will harness existing channels and partnerships that are available to the people at these homes and businesses.

“In many parts of Maine, libraries are the only place providing a way to get online, but connecting at a local library should be in addition to having a home internet connection,” said Marijke Visser, Director of Library Development, Maine State Library. Of the 257 public libraries in Maine, the majority serve rural areas with populations of 5,000 people or fewer. Visser says that while many depend on the resources that their local library provides, having a connection at home will help ensure people will be on the same footing as everyone else. “The WIA Program provides one more solution that people can use to make the internet work for them, including those who lack transportation to a library or those with alternative work schedules,” Visser added.

The WIA Program is part of complementary funding programs MCA has developed, implemented, and executed in the past two years. In 2025, MCA will manage the investment of an additional $350 million in broadband infrastructure to serve the remaining 5% of locations in Maine that currently have slow and unreliable internet service. MCA was also recently awarded $5 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that will be used to launch the Digital Opportunity Networks grant program.

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About MCA: Focusing on projects, places and people, the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) advances digital equity and works to improve connectivity for all Maine people. Established in 2021, MCA is Maine’s public agency charged with achieving universal access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet service statewide. MCA has three statutory goals:

- Expand effective, accessible connectivity in every part of the state;
- Support the creation of secure, affordable, reliable, competitive, sustainable and forward-looking internet infrastructure that can meet future needs; and
- Ensure that all residents, businesses and institutions in Maine are able to take full advantage of the economic, health, educational and other opportunities available through connectivity services.