MAINE
BROADBAND
COALITION
The Voice of Maine’s internet users
working to enable better service for everyone
ABOUT
Maine Broadband Coalition (MBC) is a network of public policy professionals, educational institutions, businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals who care deeply about Maine’s economic future. An important purpose of the MBC is to assemble cogent, fact-based information to help public policy makers and Maine citizens make the best choices about building a robust and productive information technology infrastructure — decisions we are all facing right now. We welcome one and all to this effort.
WHY
Broadband has an Indispensable Role In Maine’s Future
The media has reported that Maine ranks 49th out of the 50 American states for the quality of it broadband services, thus putting the state at a serious economic disadvantage. This situation is addressed directly in “Maine broadband service ranks 49th out of 50 states,” an article published in the Portland Press Herald in early 2014. That is not good news. As policy leaders grapple with this reality and plan for the state’s economic future, Maine Broadband Coalition makes the following observations:
01/
A successful economy requires broadband infrastructure.
Just as the 20th century required adequate roads, and the centuries before required railroads and navigable rivers, today we must have high-speed Internet connections to the world in order to improve our economic prospects.
Without high-speed Internet connections, Maine companies will not be able to compete, new companies will not relocate to Maine, highly skilled workers will not relocate to Maine and talented young people will leave.
02/
Strategy is key to community investment.
Building advanced networks in Maine will be a massive undertaking, requiring careful planning and expertise from across the state, and the country, to better understand what we need and how to succeed. We’ll need to combine financial support from public and private, state, federal, and local sources. To build these networks, we’ll need to make smart choices.
Maine’s cities are already making progress. We should support these efforts with financial and technical assistance to make sure they succeed. Extraordinary foresight and planning must drive this effort, so that these networks remain useful and vital, for at least the balance of this century.
