AUGUSTA – A bill aimed at expanding broadband Internet to rural parts of Maine may not be necessary, opponents said during a public hearing before the Utilities and Energy Committee on Thursday.
The legislation was sponsored by Tom Saviello, U-Wilton, and would allow municipalities to provide digital subscriber line (DSL) service if it’s not already available.
Saviello’s original intent was to make sure towns would not be able to ban people from using power lines for access to the Internet, if such technology eventually developed, he said.
He said the bill was expanded so towns could offer DSL service to their communities.
Representatives from FairPoint Communications and the Telephone Association of Maine testified against the proposal, arguing it would discourage private efforts to expand broadband services. They also said the state created the ConnectME Authority in 2006 to help expand broadband access to areas ignored by private companies.
“If the goal is for municipalities to directly operate DSL service, we have some concerns,” said Beth Osler, of the Telephone Association of Maine. “It would be pretty tough to compete in the broadband market with someone who doesn’t have to make a profit and could create funds through taxation to do whatever they want. It would limit the incentive of private enterprise to invest in broadband.”
The federal stimulus package includes $7 billion for national broadband expansion, something Osler said could quickly change Maine’s broadband landscape.
“There’s going to be a lot going on,” she said. “We need a comprehensive state goal for a broadband plan.”
About 90 percent of Mainers already have access to high-speed Internet, said Phil Lindley, executive director of the ConnectME Authority. He said only about half of those with access actually use it.
The ConnectME Authority, which is funded through a 0.25 percent tax on in-state telephone, Internet, satellite and television services, has spent $2.2 million and expanded high-speed access to more than 20,000 homes, Lindley said.
The bill is scheduled for a work session on March 26.
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