PORTLAND — An Internet superhighway fast enough to download a feature film in half a second has been completed six months ahead of schedule in Maine, reports the Portland Press Herald.

The Portland Press Herald says the 10-gigabit network, known as the Three Ring Binder, connects more than 100 communities from Skowhegan to Perry to Frenchville. It’s been completed within its budget of less than $32 million.

Telecommunications experts say the network provides the backbone for high-speed Internet access to benefit rural communities and attract businesses to the state.

The Three Ring Binder project is named for the three rings of fiber-optic networks that circle through rural western, eastern and northern Maine. It spans 110,000 households, 600 schools, libraries and other institutions and 38 government facilities. Now Maine has a direct high-speed link to Halifax and Boston.