At its April 28, 2021, meeting ConnectMaine board members voted to change the definition of broadband in Maine from a download speed of at least 25 Mbps and an upload speed of at least 3 Mbps to 100 Mbps in both directions. The law that created ConnectMaine requires that the body revisit the definition of broadband it uses in funding broadband improvement projects every year. A public hearing on this change was held May 13. The board will consider testimony from that hearing, along with written submissions from interested parties, when it takes final action the change at its meeting on May 26.
This change, if sustained on May 26, will dramatically change the landscape for the many public entities seeking financial support for infrastructure projects from the several waves of state and federal funds becoming available in the very near future. It marks a dramatic departure from the incremental, penny-pinching projects funded by ConnectMaine to this point. With more funds suddenly in prospect, and the likelihood that this is a once-in-a-generation funding opportunity, it makes sense to build an infrastructure that, once established, with stand the test of time, that will suffice for community needs for multiple decades.
This approach upsets providers with investments in technology inadequate to the proposed new standard. For instance ISPs that employ fixed wireless, DSL or geosynchronous satellite technology probably can't meet this specification at all. While low earth orbit satellite service, e.g. Starlink, can meet the download spec if there are no trees in the way, the upload side appears to be currently out of reach. Some cable television providers may be able to meet these specs technically, but on a shared cable medium it may be difficult to maintain that bandwidth during the business usage periods.
In short, the new specification can best be met, and possibly can only be met, with optical fiber infrastructure. Financially stressed providers wedded to lower-performing technologies may be understandably upset. But it surely seems like the best use of public money is to fix the critical problem of inadequate broadband infrastructure in a manner that it doesn't have to fixed again in 3 years.
And given the amount of public funding on its way, and the guidance so far provided for that funding, it appears that there will be far less subsidized backing for internet providers building out their own network, and far more emphasis on using public funds to build publicly own and controlled networks, with technical support contracted out to vendors on a competitive basis. How all this shakes out organizationally is very much in flux.
One of the big question marks in some communities: how publicly funded infrastructure efforts to serve the unservcd constructively interact with encumbent broadband providers who serve a segment of the same geographic area. If the established service is technologically obsolete, then over-building, covering the same roads with the newer technology is reasonable. However, if the current vendor is providing optimum service, then some new form of cooperative arrangement will need to be worked out over time.
So, more power to ConnectMaine and its stance in favor of setting a broadband definition that will assuresthe best long-term value from public monies spent to bring modern broadband to the unserved.
