Maine Fiber Touts Plan for Expanding Open Access Rural Broadband Network
Answering questions and facing the issues and arguments accompanying the expansion of rural broadband in Maine is nothing new for Dwight Allison, CEO of Maine Fiber Company.
"Maine Fiber was created to roll out the Three Ring Binder project," says Allison of his fledgling Portland company. "The project was designed to not only benefit individual consumers, but government institutions, towns, libraries, and the entire University of Maine system. The Three Ring Binder is a middle-mile project with open access. It is non-discriminatory, and will deliver high-speed broadband access and economic opportunity to the areas in Maine that have been waiting and deserve it most."
Maine Fiber Company, Inc, two months old and 30 investors strong, was formed to leverage $25 million in federal stimulus funds. "We had to come up with $7 million, and we did," says Allison. "There were six other projects in six other states similar to this one. I don't know what we did, or how we're different, but we made it."
The Three Ring Binder purports to connect what it labels the Northern, Southern, and Down East rings of the state. It refers to 1,100 miles of either 144- or 288-strand fiber optic cable providing dark fiber broadband service throughout Maine. When the project is completed more than 100 rural Maine communities with 110,000 households, 600 anchor institutions and 39 government facilities will be served that are not served today.
"This means that providers like Axiom can give broadband to customers cheaper," says Susan Corbett, Axiom CEO. "Axiom is a key player in creating a superior broadband structure in the state, but one company is not going to do it all. We have to work together, and my goal is to get everyone to the table to do that."
Maine Fiber Company, described as a dark-fiber provider, is not without its critics. Allison says of his independently owned and operated company, "We don't want to become a telecom carrier. I only want to run a wire. Sometimes people get irate because it's not running through their town, but it's not intended to. You don't want I-95 running into every town. This is the same thing."
With the federal government contributing 80% of the funding, there's also strong criticism that the project constitutes unfair competition. Allison addresses this head-on, saying, "FairPoint is complaining the most, although it has equal opportunity for access as a user. I predict this will eventually happen.
"Another complaint is that we're duplicating services, but I believe that existing fiber will reach capacity. The growth of data flowing into Maine exponentially was spurred by the advent of Apple iPhones five years ago, and this will only grow."
A third criticism involves the use of telephone poles. LD 1778 is a bill conceived to give Maine Fiber telephone pole access for necessary attachments. "This make-ready process can become difficult," explains Allison. "But I'm cautiously optimistic that we can work our way through this."
Once priced out of the ball park, broadband connection via the Three Ring Binder project is expected to bring the cost down to between $10 and $12 a mile. "We also hope to address competition by setting limits of no more than 20% for any individual carrier," says Allison.
He asked those who support the project to contact their legislators to urge their backing of LD 1778. "There is some urgency about getting in touch," said Tom Janenda, of Elevate Consulting & Communications. "If someone wants to tie this up they could actually put this funding in jeopardy."
"Maine Fiber is building a network for the future," said Allison, stressing the affordability and the scope of the project. "Our grandchildren will be able to use this network."
Work on the project is already underway, with full-scale construction beginning this spring. The federal grant requires completion within three years, but portions of the network could be operational by the end of 2010. December 1, 2012 is the timeline for the Three Ring Binder project.
Copyright © Machias Valley News Observer
