Rural Maine short on broadband

Editor’s Note: This is the third report in a multipart series about the availability of broadband Internet service in Maine.

Complaints are rampant that Internet service in rural Maine is inadequate, although the Legislature recently took steps to address this situation. Even so, it is not clear how quickly rural Maine will see any noticeable improvements or new broadband service launches as a result.

Sam Elowitch, a Web site developer from Farmington, tried for years to run his broadband-dependent business using a satellite dish, a solution he found unsatisfactory. Finally, out of frustration and knowing that he could not increase his business without access to reliable broadband, he sold his home in Wilton and relocated his family to Farmington where a broadband line was available.

“In short, satellite in those days, about five years ago, was not a good option. I do hear it has improved lately, but I am skeptical that the fundamental problems have gone away,” said Elowitch. “So, I was not a very effective Web developer in those days because it took me three times as long to get my work done.”

He admits that his decision to relocate in order to have access to broadband services places him in a unique category.

“I am sure there must be someone [else]. Many have threatened to do so, but I do not know if anyone has carried it out,” said Elowitch.

He reports that over the past three years, Farmington has seen substantial growth of digital subscriber line, or DSL, service in the downtown area and a somewhat more modest expansion in areas away from downtown, chiefly in the form of broadband by cable modems supplied by Bee Line Cable, “although the quality of the latter service leaves much to be desired,” said Elowitch.

He established a nonprofit advocacy organization, the Rural Broadband Initiative, to provide support and awareness about the importance of broadband availability statewide.

“It has played some part in casting a bright light on the issue of broadband and demonstrating that it is absolutely essential to Maine’s economic future,” said Elowitch. “One thing that inspired me to get involved in this issue was the tendency of certain folks to count any town that had a single customer with broadband as ‘having broadband.’ That is, if 20 people in the middle of a particular town had DSL, even though 200 potential and desperate customers lived outside the zone of availability, in the minds of providers and policymakers, that town ‘had broadband,’ and in their minds the problem was solved. But that was a fallacy and a very persistent and dangerous one.”

He sees the same story repeated throughout Maine. Where the population density can support a profitable service, broadband service providers appear because they can see what amounts to low-hanging fruit and easy profits.

“There is even some competition in the town centers. The trouble is that there are vast swaths of the state where broadband still cannot be gotten by homes and businesses at any cost short of a proprietary solution such as a T-1 line,” Elowitch said. Adding T-1 lines can involve building line capacity and can be expensive, often prohibitively so.

Chris Johnson, an information technology director for a software company who resides in Somerville, near Augusta, points to the lack of population density, lack of alignment with roads as a primary corridor through the town, and the hilly nature of the land around Sheepscot Stream as the primary obstacles hindering broadband expansion in his community.

“The phone company connects people in Somerville via remotes tied back to the Whitefield switch, so DSL is not available. The cable company could not profit from putting cable in town due to the road system and population density,” said Johnson. “Many of the people in Somerville live on dirt roads. But even to get from the north end of town to the south cannot be done without driving out through another town to get there.”

An attempt to attract a local wireless Internet service provider, or WISP, proved unsuccessful after a survey, conducted by town selectmen and Johnson, of existing towers and terrain concluded that the coverage for Somerville was too spotty from any one location, and the installation of new towers was too expensive given the number of potential customers.

“So we were unable to get wireless service either. Satellite service is of course not available on a town or community basis. It is an individual choice. But personally, it is not adequate based on poor reliability due to bad weather, latency or signal delay which makes it a poor performer when it comes to interactive use, and price because it is still quite expensive for what you get,” Johnson said.

Brian Booher serves as chairman of the Bar Harbor Communications & Technology Task Force. Several broadband providers serve downtown Bar Harbor, according to Booher, including Adelphia Cable, Verizon DSL and Great Works Internet. The town has done little to attract multiple broadband services, which are investing in Bar Harbor for reasons of their own.

“Outside of Bar Harbor, your options dwindle to Adelphia Cable or a satellite provider such as WildBlue or DirecWay, now known as HughesNet. Adelphia is the only one doing much to provide service in the rural areas of Bar Harbor or Town Hill,” said Booher. “Adelphia is good unless you live beyond the reach of their network, say in a recent housing development or on a rural road where they have no service. You may be quoted several thousands of dollars by Adelphia for them to extend their network even a couple hundred yards from where they have cable on telephone poles to your home if it’s on a private road.”

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of Adelphia’s assets in Maine and elsewhere to Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

Booher said he has observed a collective shift in attitude as people realize they can be more productive by working some at home, such as evenings after the children are in bed or mornings before everyone wakes up.

“But this work style requires broadband access to be effective. Access to broadband is becoming a growing problem for users when they cannot get it where they wish to live or where they can afford to live,” said Booher.

“Technically, you can get some kind of broadband service anywhere there is already phone service because you could at least obtain a full or fractional T-1 circuit from a Telecom provider. But that would cost many hundreds of dollars per month for a circuit that is not as fast as basic Cable or DSL service. Pricing can be an issue even for satellite service because while it is available almost anywhere, its total cost, including monthly fees, is too much for some people.”

Next: A new state board, the Advanced Technology Infrastructure Authority, will attempt to improve broadband service in Maine’s rural areas.