AUGUSTA – Maine ranks high in a number of studies measuring access to the Internet, but that access does not extend to all the rural areas of the state. That, business experts say, hurts Maine’s competitiveness.

“Look, for example, to the cost of ordering something,” University of Maine business professor Nory Jones said during a recent interview. “The cost of doing it the old-fashioned way through a paper invoice and calling on the phone to get bids cost $15. Using the Internet, it costs 80 cents.”

Jones said there are many such examples as business has been transformed by use of technology and the Internet. She said dial-up access is better than no access, but it simply is not competitive with broadband.

Dial-up is slow to transfer data while broadband allows fast transfer of data, and in some cases, very fast. For example, a file that may take several minutes to download on a dial-up connection can be downloaded nearly instantly with a broadband connection. For a business, time is money.

“If they are going to compete in this economy, they need to be as efficient as possible,” Jones said. “There are programs in use now that allow a small, local business to find what they need at the best price. That enhances their ability to compete.”

State Economist Laurie LaChance said Maine has done “very well” in developing broadband access. The state has a network of fiber optic cables and in some areas cable TV companies offer broadband through their cables. Another option is DSL, or digital subscriber lines, which use regular phone lines but must be located relatively close to a phone company switching center. Some rural areas are getting service from wireless or satellite technology.

However, many rural areas in Maine do not have access to broadband because the economics are not there, said LaChance.

“Going the last few miles can be very expensive per customer, and what options that some have are more expensive,” she said.

Nevertheless. broadband will be needed for businesses to be competitive, she said.

“Internet access should be looked on like we have looked on highways and bridges – as a necessary part of our infrastructure,” LaChance said.

Gov. John Baldacci is considering how best to address the problem. He recognizes the importance of a complex issue that involves both state government and the private sector. He said phone and cable companies have to be part of the solution to provide broadband access to rural areas that currently aren’t served.

“We’ve just got to have it,” he said.

Brian Hamel, president of the Loring Development Authority, has led the effort to develop businesses at the former Air Force base. He said the effort would have been “exceedingly difficult” if the Loring Commerce Centre did not have broadband access.

“Businesses want a very good telecommunications infrastructure in place before they will look at you,” he said. Hamel said that now includes broadband, not just the telephone.

Thomas College business professor Jim Libby agreed. The former state lawmaker and 2002 GOP gubernatorial candidate said the Internet is as important to economic development as highways.

“If a business can’t access the Internet as well as its competitor, it cannot compete,” he said. “We can’t kid ourselves about developing jobs in rural areas if the businesses can’t compete.”

The state House majority leader, Rep. John Richardson, D-Brunswick, said the issue was studied two years ago. He said the Legislature’s Business and Economic Development Committee identified lack of broadband access as an impediment to development in rural areas of the state.

“What happened since then? Well, I think we all got sidetracked by the budget crisis and the health crisis,” he said. “I think we have to get back to it because it still is an issue for many areas of our state.”

Richardson said there are many professionals, such as financial planners, who can do their work anywhere with adequate access to the Internet. He said those are the kinds of desirable jobs that need to be encouraged.

“I think you will see us looking at this issue in the second session,” he said. Lawmakers reconvene for the second regular session Jan. 7, 2004.

A major concern is the cost of developing rural access, Richardson said. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is co-sponsoring legislation to provide tax credits to companies that invest in rural areas with expansion of existing technologies or new ones.

“Unfortunately, families and businesses in underserved areas like Maine are not able to take advantage of these advancements,” Snowe said. “Many small businesses in Maine have stated that the lack of broadband is a serious deficiency in their ability to do business. My legislation will change that.”

The legislation would provide a 10 percent tax credit for investments in existing technology and a 20 percent credit for new technologies.