Bill to limit UMS broadband role debated
A bill backed by FairPoint that would restrict the University of Maine System from providing broadband services to other institutions was hotly debated yesterday in a legislative committee hearing.
LD 1697, submitted last month by Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, would prevent state entities from providing telecommunications services to anyone other than their tenants. In a hearing of the Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee, Fitts said the bill "makes the University of Maine play by the same rules as private providers for pole connections," and would prohibit the university system from expanding its broadband network that currently connects it with the Jackson Laboratory, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Supporters of the bill, including FairPoint Communications, say it will prevent unfair competition for broadband expansion by subsidized agencies like UMS.
Opponents of the bill, however, say it could hurt efforts to expand broadband to rural areas of the state, and expressed doubt that FairPoint will be able to achieve that goal.
A broadband expansion plan proposed by a public-private partnership that includes UMS recently received $25.4 million in federal funding, while a competing plan by FairPoint has yet to receive any funds.
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