King seeks oversight details of FairPoint's broadband expansion
U.S. Sen. Angus King has asked the federal regulators how they will ensure FairPoint Communications appropriately uses millions in federal subsidies to expand broadband Internet access in rural Maine.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the King, an independent senator from Maine, sent a letter with two other senators to the Federal Communications Commission last week asking asking for more details about the accountability and enforcement measures the agency has in place.
Charlotte, N.C.-based FairPoint Communications announced two months ago it had received $13.3 million in annual federal funding to expand broadband access for rural areas in Maine. The companies says it will use the funding, from the FCC’s Phase II of its Connect America Fund for Maine, to construct and maintain new infrastructure to offer broadband service in approximately 35,500 underserved locations in Maine.
The Press Herald reported that King sent the letter after several rural Maine residents asking his office how the project will impact them, and he didn’t know.
Mike Reed, FairPoint’s president in Maine, told the Press Herald that company hasn’t yet developed the details for where exactly the new infrastructure will be built, and was surprised by King’s letter.
He said the company will be as transparent as possible about where the broadband infrastructure will be built. FairPoint is interested in working with communities and the state to make the best use of the funds, Reed told the Press Herald.
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