More than $9M awarded for broadband expansion
Three telecom companies in Maine will receive more than $9 million in federal stimulus money to expand broadband service in Penobscot and Somerset counties.
The funds are part of a $1.2 billion U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program to boost high-speed Internet access in rural and underserved areas. Maine's $9.4 million share will go to Wisconsin-based TDS Telecom, which will direct the funds to three of its subsidiaries, the Hartland and St. Albans Telephone Co., the Somerset Telephone Co. and the West Penobscot Telephone and Telegraph Co., according to a press release from U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
TDS Telecom plans to supplement the grant with additional funds, bringing the total investment to about $12.5 million, according to Maine Public Broadcasting Network. The investment would bring high-speed Internet service to more than 5,000 people and 100 businesses in Maine.
Last December, a broadband expansion plan known as the Three Ring Binder project led by Biddeford-based GWI was awarded more than $25 million in stimulus funds to build a 1,100-mile network.
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