Mount Desert considers $13.3 million tab for universal broadband access
The town of Mount Desert recently learned that it would cost about $13.3 million to extend broadband Internet access to every household in town, the Mount Desert Islander reported last week.
Tilson Technology Management, an information technology services and network construction firm in Portland, provided the estimate to the town as part of its study of the town’s telecommunications needs.
Aaron Paul, one of the Tilson broadband consultants who conducted the study, said the goal is to provide ubiquitous Wi-Fi access in village centers and in harbor areas. He presented a summary of the study’s findings and four broadband options to the Mount Desert Board of Selectmen on Sept. 21, according to the newspaper.
The town could create a universal broadband network through municipal financing and ownership or a system owned by investors, Paul said.
He told town officials that universal broadband access has been shown to boost job creation and increase median household incomes and average home values.
The town’s economic development committee has said the expansion of broadband Internet access throughout the town would encourage and support business development and increase the year-round population.
In July, the firm won a $270,335 contract to design, engineer and build a broadband network in a section of Ellsworth.
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