UMS broadband involvement challenged
Two state lawmakers are proposing ways to limit the University of Maine System's involvement in plans to expand the state's broadband access.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Lisa Marrache, D-Waterville, has introduced a bill that would prevent UMS from using tuition money to fund broadband expansion efforts, and a bill in the House, introduced by Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, would keep the system from competing with existing broadband providers, according to Capitol News Service. The bills follow this month's announcement that a $25.4 million federal grant will fund a broadband expansion plan called the Three Ring Binder project, led by Biddeford-based Internet company GWI.
Jeff Letourneau, associate director of information technology at USM, said the system is playing only a small part in the public-private partnership involved in the Three Ring Binder project, and denied that tuition would ever be used to fund it, and that the expansion created any unfair competition. "What has happened over the years is that government has invested in broadband access in rural areas because the private sector was not responding to the need," he told the news service.
Hearings on both bills could be scheduled next month.
Go to the article from Capitol News Service >>
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