PORTLAND, Maine — *EDITORIAL NOTE: The video above was shot on 02-25-2022
Maine is slated to receive $28 million to expand broadband services in the state.
The state's four-member Congressional delegation said Friday the funding is from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program. The delegation said in a statement that funding is especially important for Maine because it is one of the most rural states in the country.
The funding will grow broadband access to almost 15,000 residents of the state, the delegation said. The members said in a statement that lack of broadband hurts Mainers because it ”restricts their ability to compete in a 21st-century economy and to utilize educational, health, and other important public services."
The money is part of the COVID-19 relief bill that became law in December 2020. The delegation said it will provide high-speed internet service in 24 unserved rural communities in Maine.