Driving around Sebago Lake, most Lakes Region residents have a difficult time in some, or many areas receiving a good signal on their cell phones.

Every cell phone user has had to deal with poor reception and the occasional dropped call, but certain regions are more notorious for these annoyances than others.

The Lakes Region, and points west and north do not receive cell phone coverage at the same capacity as the greater Portland area. And areas that are more rural often do not receive any coverage.

Many residents are frustrated. Kevin MacDonald, of Raymond, uses AT&T, and cannot make calls from his own home. Though MacDonald knows that the area’s terrain affects his service, he said that traveling for work has opened his eyes to the fact that cellular coverage in Maine falls short.

“I travel all over New England for work, and Maine has, by far, the worst cell phone coverage of any New England state,” said MacDonald.

Because of this lack of wireless service, Gov. John Baldacci has made it a goal of his administration to increase coverage breadth in Maine. Baldacci is implementing this through the “Connect ME Initiative.” Baldacci cited Maine’s growing economy as the impetus for the initiative.

“Maine businesses are competing globally and need to be able to access broadband and cellular technology wherever they are in the state. ConnectME is an important part of my economic plan,” Baldacci said.

The Connect ME Initiative does not only include plans to increase cellular service in Maine. Legislation that went into effect in May of this year is intended to “advance communications technology infrastructure” in Maine, which includes broadband (Internet and other communications services) and cellular services. The ConnectME law, which can be read in its entirety at www.maine.gov/connectme/law/index.htm, has several components, including the ConnectME Authority. The authority is made up of individuals handpicked by Baldacci to see that the legislation is effective.

One of these is Daniel Breton, who was appointed chairman of the authority in late 2006. Breton lives in Portland, and is the director of government affairs at Verizon. Breton said he views the ConnectME Authority as “a partnership between private business and government.”

Breton said that the way the ConnectME Initiative plans to bring coverage to more rural areas in Maine is through cooperation with wireless providers. Those providers that are involved with the initiative by remitting a portion of their revenues to the state are eligible to apply for grants to fund new cell tower sites.

Breton gave an example of how this would work: If a town is in need of cellular service, it would find a provider that participates in the initiative. Together, they would apply for a grant. The authority then considers the application based on greatest need and greatest outcome. So, if a town was looking to provide service to 300 cell phone users, it would take priority over a town looking to provide service to just 80 cell phone users.

Breton said wireless phone service is a “highly competitive industry” and that companies can benefit from participating in the initiative because they can get permission to build towers in remote locations.

Since the ConnectME legislation has been active for less than a year, Breton said there have not been many investors so far, but he expects that to change. For now, he is glad that the authority is able to start funding.

“Other attempts to bring a focus to this issue haven’t taken hold. Bringing parties together, which the ConnectME Authority does, formalizes the process,” said Breton.

Individual wireless providers are also working independently to bring more coverage to Maine. Phil Lindley, who works for the office of the Public Advocate, said that though the state did a study last year to map out all the cell tower sites in the state, it is nearly impossible to get an accurate figure.

“New cell tower sites are going up all the time,” said Lindley.

One provider that has recently experienced substantial growth in Southern Maine is US Cellular. Kelly Whalen, a spokeswoman for the company, said that US Cellular recently added 17 new cell towers in southern Maine, including one in Standish. She said that Maine is a growing state that US Cellular is focusing on particularly.

“Maine is just an important market for US Cellular,” said Whalen.

In addition to those 17 new sites, US Cellular plans to add 36 more this year. Whalen said that several sites will be added with the help of federal funding, but that US Cellular is interested in working with the state as well, and is involved with the ConnectME Initiative.

“We work extremely closely with the state of Maine, and Gov. Baldacci,” said Whalen.

Whether it’s private businesses or the state taking measures to improve cell phone reception in the Lakes Region, and throughout Maine, cell phone users will no doubt welcome improvements to take away from the frustration of a weak signal.

Janet Verplanck, who works at the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, said that oftentimes, visitors will come in asking where to go in town to get a signal.

“We’ll have visitors come in and say ‘where can I get cell phone reception?’ and we send them up to Hancock Lumber or another spot where we know they can get service. They just have to find a spot in town to get a signal,” said Verplanck.

Cell coverage growing in Lakes Region, albeit slowly