BOWDOINHAM — Bowdoinham is moving closer to a long-term solution for its broadband issues.

ConnectME awarded the town a $40,000 grant in July to plan upgrades to its internet infrastructure. The agency works to bring better internet to underserved rural areas, The grant enables Bowdoinham to partner with Lincolnville Communications to design and engineer a fiber network to provide broadband internet to the unserved and underserved areas of Bowdoinham.

Underserved areas of Bowdoinham include Carding Machine Road, White Road, Dingley Road, Beechnut Ridge and Pork Point Road, as well as smaller side roads in those areas. A total of about 140 households have poor internet speeds.

Lincolnville provides updates on their engineering work to Town Manager Bill Post. Post informed the town’s Selectboard this week that the company is considering a fiber-optic path from Alna through Dresden and Richmond to Bowdoinham.

The provider is also looking at working with companies that have existing lines in town.

“The board wants a fiber system,” said Post. “It doesn’t make sense to put anything else in.”

Cable and internet providers are often hesitant to expand broadband into rural areas because the small number of customers gained doesn’t always cover the costs of expanding service.

Bowdoinham’s neighbor Bowdoin has been actively looking for a solution, and consultant Mark Oullette of Axiom Technologies encouraged residents there to look at installing their own fiber because of its staying power. He said the town would not have to reinvest for 20 years.

Bowdoin has recently made some progress in talks with provider Comcast. The company has existing infrastructure in town, and has recently shown interest in extending services. The provider upgraded its fiber optic service on existing poles, and is expected to begin expansion in May according, to cable and internet committee Chairman John Lewis.

A fiber optic network brings better speeds and has a greater reach without interruption than traditional copper wire networks. The increased speed depends on the provider, but according to the FCC fiber speeds have the capability to exceed cable modem or DSL speeds by 10 to 100 times.

Braodband expansion to rural areas is a statewide issue. A  $600 million federal omnibus bill was passed by Congress to expand rural broadband nationally. ConnectME held a series of community meetings in July to help prepare Maine municipalities to go after the available funds.

Post said Lincolnville is on track to have engineering research done by the end of the year. At that time, they should be ready to share the potential paths to high-speed internet in Bowdoinham.

“At that time, there will be a meeting and we’ll get a presentation,” said Post. “That will probably happen in January.”

With planning completed and a potential cost in mind, the town could once again apply for a grant through ConnectME. For towns nearing the last step of the process, the organization offers assistance for the infrastructure to get the job done.
chris@timesrecord.com