Representatives from Fidium Fiber and town officials celebration the completion of a fiber network during a ceremony at the Wiscasset Community Center on Thursday, Aug. 14. Fidium Fiber recently completed connectivity projects in 10 Lincoln County towns and neighboring Woolwich. (Ali Juell photo)
Lincoln County is more connected than ever after becoming Maine’s first county with fiber internet in every municipality.
Fidium Fiber celebrated the completion of their connectivity projects in 10 Lincoln County towns and neighboring Woolwich at the Wiscasset Community Center on Thursday, Aug. 14.
The Consolidated Communications LLC subsidiary expanded fiber network access in Waldoboro, Nobleboro, Wiscasset, Edgecomb, Alna, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Whitefield, Dresden, Southport, and Woolwich in a coordinated effort with state and local officials to address internet inequity.
“We’re finally here,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Evan Goodkowsky during the Aug. 14 event. “There’s 1,000-plus households that didn’t have the internet at all a year ago, and today they do.”
The Maine Connectivity Authority approved a $6 million broadband expansion grant for the connectivity partnership in August 2024. Consolidated Communications contributed more than $20 million to the project on top of about $1.2 million from Lincoln County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Other municipalities in Lincoln County have built up their fiber internet access using other grants or town funds, said Goodkowsky during a phone interview on Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Somerville and Monhegan created their own municipal networks through separate partnerships with Axiom Technologies.
Janet Blevins, of the Edgecomb Website Committee, speaks about Lincoln County’s accomplishment of having fiber-optic internet available in all of its towns at the Wiscasset Community Center on Thursday, Aug. 14. Edgecomb was one of 11 towns outfitted with a fiber network through Fidium Fiber. (Ali Juell photo)
Through a mixture of public and private funding, Mary Ellen Barnes, Coastal Maine Regional Broadband’s community digital planner, said Damariscotta, Newcastle, Jefferson, Bremen, Bristol, and South Bristol received fiber network through Lincolnville Communications Inc. Goodkowsky said parts of Nobleboro and Alna also received fiber through LCI.
Westport Island received some of its fiber network through Spectrum, according to Barnes. She said parts of Fidium’s development reached other parts of the island.
The patchwork of fiber optic development, including Fidium’s effort, means Lincoln County is the first in Maine to have fiber internet in every town, Barnes said.
The milestone has been years in the making. Kendra Jo Grindle, the Maine Connectivity Authority’s director of community strategy, said she has been working with Fidium and county officials for “the better part of a decade” to solve the issue of internet access in Lincoln County.
“There were lots of ups and downs, but this community of people really kept things going and kept us moving forward,” said Judy Tunkle, who chairs the Dresden Broadband & Technology Committee.
Compared to other forms of internet service, fiber-optic lines allow for higher bandwidth and faster internet speed. For the foreseeable future, Goodkowsky said fiber is the most advanced internet technology available.
“(Fiber) just gets rid of a lot of the inefficiencies of older technology and replaces it with something that is more resilient — both to time and to wear, but also to outages,” he said.
On top of higher internet speed, connectivity is associated with higher real estate values and improved educational access, Sarah Davis, Fidium’s vice president of market development, said.
“Generations of residents can enjoy the beauty and quality of life afforded by this area without having to miss out on the myriad of opportunities that come with the best internet,” Davis said.
Despite the county’s accomplishment, stable internet access remains an issue throughout Maine. There are still 24,000 state residents without connectivity, Grindle said, but Lincoln County’s collaboration with Fidium is one example of closing the connectivity gap.
“I’m really excited for what this means for your county moving forward,” she said.
The majority of Lincoln County is now online, but Goodkowsky said it’s important to note a small share of residents is still without internet, like people in off-the-grid residences.
Barnes said the collective effort and passion put into the Fidium partnership will benefit the county’s culture and economy for generations.
“Lincoln County is a small county,” Barnes said. “We don’t have big factories, we don’t have big cities, but look at what we’ve accomplished.”
For more information, go to fidiumfiber.com.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
