In the next year or two, Maine will receive about $150 million to $250 million for broadband, Ouellette said. “The United States is going to get wired up one way or another ... This is the opportunity right now. So I’d encourage you if you’re interested, to do something, because if you don’t, you will not have a chance at significant grant money again. In a couple of years I think the money will all go away.”

He told the boards he thought their towns would have “a very good chance” at winning funding for separate projects or a joint one. And he said proposals that are community-driven, publicly owned and regional have helped him win every grant he has sought. Ouellette urged them to especially think about one question: Why are they looking at doing a project? They will need to be able to answer that fully and articulately and get their towns on board, he said.

 

Ouellette said owning the infrastructure puts towns in control and can help them better serve their communities. Responding to selectmen’s questions, he said whichever internet service provider is picked would handle technical support and billing.

 

Ouellette said a broadband utility district can pay for itself via subscriptions; if subscriber counts fall short, the town would be responsible for shortfalls on debt payments, according to the presentation.

 

Wiscasset broadband committee member and Maine Broadband Coalition’s connectivity booster for Lincoln County, Evan Goodkowsky, said in a next-day phone interview, some of the town-specific figures Ouellette presented appeared to need fixing and he expects Ouellette will revise the report this month.

 

Months of committee meetings preceded the workshop with the selectboards. How did he feel it went? Goodkowsky said the discussion appeared to give officials more questions than they came there with, which is what typically happens when towns start talking broadband and ways to get it, so he was encouraged – and encouraged that all three selectboards took part.