The Boothbay Harbor broadband committee learned Dec. 7, broadband provider Lincolnville Communications (LCI) has shifted all its December efforts to build-out elsewhere. The committee has been discussing build-out of all unserved parts of town and possible expanded access to a fiber optic network with LCI, Spectrum and Consolidated Communications.

LCI Vice President of Engineering and Operations Randal Manning and Director of Sales and Marketing Alan Hinsey said Maine Department of Education partnered with ConnectME to make $12 million of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds available to projects expanding fiber optics to students’ and teachers’ homes across the state. LCI won a $2.6 million contract to fully expand access in Appleton, Hope and Lincolnville and $480,000 to expand access in Bristol.

“So, I can't give you answers to the questions you have,” said Manning. “But we're still very interested in doing what we want to do for you. We think the experience we're having with this particular grant is going to make us better prepared to be a provider for the Boothbay Harbor area.”

He said LCI went with Appleton, Hope and Lincolnville because it owns all the telephone poles, unlike on the peninsula, so the work would be quicker. Said Manning, “Now these (CARES funds) will relieve that money so we can do it elsewhere and we planned on investing some money in our territories out in this area.”

Hinsey said the beginning of fiber expansion onto the peninsula will come from a future ConnectME grant which builds out some of Edgecomb. Since LCI piggybacks off Spectrum’s backbone down Route 27, LCI cannot serve areas directly off Route 27; Manning said LCI plans to I nvest in its own backbone.

“We want to bring it down from Route 1 into Boothbay … We have access to anywhere we want to join, we have the redundancy going in and out of Boothbay Harbor … We feel that not only is it a good idea to have a second path … We had actually planned on building it, we just had to get the interest down in Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor to do it.”

LCI will draft a proposal answering all the committee's questions and give it to the committee to review, said Hinsey. When the other projects are through, engineers will be freed up and LCI can work with the committee, including helping determine how much for the town to budget for an agreement, he said.