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ELLSWORTH — The Maine Community Foundation’s new Community Broadband Grant Program has awarded $130,000 in grants to 11 communities across Maine, including a program that will help improve broadband access in Oxford County.
The grant program aims to increase the number of Maine people, communities, and businesses with access to high-speed internet service and improve skills, knowledge and opportunity to effectively use the technology.
Grantees include:
* NORTHERN FOREST CENTER, for the Maine West Initiative to expand digital inclusion and equity in northern Oxford County.
* CITY OF BIDDEFORD, to develop a broadband plan to move toward becoming a “Smart Community.”
* NEWPORT PUBLIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, to secure the technology to provide digital online classes to benefit older adults.
* OUR KATAHDIN, to provide staff and expertise for the Katahdin Region Broadband Utility to begin community outreach and education.
* TOWN OF DEER ISLE, to conduct planning and preliminary engineering for extending broadband internet service to all residents and businesses.
“Increasingly, quality of life — and communication — for Maine people, communities, and businesses is improved by the ability to access reliable, affordable high-speed internet,” said Maggie Drummond-Bahl, MaineCF senior program officer. “We are proud to be one of many partners helping to boost local and regional efforts to improve connectivity across Maine.”
The Community Broadband Grant Program will continue in 2019. Details will be available at www.mainecf.org. The deadline for applications is expected to be in the fall.
