Presentation by Dwight Allison, CEO of Maine Fiber Company, Fletcher Kittredge, CEO of GWI, and Susan Corbett, CEO of Axiom technologies on uses and adoption of broadband in Maine. Presented in December, 2011
2. What is the challenge?
•49,000 Homes and Businesses
without broadband access in Maine
today
•Maine is 43rd
in broadband adoption
in the United States
3. Grant Award Match
Middle Mile:
– Three Ring Binder $25,400,000.00 $7,00,000.00
Mapping Planning Project:
Technical Assistance Project:
Strategic Planning Project:
– ConnectME $ 4,978,492.00 $1,343,835.00
Last Mile:
– TDS Telecom $ 9,400,000.00 $3,100,000.00
Public Computer Center:
– Maine State Library $ 1,400,000.00 $ 500,000.00
Sustainable Broadband Adoption:
– Axiom Technologies $ 1,400,000.00 $ 500,000.00
ARRA BIP/BTOP AWARDS
4. Total BTOP Investment for the
State of Maine
ARRA Funds $42,578,432.00
Grant Match $12,443.835.00
$55,022,327.00
5. What is the Three Ring Binder (“3RB”)?
- The 3RB is 1,100 miles of fiber optic cable being installed throughout Maine.
- The 3RB is being built with a $25.4 million Federal Stimulus Grant and $7.4 million of
private investor equity.
- The 3RB will be 50% complete by the end of 2011 with the balance completed by fall
2012.
- Maine Fiber Company (“MFC”) will be a “carrier of carriers” and will lease dark fiber
(no lit fiber) to its customers. Our customers will primarily be
telecommunication
companies operating in Maine.
- No one customer may lease more than 20% of the capacity of the 3RB in any one area.
The 3RB brings middle mile fiber to many rural areas of Maine on an open access,
non-discriminatory, low cost basis.
- From the 3RB, telecom carriers in Maine can build out last mile projects to connect
homes and businesses to broadband.
6. Who is Maine Fiber
Company?
- Maine Fiber Company is an independent, private, for-profit corporation,
which will build, own and operate the 3RB.
- MFC is unaffiliated with any telecom carrier to ensure fair and equal
access to the system for all competitors.
- MFC has formed a ten member advisory board (MFC AB) to make
recommendations regarding the construction, operation and use of
the 3RB.
- The MFC AB has helped MFC with establishing a process for reviewing
applications for subsidized fiber connections from Community Anchor
Institutions to the 3RB.
8. Community Anchor Institutions
- The 3RB will pass through 100 local Maine communities.
- The 3RB route was designed to pass by 600 community anchor institutions
(“CAI’s”), such as local libraries, schools, police stations, town halls, court houses
and medical buildings.
- To date, we have connected about 25 CAI’s (including a town hall, a fire
department, several medical centers, a library, several schools, and a community
center).
- We have approved about an additional 60 subsidized CAI connections and we are
still reviewing additional applications. We are also still accepting applications
but are on hold for approval of more applications at this time.
- Information about the company and the project can be found at
www.MaineFiberCo.com.
9. Washington County Education and Employment
through Sustainable Broadband Adoption
Farmers, Fishermen & Nurses
Education & Training blending natural resource-based industry
with 21st century technology.
Programs developed for “real-time” reporting to the State &
Federal Government.
Distance Learning Education Program connecting College of
Nursing & Health Professions in Lewiston, ME to Downeast
Community Hospital in Machias, ME.
11. Farmers & Fishermen
• 10 Fishermen Chosen
• 10 Farmers Chosen
• Broadband Connections Installed at Home or Business
• Individual Learning Plans for Subjects Crews and Families
• Rugged Laptop (Toughbook) to each Farmer & Fishermen
• Basic Computer Skills Classes Started 2/1/11
• Meeting with Consultants
12. Distance Learning Program:
Downeast Community Hospital
• Inaugural class of students
chosen
• A broadband connection was
installed at Downeast
Community Hospital
• Video conferencing equipment
installed at CoNHP & DECH
• SimMan, IV Simulator and
Video Microscope
16. • Historically, Maine’s network is the end of the road
• Maine will be a telecommunications bridge between
eastern seaboard and Canadian Maritimes
• Maine could potentially become telecommunications
bridge between eastern seaboard and Europe
Connecting to Canada/Points South
17. • 3RB is a middle mile
fiber project
• Telecommunications
providers are working to
extend the network to
last mile
• Developing the network
to be fast enough, cheap
enough, and reliable
enough for applications
such as cloud computing
Fiber to the Home/Premise
18. • Cloud Computing centralizes
computing resources in data
centers (the cloud)
• Consumers and businesses
access these resources through
the network
• Significant economic benefits
make new capabilities available
• Cloud computing is generating
$60 billion annually in sales in
North America
Cloud Computing
19. Data Centers
• Data Centers are vital
component to cloud
computing
• Maine is positioned to be a
key location for data
centers
• World class network
connectivity
• Low ambient temperature
• Lowest power prices in the
northeast
• Abundant sources of power
generation
• Hydro, Biomass, Natural gas,
Wind power
• Cheap and plentiful real estate
• Skilled workforce
20. • For 21st
Century, the network is the fundamental
infrastructure for the economy and society
• It must be fast enough, reliable enough, and cheap enough
to support the demands of constantly advancing
technologies
• Fast Enough: Means 1 Gb symmetric to homes/business and
100 Gb symmetric to wireless base stations
• Cheap Enough: Less than $100 per month for residences and
less than $500 for businesses
• Reliable Enough: Means 99.95% up time
The Three Ring Binder Network
21. What is the goal?
•To connect the 49,000 Homes and
Businesses without broadband
access in Maine today
•To move Maine from 43rd
in
broadband adoption in the United
States to #1
22. And the result will be….
• Economic growth leading to job growth
• Advanced telecom options (data centers, cloud computing)
to businesses
• Telehealth increasing access to healthcare
• Distance Learning Education via videoconferencing and
online courses
• Technical job training increasing the skills of our workforce
• Advanced public safety communications
• Increased tourism
• Decreased migration of our young people