FirstLight secures federal funding to enhance Maine’s middle-mile fiber reach
FirstLight has received federal funding over five years through the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) and the Partnerships Enabling Middle Mile Program to build fiber in the remainder of its Maine-based Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) territory.
The service provider’s ILEC territory encompasses parts of Western Maine, including Albany Township, Andover, Bethel, Bryant Pond, Buckfield, Canton, Hartford, Hebron, Locke Mills, Mason Township, Minot, Newry, North Norway, North Turner, Roxbury Pond, Sumner, Turner, Upton, West Bethel, West Paris, and Woodstock.
It did not disclose the amount of funding it received for this project.
Community partnership approach
Funded by the American Rescue Plan Capital Projects Funds, the Partnerships Enabling Middle Mile (PEMM) Program addresses large-scale, regional broadband needs by leveraging middle-mile infrastructure and maximizing private and community financial contributions to enable last-mile connections.
By partnering with PEMM, MCA and the Mahoosuc Broadband Committee and towns in the Mahoosuc area, FirstLight will be able to help close the broadband divide in Western Maine.
“This is great news for the residents of these communities that currently don’t have access to the infrastructure necessary to take advantage of modern communications, telehealth, online education, and entertainment amenities. Reliable broadband is increasingly necessary to define a livable community,” said Patrick Coughlin, Chief Development Officer for Patrick Coughlin for FirstLight.
A rural focus
Since many of these communities are rural, it is challenging for providers like FirstLight to build fiber to communities from a cost perspective. The provider can make these builds possible by accessing these funding sources.
FirstLight submitted a funding application earlier this year to help offset the cost of building fiber in its Maine residential ILEC territory. This is the second round of funding from the MCA. FirstLight partnered with the Mahoosuc Broadband Committee and the Town of Minot in its application process.
“The Mahoosuc Broadband Committee, the communities of Bethel, Gilead, Greenwood, Woodstock, Albany, and Oxford County, are thrilled to know that their collective vision of universal, reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service will be realized by a very generous grant from the Maine Connectivity Authority to FirstLight,” said Mia Purcell, Vice President of Economic Development and Impact, Community Concepts Finance Corporation, representing the Mahoosuc Broadband Committee. “This will be a game changer for the future of the Mahoosuc area and the other towns in FirstLight’s service area as an attractive place to live, work and play.”
FirstLight has been continually updating the reach of its last mile network for consumers in its Maine ILEC territory.
In late 2022, the provider announced its fiber-based broadband network in parts of Maine. FirstLight’s fiber network had passed over 4,880 homes in its Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) regions comprising several Central and Western Maine towns.
The provider's broadband and fiber efforts could also be a boon for remote workers that need symmetrical broadband services. Maine's Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Research and Information, revealed that 160,000 jobs had been previously identified as remote.
As an alternative competitive provider, FirstLight serves several large-scale educational, healthcare, government, and financial services institutions, manufacturers, and small businesses, providing low latency, symmetrical broadband in Maine. It also offers many Maine organizations cloud, data center, and cybersecurity solutions.
FirstLight currently has nearly 4,000 fiber route miles in Maine and continues to expand its network. Its fiber network connects to the cable landing station in Halifax, Nova Scotia and traverses a unique route through the state and into Boston, Mass.
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.