SKOWHEGAN — Area officials say there’s a need for more broadband Internet access in Somerset County, so they’re meeting to talk about how applying for a grant might help.

Business leaders and town officials plan to meet at 6 p.m. Thursday to address broadband issues and an upcoming application for a grant, said Jeff Hewett, Skowhegan’s director of economic and community development.

Hewett said the meeting is a precursor to a regional planning grant to look at the existing Internet services and what it will take to increase current capacity.

The grant would be administered through ConnectME Authority, a part of Maine state government whose mission is to get broadband to all Mainers.

Officials say 59 percent of Maine’s 141,000 small businesses don’t have a website, while 55 percent of businesses see no reason to have one. Residentially, 35,500 Mainers are still using slow dial-up online services.

Representatives from Skowhegan, Canaan, Cornville, Madison, Norridgewock and Starks, along with the Skowhegan Economic Development Corp., the Somerset Economic Development Corp. and the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, have been invited to the Thursday meeting at the Skowhegan Community Center on Poulin Drive to discuss broadband capacity in the region.

Large and small businesses, nonprofits, health organizations, students and others have been invited to help determine the region’s existing capacity and what residents will need for Internet service in the future, Hewett said. The meeting is open to the public.

A survey asking area residents what they have for Internet service was sent out in August.

Heather Johnson, executive director of the Somerset Economic Development Corp., is organizing two other groups to study the broadband issue in Somerset County.

“This is a major impact on attracting people to the area. One of the first requirements most home buyers are looking for is high-speed Internet, either for private use or for work,” he said.

 

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