A Lincoln-based communications company seeks $5.57 million in federal stimulus money to provide high-speed Internet service to 3,400 homes and businesses in 63 Penobscot County towns, its owner said Wednesday.
Motorbrain Consulting Inc. is among 17 Maine Internet service providers seeking a piece of the $4.7 billion of first-round Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grants available nationwide.
The grant submission occurred this month. First-round awards will be announced in December, said Cheryl Russell, Motorbrain’s business development director.
“What we really believe is advantageous to our proposal is that the ‘last mile’ user would have satellite communications without cost,” Russell said Wednesday. “It’s not that we are asking for $5.5 million and keeping half of it. All of it is going right back out into the community. It truly is a ‘shovel-ready’ project.”
The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and governed by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. BTOP funds broadband infrastructure deployment in unserved or underserved areas to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, according to the administration’s Web site, ntia.doc.gov.
Motorbrain is assisting state officials at mapping areas where no broadband services exist and would — if it wins funding — provide that service via satellite for 24 months at no cost to the consumer, said Brad Libby, the company’s president.
The communities targeted include Burlington, Enfield, East Millinocket, Chester, Howland, Lee, Lincoln, Lowell, Mattawamkeag, Medway, Millinocket, Passadumkeag, Sherman and Wytopitlock within and near the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes regions.
“Pick any of the end of the roads around here. Frost Street might be one, Half Township Road. These ‘last mile’ users are in really rural parts of our area where it’s just not financially feasible for someone to run cable,” Libby said.
The company is an experienced satellite service provider. According to its proposal’s executive summary, Motorbrain has the installation contract for all HughesNet Broadband satellite systems in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Since it began tracking data in 2004, Motorbrain has installed more than 10,422 systems, with 4,130 in Maine.
Each month, Motorbrain installs between 500 and 600 satellite Internet systems in New England.
The state’s federal delegation, some state legislators and local government leaders have written letters of support for Motorbrain’s submission, including Millinocket Town Manager Eugene Conlogue.
“There is a service gap in the state for high-speed Internet service for rural areas. It would be a major boost to the area if they are successful in getting the grant,” Conlogue said Wednesday. “That is my sole rationale for wanting to support it.”
Businesses, municipal and school leaders and residents interested in supporting Motorbrain’s application can call or e-mail Russell at 631-6391 or consult@hughes.net. A strong show of community support will help the application, she said.
Grant competition is intense, with more than 2,000 applications for phase I funding that vastly exceed the $4.7 billion allotted, Russell said. The company plans to seek phase II funding if it fails at phase I. All of the $7.2 billion authorized within the BTOP program must be issued by next fall, she said.
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