Broadband expansion is painfully slow for many Mainers despite upgrades

Maine resident Michele Richards has a problem that will resonate with other Mainers who live even just slightly off the beaten path: the internet at her house is so slow that it’s affecting her ability to do her job. Richards, who works remotely, needs to be on the computer all the time. She and her husband Jeff pay $70 each month to Consolidated Communications, the only internet provider to serve their road. In return, they’re supposed to get maximum download speeds of 10 megabits per second, but the internet that comes to their house on DSL technology is usually slower than that. Many Maine residents have issues with internet connectivity, mostly because of the old copper wire phone network in place, especially in rural areas, according to Erik Garr, president of consumer and small business for Consolidated Communications. That company plans to add 150,000 homes in 2022 to its fiber internet network and expand it by 450,000 residences over the next four years through a project partially funded by the state and federal governments. For people like the Richardses, whose internet comes over the slow copper DSL technology, fiber would be a game changer.