Broadband providers have failed to reach all Maine homes. Now they’re fighting towns trying to do it themselves.

Towns in Maine are considering municipal-run networks that would reach residents who lack broadband access. At a recent Leeds (ME) town meeting, residents debated the creation of a town-run broadband network paid for through a $2.2 million bond. The Leeds broadband proposal sought a slice of the federal funds that have been flowing into the state since last year by leveraging a commitment from voters to borrow money to extend high-speed fiber to households who can’t get it, or that were unwilling to pay the thousands of dollars Spectrum, the only local provider, would charge them. Instead, the town hoped to hire a different provider, Axiom Technologies of Machias, to build the physical infrastructure and then the town would handle the monthly billing, which it would then use to pay back the bond. A few days before the meeting, Leeds residents received pamphlets from Maine Civic Action urging them to vote down the broadband proposal. Maine Civic Action did the same thing in Hampden (ME) when they considered a similar proposal in October 2021, and Leeds officials suspect the efforts are linked to Spectrum. While Hampden's network proposal was defeated, the Leeds proposal passed overwhelmingly.