Charter Declines $6.9 Million Maine Broadband Award

Charter Communications told the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) that the company will decline a $6.9 million rural broadband award announced in April. The decision was driven by a program rule that requires funding recipients to offer a service priced at $30 so that low-income customers on the Federal Communications Commission Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) can get service for free after their monthly $30 subsidy is applied, MCA said. The award was made in Maine’s Reach Me program, which covers some of the costs of deploying high-speed broadband to remote areas of a provider’s service territory. Charter was the biggest winner in the program. Over 2,000 homes will be impacted by Charter’s decision, MCA said. The agency said it will evaluate alternatives to make high-speed broadband available to those locations.