Maine’s Broadband Director Doesn’t Want to Talk About (Just) BEAD

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) President Andrew Butcher isn’t hyper-focused on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and the $272 million that Maine will be receiving. “Unfortunately, I think it’s a common misnomer that, once you deploy BEAD, the problem is solved,” Butcher said. The MCA was founded and structured largely based on lessons from Maine’s successful 2020 state bond campaign and 2021 bid for $28 million from National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program to support six community-driven, regional-scale, public-private partnerships. Today, the MCA has 23 employees throughout the state. It actively manages a grant portfolio of more than 65 projects that incorporate funding from seven different sources. While MCA is a large office and Maine is a small state, Butcher describes it as embodying “the Maine Way” of being resourceful while stretching every dollar as far as possible.