FIBER OPTIC BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE
Downeast Broadband Utility is the first and only municipal internet broadband utility in the state of Maine. It is owned by Calais, Baileyville, Alexander, Indian Township and Cooper. We have built the internet infrastructure allowing multiple internet service providers to offer internet, television, and telephone services to the residents of each towns. If you aren’t currently one of your fortunate neighbors who is enjoying blazingly fast fiber Internet on this town owned fiber network the time to join is now.
UPDATE - Cooper and Princeton have joined the DBU network. For construction updates CLICK HERE!
Interested in having your town join the DBU? Click here for more information.
The video below offers a more in-depth explanation.
Why Fiber?
Fiber is the best choice for fast and reliable internet. You can connect multiple computers, phones, streaming devices and tablets all at the same time with minimal lag. The download and upload speeds are vastly superior compared to DSL and Cable. Additionally, numerous studies have shown that fiber cables are not as susceptible to severe weather conditions compared to others and they also resist electrical interference - this means LESS outages. The best part, unlike Cable and DSL - Fiber optic connections do not degrade over distance, allowing for premium data speeds regardless of location.
We urge you to research the downsides of Fiber Internet. What you’ll find is “Price and Availability”.
Price - Currently we have an ISP offering Gigabit “Fiber to the Home” internet service for $67.95 per month, which is 10% lower than the median price for internet access according to a 2022 analysis by Consumer Reports.
Availability - According to Broadbandnow, only 22% of the state of Maine has access to Fiber Internet. This is why we built our own network - It’s available in Calais, Baileyville, Indian Township, and Alexander.
Important Update for those enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program
The FCC projects the current ACP funding will run out in April 2024. This date is an estimate and may change. As a result, the FCC is taking steps to wind down the ACP, which means no new ACP enrollments will be accepted after February 7th, 2024, at 11:59pm Eastern Time.
Households that enrolled with an ACP Internet company before that deadline will continue to receive their benefit until ACP funds run out, as long as the household remains enrolled and eligible for the benefit.
When ACP funds run out, households participating in the ACP will no longer receive the ACP discount.
For more information please visit
https://www.fcc.gov/acp
Or watch