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Bill to allow municipal broadband debt repayment draws mixed reaction as sponsor says local sale may moot legislation
Summary
A proposed fund to help municipalities build and sustain municipally owned gigabit networks drew mixed feedback from utilities, the Maine Connectivity Authority and broadband advocates — and the sponsor told lawmakers that a pending sale of a Downeast municipal network may remove the immediate need for the bill.
Representative Afton Mingael introduced LD 10 96, which would establish a Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund to support municipally owned or partnered gigabit networks, including grant matching and a mechanism for municipalities to repay debt incurred to build broadband infrastructure.
During the hearing Representative Mingael told the committee that circumstances for one high-profile project — the Downeast Broadband Utility — had changed that morning, reporting the utility’s board had voted to sell and that private investors were pursuing a purchase. "The DBU... is being sold as I speak," Mingael told the committee and suggested the immediate legislative question might be moot for that entity.
Andrew Butcher, president of the…
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