In an effort to spur economic development and bring new jobs to the community, the Orono Town Council gave the go ahead for a fiber optics development project that would establish infrastructure for high-speed Internet access at the Maine Technology Industrial Park.
The project came about when Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems expressed interest in establishing satellite offices in the Godfrey Dr. park but needed access to dark-fiber to have intranet connection to its headquarters in Bangor. As part of what the Town Council views as a long-term investment, Orono will fund half of the project along with EMHS.
“This particular effort in the Maine technology park is opportunistic,” said Jeffrey Letourneau of Information Technologies at the University of Maine. “Orono really wants to have those buildings filled with employees … [the development] makes the park itself more attractive for future businesses because they have access to the fiber optic infrastructure.”
The EMHS satellite offices have the potential to produce between 120 and 195 jobs in the community and $25,000 annually for the town in property taxes. The project, which is being installed by Maine Fiber Company, would cost Orono $25,000. The Council is considering investing an additional $12,000 in the project to extend the dark-fiber infrastructure along all of Godfrey Drive so other businesses in the Park would be able to have access. Dark fiber is fiber optics infrastructure that has not yet been activated by technologies at either end of the network.
“If the town puts in a little money they can make sure it’s done in a way that it has value to the other lots in the park,” Letourneau said.
The Council is proposing that the estimated $37,000 budget come from the Maine Technology Park Omnibus Municipal Tax Increment Financing District. At the Council’s Oct. 16 special meeting to discuss entering into the agreement, Town Manager Sophie Wilson expressed that the Orono’s involvement in the project would be contingent on having to access to this funding.
This push for fiber-development within the town of Orono is in line with University goals to create a higher level of interconnectivity throughout the community to benefit students and surrounding towns.
“We see [the lack of fiber] as a hurdle for some of what we’re trying to do as far as online learning and promoting innovation with any research that’s done on campus,” Letourneau said.
In terms of integrating student innovation into the surrounding community, Letourneau says that when students spin off and create a small company outside of the University they lose a level of connectivity that they had on campus, often resulting in steep costs to maintain efficient high-speed access.
For a town such as Orono that is more suited to home satellite offices as opposed to company headquarters the need for access to ultra-high speed internet is apparent. Currently, the Town does not own any amount of dark-fiber, through projects like the Godfrey Drive development Orono has the opportunity to make itself more attractive for incoming businesses.
According to Orono Town Planner Evan Richert, this “emerging field” of fiber optics infrastructure is how “rural areas can put themselves on a national map.”
Currently there is an existing stretch of “lit” fiber along Godfrey Dr. that is owned by Fairpoint Communications. Fairpoint, as a retail provider, leases use of its fiber and was concerned that this new development through Maine Fiber would create conflicting competition.
As a municipal government “[Orono] does not want to get in between business transactions,” Richert said. After speaking with EMHS and Fairpoint the town “became satisfied that that is not what is happening here.”
By having access to dark-fiber not owned by a retail provider, EMHS will have a hyper-speed internet access that will have a large enough capacity to handle the extensive communications the satellite office must maintain with its Bangor headquarters.
Dark fiber, such as what could be established through this project and others like it can provide business with an intranet service at the same or lesser cost than a retail provider with 100 times the speed.
Recent developments between the University and Orono have established about two miles of University owned fiber running from the UMaine campus to the Target Technology Center on Godfrey Dr. However, this line of lit fiber does not allow for any business or entity along its route to have access to it.
While the agreement between the Town of Orono, EMHS and Maine Fiber is not finalized the go ahead given by the Council at Thursday’s meeting will allow Maine Fiber to begin planning and have the project started by the end of the year. Wilson is continuing to research whether or not the funding will be available.