Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

Numerous towns located in a region of southeastern Maine dubbed “Paddler’s Paradise” by outdoor adventurers and watersports fans are exploring more collaborative ways to improve local Internet connectivity. The Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) recently issued a request for proposal [pdf] on behalf of several towns located in the Sebago Lakes region of Cumberland County, Maine. Proposals are due May 31st. 

GPCOG, in partnership with Cumberland County, the Community Concepts Finance Corporation, and the Northern Forest Center, is seeking technical assistance to coordinate a regional, multi-town approach to better broadband.

Upon embarking on individual, citywide approaches to improve Internet access, the towns of Bridgton, Denmark, Fryeburg, Harrison, Naples, Raymond, Sebago and Standish recognized that a regional approach would improve efficiency and speed efforts. 

Image

(See chart, right, which details the preliminary, planning stages that have been completed by communities, and which they have yet to address.)

The coalition is interested in selecting one or more broadband consultants to coordinate the individualized approaches of each of the towns. Consultants will be tasked with combining and building upon the assets of each to develop a regional proposal for a faster and more coordinated buildout of networks. 

Read the full RFP here [pdf]. 

Goals of the Proposal

The pandemic exacerbated extreme economic, racial, and social disparities that have long characterized New York City neighborhoods. When the pandemic hit, the "City That Never Sleeps" experienced the worst single-year job decline since the 1930s, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the disease itself in addition to the rising levels of unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and food insecurity it brought on. 

Aiming to alleviate these deeply-entrenched challenges, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio formed the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity last April to survey community organizations in NYC districts most severely impacted by COVID-19. As that work got underway, taskforce co-chair Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson kept hearing a resounding call for access to the Internet. Three months into the pandemic, de Blasio reported that 18 percent of all New Yorkers, more than 1.5 million city residents, had neither a home or a mobile connection, mainly due to issues of affordability. 

In response to the public outcry, Mayor de Blasio set to work enacting New York City’s Internet Master Plan, starting with a $157 million initiative which will direct public and private investment to fund broadband infrastructure and expand low-cost or no-cost Internet access to 600,00 New Yorkers, including 200,000 city residents living in public housing, within 18 months.

The pandemic exacerbated extreme economic, racial, and social disparities that have long characterized New York City neighborhoods. When the pandemic hit, the "City That Never Sleeps" experienced the worst single-year job decline since the 1930s, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the disease itself in addition to the rising levels of unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and food insecurity it brought on. 

Aiming to alleviate these deeply-entrenched challenges, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio formed the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity last April to survey community organizations in NYC districts most severely impacted by COVID-19. As that work got underway, taskforce co-chair Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson kept hearing a resounding call for access to the Internet. Three months into the pandemic, de Blasio reported that 18 percent of all New Yorkers, more than 1.5 million city residents, had neither a home or a mobile connection, mainly due to issues of affordability. 

In response to the public outcry, Mayor de Blasio set to work enacting New York City’s Internet Master Plan, starting with a $157 million initiative which will direct public and private investment to fund broadband infrastructure and expand low-cost or no-cost Internet access to 600,00 New Yorkers, including 200,000 city residents living in public housing, within 18 months.

The pandemic exacerbated extreme economic, racial, and social disparities that have long characterized New York City neighborhoods. When the pandemic hit, the "City That Never Sleeps" experienced the worst single-year job decline since the 1930s, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the disease itself in addition to the rising levels of unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and food insecurity it brought on. 

Aiming to alleviate these deeply-entrenched challenges, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio formed the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity last April to survey community organizations in NYC districts most severely impacted by COVID-19. As that work got underway, taskforce co-chair Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson kept hearing a resounding call for access to the Internet. Three months into the pandemic, de Blasio reported that 18 percent of all New Yorkers, more than 1.5 million city residents, had neither a home or a mobile connection, mainly due to issues of affordability. 

In response to the public outcry, Mayor de Blasio set to work enacting New York City’s Internet Master Plan, starting with a $157 million initiative which will direct public and private investment to fund broadband infrastructure and expand low-cost or no-cost Internet access to 600,00 New Yorkers, including 200,000 city residents living in public housing, within 18 months.