To the Editor:
Waldoboro recently applied for and was awarded a grant from the ConnectME Authority to expand Broadband Internet service to areas of the town where this service is unavailable. The town will collaborate with Midcoast Internet Solutions on the project.
This is a cause for celebration for the hundreds of Waldoboro residents who have sat waiting for their dial-up service to be connected, who have wanted to further their education by taking courses online, who have wanted to advertise their small home businesses, who have wanted to view videos or photographs sent to them by friends and family, or who would simply like to have access to the magical technology that is connecting citizens all over the world.
For many of us, broadband is the only affordable option. Cable network is prohibitively expensive for those of us who live far away from the existing cable lines, and satellite service is not always reliable.
Before the actual project can be put into motion, Waldoboro voters will be asked in the June 8 referendum to approve the construction of towers for the service. Less obtrusive than cell phone towers, these towers are under 2 feet in diameter and may not be constructed within the Waldoboro historic district.
As residents who would be given access to broadband through this project, we respectfully ask our neighbors to help us further the economic, educational and cultural development of our town by voting to approve Article 44 on the ballot.
Annie and Burton Elliott, Sara Hotchkiss, Audrey Bechler, Robert Butler,
Kathy and Steve Cartwright, Penelope Creeley, Connie and Tom Hammermeister,
Cindy McIntyre, Brooke Pacy, Susan Price, Nancy E. Williams
Waldoboro
