Broadband & Digital Equity

The Hancock County Planning Commission provides technical assistance to help municipalities improve and expand broadband, digital communications, and more.

This image was taken at the Isle au Haut broadband celebration hosted in June of 2025. Members of the town's broadband committee, representatives from Axiom, and Maine Connectivity Authority staff cut a ribbon at the site of the subsea fiber internet cable connection to the island.
Isle au Haut Broadband Celebration June 2025
Types of assistance include:
  • Provide one-on-one tech support to municipal officials, staff, and volunteers
  • Host digital skills trainings and workshops
  • Research and write for grant and funding opportunities
  • Develop and support local broadband committees
  • Develop digital communications plans
  • Develop and improve municipal websites
  • Develop hybrid meeting policies and increase municipal capacity and skills to host them
  • Develop social media policies and strategies
  • Develop local digital inclusion plans
  • Develop file digitization and organization procedures
  • Conduct community-wide surveys
  • Facilitate discussions between local officials, community members, and internet service providers

HCPC is the Regional & Wabanaki Broadband partner for Hancock County and covers the Hancock, Waldo, and Knox region in partnership with the Midcoast Council of Governments (MCOG) and Island Institute. The Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners program aims to help deploy, sustain, and maximize the benefits of broadband infrastructure investment across the state of Maine by:

  • Supporting community-driven broadband solutions that ensure universal connectivity
  • Strengthen and grow the number of partners thinking about digital equity and inclusion
  • Create alignment and coordination between communities, regions, and the state 

If you have questions about broadband or digital opportunities in Hancock County, please contact Olivia Jolley at ojolley@hcpcme.org.

Run an internet speed test to improve broadband in Maine

Take Maine Connectivity Authority's speed test to aid in improving broadband infrastructure in Maine. Sharing your internet speed creates a better picture of where infrastructure needs to be improved.
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Tech Help for ME

Use this map of resources developed by Maine Connectivity Authority to locate organizations and locations that offer public wifi, public computers, low-cost devices, digital skills classes, one-on-one tech help, rooms for video calls, financial assistance, and more.
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Resources

Plans & Reports

Broadband

Digital Equity

  • State of Maine Digital Equity Plan

    Produced by Maine Connectivity Authority, the State of Maine Digital Equity Plan was approved by NTIA in February 2024 and implementation by MCA and the Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners began prior in December 2023. The plan outlines Maine’s goals and vision for digital equity across the state, target populations in need of digital equity support, key barriers, strategies, and measures of success.

  • Hancock and Waldo Counties Digital Equity Plan

    Produced by the Island Institute, the Hancock and Waldo Counties Digital Equity Plan outlines goals and strategies to establish digital equity in Hancock and Waldo Counties including sections on proposed activities and timelines, current state of digital equity in the region, recommendations and goals, focus areas, and state level resources.

  • Eastern Maine Development Corporation Digital Inclusion & Regional Workforce Plan

    Produced by Axiom, the EMDC Digital Inclusion & Regional Workforce Plan outlines a digital equity plan for the communities of Blue Hill, Bucksport, Greenbush, and Hampden.

  • Town of Brooklin, Digital Inclusion Report

Produced by Axiom, the Town of Brooklin Digital Inclusion Plan outlines business and community surveys on digital literacy training, a catalog of publicly accessible devices, and recommendations and pricing for a digital inclusion program. 

  • Town of Penobscot, Digital Equity and Digital Inclusion Plan

    Produced by the National Digital Equity Center, the Town of Penobscot Digital Equity and Digital Inclusion Planoutlines relevant areas of digital equity investments and programming to the Town of Penobscot and its residents as well as recommendations and resources.

  • Town of Stonington, Digital Inclusion Report
    Produced by the National Digital Equity Center, the Town of Stonington Digital Inclusion Report outlines relevant areas of digital equity investments and programming to the Town of Stonington and its residents as well as recommendations and resources.

Broadband & Digital Equity Organizations

  •  Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA)

The Maine Connectivity Authority is a quasi-governmental agency tasked with expanding access to reliable, high-speed and affordable internet service statewide.

  • Maine Broadband Coalition (MBC)

The Maine Broadband Coalition is a hub of information, policy support, and capacity building around broadband/high speed internet in Maine. MBC gives voice to internet users across the state to secure universal, affordable, and equitable access to broadband connectivity that serves both current and future needs.

  • Give IT Get IT

Give IT Get IT is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 with the mission to help nonprofits, families, and individuals overcome what hinders access to technology. Through Give IT, recycle your IT, donate computers, sponsor a tech access project, volunteer and more. Through Get IT, access all kinds of tech–get a personal computer, training, and support.

  • National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA)

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act. NDIA combines grassroots community engagement with technical knowledge, research, and coalition building to advocate on behalf of people working in their communities for digital equity. NDIA has resources on community asset mapping, free and low-cost internet plans, and a digital inclusion coalition guidebook.

  • National Digital Equity Center (NDEC)

    The National Digital Equity Center provides broadband/digital equity planning and digital skills training through 40+ classes organized around three curricula: Work & Business, Home & Education, and Aging Well With Technology. Classes can either be taken in an online, interactive format via Zoom or in-person at several locations throughout Maine.

Local & Regional Groups

  • Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB)

The Peninsula Utility for Broadband (PUB) advocates for fast, flexible, affordable and reliable internet to incentivize business, support schools, advance the quality of healthcare, connect homes and facilitate long term education and socialization of our rural communities.

  • Schoodic Peninsula Broadband Committee

The Schoodic Peninsula Broadband Committee works to bring affordable, reliable broadband internet to every address in Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor.

  • Ellsworth Digital Equity & Inclusion Coalition 

Broadband Resources

  • Everything You Wanted To Know About Broadband (But Were Afraid To Ask)

A webpage hosted by the Benton Institute that provides an overview of what broadband is, why it’s important, and some of the technologies necessary to be connected.

  • MCA Broadband Intelligence Platform Map

The Maine Connectivity Authority’s Broadband Intelligence Platform presents important data about internet access and service in Maine. The interactive map includes information about broadband service availability and funding awards. 

  • How to Submit Challenges to the FCC Broadband Map

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance guide outlines the process to submit location and availability challenges for citizens and government entities to the FCC’s broadband map.

  • ISP Reports: Search Internet Service Providers by Street Address

ISP Reports is an internet provider comparison website that shows internet speeds from Internet Service Providers that are actually available at your street address.

Digital Skills Resources 

  • National Digital Equity Center (NDEC)

    The National Digital Equity Center provides broadband/digital equity planning and digital skills training through 40+ classes organized around three curricula: Work & Business, Home & Education, and Aging Well With Technology. Classes can either be taken in an online, interactive format via Zoom or in-person at several locations throughout Maine.

  • Senior Planet (AARP)

Senior Planet from AARP provides classes, articles, videos, and activities to help older adults learn new skills, save money, exercise, make new friends, and more. Senior Planet programs are designed around five impact areas: financial security, social engagement, creative expression, health and wellness, and civic participation.

  • Maine State Library

The Maine State Library offers a database of digital skills courses and other resources. Topics of these courses and resources include email basics, resume writing, social media, and more.

Municipal Resources

  • Maine Municipal Association (MMA)

The Maine Municipal Association is a voluntary membership organization offering an array of professional services (including resources and support focused on broadband, digital equity, and cybersecurity) to municipalities and other local governmental entities in Maine.

Broadband

  • Planning a Community Broadband Roadmap: A Toolkit for Local and Tribal Governments

Produced by BroadbandUSA, this toolkit presents the planning steps necessary to create a Community Broadband Roadmap. A Community Broadband Roadmap describes a community’s vision for a broadband initiative, the anticipated benefits, and the strategy and action plan necessary to carry out that vision. 

  • Solutions Library, Community Infrastructure: Challenges & Examples 

Compiled by Island Institute, this solutions library hosts solution examples for expanding broadband access in rural coastal communities including improving digital literacy, working with providers, and forming a broadband working group.

  • Book: Bridging the Digital Divide in the US: Planning Innovative State and Local Approaches

A free, online-accessible book that presents a multi-level governance framework exploring how local leaders use policy opportunity and community resilience to address inequity in broadband infrastructure and featuring cases from across the U.S. (including Downeast Maine) to show how local and regional initiatives are addressing the digital divide.

Digital Equity

  • Article: Digital Equity through Planning and Partnerships (Pages 33-35)

Written by Island Institute staff, Digital Equity through Planning and Partnerships in the Maine Municipal Association’s Maine Town & City Magazine talks about the role of partners in digital equity and planning, including regional planning organizations, adult and community education organizations, and libraries. 

  • Article: Municipal Digital Capacity–a Dirigo Moment for Maine

Produced by Island Institute staff and published in Maine Town & City Magazine, Municipal Digital Capacity—a Dirigo Moment for Maine outlines Maine’s Digital Equity Plan (including components that most directly relate to municipal roles and functions) and Maine-based research on connections between municipal digital services and community resilience.

Municipal Communications

  • Panel: Digital Opportunities for Municipal Communications 
HCPC hosted a panel on the importance of digital engagement for municipalities and the opportunities it provides. Topics included the benefits and challenges of implementing digital communications, tips for getting started, and the implications for community and economic resilience. A recording and summary of the panel are available.
  • Article: Discussing Digital Communications in a Hancock County Barn

This article details HCPC’s panel on Digital Opportunities for Municipal Communications, examining why digital engagement is important for municipalities.

  • Article: The Art of Communication

Published in Maine Municipal Association’s Maine Town & City Magazine in 2024, this article by Kate Dufour provides common sense tips for “how to engage with the public without stepping in it.”

Hybrid Meetings

  • Report on Hybrid Meeting Capabilities of Municipalities in Hancock County

Produced by HCPC, this report outlines the results of an inventory conducted to learn what technologies are being used in municipal offices and public meetings throughout Hancock County and barriers to using hybrid meeting technology.

Cybersecurity

  • Maine Cyber Range, University of Maine Augusta

    The mission of the Maine Cyber Range (MCR) is to provide an immersive training and simulation center that takes cyber education and workforce development to the next level. MCR can help organizations including municipalities assess their cybersecurity readiness.

  • Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC)

    As a cybersecurity partner for 13,000+ U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) government organizations, MS-ISAC cultivates a collaborative environment for information sharing. MS-ISAC offers members incident response and remediation support through their team of security experts and develops tactical, strategic, and operational intelligence, and advisories that offer actionable information for improving cyber maturity.

Funding Sources