It’s time to ‘Light up’ our businesses

In my Piscataquis Observer column published on March 29, I wrote about Piscataquis County Economic Development Council Executive Director Christopher “Chris” Winstead and the council’s work toward providing all of Piscataquis County with the economic, social, and educational advantages of first-class broadband internet.

Using online surveys, PCEDC’s first goal is gathering accurate information on current Piscataquis internet options. Where is internet available? How good is it? What are short-to-long term options for improving existing internet connections? County businesses are asked to help by answering the survey questions — which are also designed to give a true picture of the county workforce’s current computer skills, and capacity for learning new skills.

Residential communities are the focus of a second PCEDC broadband survey. When Winstead talks of “lighting up” Piscataquis, he’s referring to broadband connectivity to the entire county.

Maine has a fiber optic broadband network skeleton. “Lighting up” Maine means connecting remote areas to that fiber optic network. Winstead thinks Maine’s best, most realistic option, is lighting up by county. An alternative where communities establish their own broadband plans would end up a Tower of Babel, Winstead believes.

Microbusinesses — one person, or with one to four employees — account for 24.5 percent of Piscataquis County’s total employment according to data compiled by the University of Maine in 2014. With a goal of boosting rural Maine’s economy while retaining its rural charm, microbusinesses offer a real opportunity. Here again, broadband access is crucial.

“For microbusinesses, real estate in Piscataquis County is very affordable,” and the quality of life makes Piscataquis “a wonderful place to live,” said Winstead. A “fully connected community” would allow “us to better market the region. If you can work from home, why wouldn’t you want your home in Piscataquis County?” Citing cost savings and quality of life, Winstead said, “Given the opportunity, I’d much rather live in Piscataquis County and remote into my office in New York City,” than the other way around.

There are other considerations, but “broadband is where we will attract people and how we will attract people to our rural communities,” Winstead said. And having first-class broadband has other significant implications. Like tourism.

“Let’s use Greenville for example. We have a beautiful [tourism] asset. Folks still want to be connected to their offices, to post on Instagram. To use their phones to pull up information and access where to eat, what to see, what to do,” Winstead said. “The more we can do to increase access to broadband, [that] also benefits our tourism-based economy.”

What about rural Maine schoolchildren and continuing education for the area’s current workforce?

“We have kids sent home from school with iPads who [can’t] connect [to the internet] once they get home,” Winstead answered. Workforce computer skills development? “How are we going to replace [our aging workforce]? We have no way to train our next generation, [and] we’re putting ourselves at a disadvantage,” he said.

“The piece folks always forget” in broadband discussions, said Winstead, is that “we have an aging population. We have the ability, with telemedicine and new technology to allow our seniors to age in place with dignity at a more affordable option than the traditional retirement home or continuing care facility.”

“Can [Maine make] the investments we need now so we’re not further behind the eight-ball in five years? We need to look at [these critical infrastructure investments] as Utility investment[s], much like taking electricity [and telephones] into our rural communities. If we don’t make that investment we are going to be dark. I’d much rather see a bright and lit future for our counties,” Winstead said.

Scott K. Fish has served as a communications staffer for Maine Senate and House Republican caucuses, and was communications director for Senate President Kevin Raye. He founded and edited AsMaineGoes.com and served as director of communications/public relations for Maine’s Department of Corrections until 2015. He is now using his communications skills to serve clients in the private sector.