Connect ME may help bring broadband Internet to Fort Kent's Violette Settlement

FORT KENT - Time Warner Cable recently approached the town of Fort Kent about applying to the Connect ME authority for a grant which, if accepted, will pay most of the cost of building infrastructure to supply 66 residents of Violette Settlement with broadband Internet service.

If the Connect ME authority decides the grant funding is justifiable, Time Warner has agreed to pay the remaining cost of building the infrastructure in that area.

"There will be no direct cost to the town," said Fort Kent town manager Don Guimond.

Connect ME grant funds supply high speed Internet service to areas that are currently underserved.

Town officials originally anticipated a determination by Connect ME authority about whether Violette Settlement meets the requirements for their grant funding at the end of Jan., but the decision has been delayed until the end of March.