Internet Planning Committee
The Wayne Internet Improvement Project
NOTE: The information on this page refers to a proposed project from 2022 that did not get funded by the state, and so did not get implemented. This information is here on Wayne's Website as a record of our past efforts, and is not a current proposal or project.
Residents in Wayne have asked the Selectboard to find a way to extend reliable, high speed Internet service to all in every part of our town.
After four years of studying a wide range of options, the Board is recommending that the town partner with Axiom, a Maine Internet Service Provider, to build a town wide Fiber optic Internet network. Fiber optic networks are the industry standard for uniform predictable speed and reliability.
Wayne is currently served by cable Internet connections and DSL connections, both of which deliver varying speeds and reliability. If residents vote to proceed with this plan at Town Meeting, we expect to receive a state grant to pay for half the construction cost. Much of the balance of the construction cost would be paid by user fees that will be *included* in the cost of subscription.
Subscribing to this Internet service will cost residents $45.99 per month, with a four year guarantee of no rate hikes. Subscribers will receive reliable Internet speeds of 100/100mBps, enough for almost all modern Internet uses. Higher speeds will be available. Phone service (home phone, not cell phone) will also be available through the network, for $29.99 per month- flat fee- including unlimited long distance and local calling in the continental US and Canada.
Depending on the number of residents who subscribe to this network, we project that investing in Wayne's future by extending reliable, high speed internet service throughout Wayne will increase property taxes on an average home (valued at $150,000) by less than $60 per year over the 20 year life of the construction bond.
Current Cable Internet subscribers would save $348 per year compared to current $74.99 Cable Internet rates by switching to the town network for Internet service. Current DSL subscribers might save money by switching to the town network (depending on the Internet speed they currently subscribe to), and would experience dramatic improvements in speed and reliability of their Internet connections.
To read the presentation we plan to make at 2022 Town Meeting, click here. To learn about this recommendation in more detail, please read the Wayne Select Board's detailed report and recommendation for improving Internet service in Wayne, to be voted on at the June, 2022 Annual Town Meeting. Click here to view the Wayne Internet Improvement Project Report as a pdf. Or click here to view and listen to this report presented with audio narration. You can also get a paper copy of this report and its recommendations at the Town Office. We welcome your questions and thoughts.
Several people have wanted to confirm that their address would be served by the proposed Wayne Internet network, if the town decides to build that network. Here is a link to a map of all the planned service locations in Wayne: Network map on Google Maps
You can use the + button on the google maps page this link will lead to to zoom in on your road and see all the planned service locations (yellow house symbols) If there is a yellow house symbol at or near your location, you would be able to subscribe to the Fiber Optic Internet network the Select Board is recommending. If you click the yellow symbol, you can confirm the address it represents. If the link doesn't work for you, or if you don't see a yellow symbol at your location, or if you want us to check for you, please email Stan Davis at sdavis@waynemaine.org .
The Internet Service Provider Otelco, which does not serve our area, has put together some excellent resources explaining how Fiber optic networks work. You can explore them here. Their video "Fiber 101" is a good quick guide to this technology.
Other Internet Improvement Presentations
NOTE: The videos and documents below come from earlier stages in our planning. We present them here to show our thinking and planning process as it has evolved. The summary linked to above represents our current recommendation.
Selectboard February 2021
This meeting was recorded for you to review. Go to the Town's YouTube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShB1H6rI05Y
Important Informational “Zoom” Meeting
Regarding Internet Service in Wayne
This meeting was recorded for you to review. Go to the Town's YouTube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XloQQxuiT2I
Broadband "Internet Improvement" Planning Documents