The cartons of documents that sit on the floor of Bret Gilliam's office testify to his lack of high-speed Internet service. He receives papers and CDs of files through the mail because it takes too long to download them through e-mail on a dial-up connection.

"It's no longer even an option for a business. You have to have access to high-speed Internet," he said.

That access is uneven or nonexistent in Arrowsic, Bowdoinham and other rural areas of Maine, although two an-nouncements last month about expanding Internet service could help decrease the number of people lacking fast connections.

Last year, the ConnectME Authority, a group working to increase high-speed Internet access in Maine, estimated that about 86 percent of Maine households had access to some form of high-speed service, with 14 percent lacking it.

The problem for Maine is that it's a low-population state, said Mitchel Davis, chief information officer for Bowdoin College and member of Gov. John Baldacci's ConnectME Authority, which is working toward broadband capabilities for 90 percent of Maine households by 2010. In July, the authority announced a $500,000 grant program to help expand Internet access.

Providing high-speed Internet is similar to the way cable television spread through Maine.

"They (Internet providers) can run a ring around a city and connect everybody. The problems is when you have to string fiber-optic cable up for 500 miles. If they aren't going to do it for cable, they're not going to do it for anyone else," Davis said.

Companies are not interested in serving some rural areas because the return on investments is so low, he said.

State Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, estimated that he has heard from eight to 10 constituents about the lack of high-speed Internet service in their area, but described that as "just the tip of the iceberg."

"I have several hundred people, I'm quite sure, who don't have access to DSL or cable," Berry said. "They come from all three of the towns I represent."

Berry serves Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Richmond.

"We live in the information age and it is a sound disadvantage educationally, economically, culturally to not to have access to high-speed Internet," Berry said. "It's become a competitive issue for the state of Maine and the entire country."

He described high-speed Internet as being like the roads and bridges of our country and said it is an issue that both the state and nation need to address.

"I think it's an enormous public-interest issue, which right now resides now in only the hands of competing sectors of the private economy."

Bowdoinham Town Manager Kathy Durgin-Leighton said the town has a number of dead spots where residents cannot get high-speed Internet, so town officials have had conversations with Internet service providers in an attempt to extend service.

"But they don't see it as cost-effective or profitable enough for them. That's the bottom line," she said.

Help on the way

Gilliam's dial-up service can take an hour to transfer documents at his Arrowsic home. He mails document files because it's easier than relying on dial-up.

He gets calls from law firms around the country asking him to consult on marine and diving civil cases. His office contains cartons and large piles of paper because he cannot receive all the related court documents via e-mail. Files of papers can weigh between 50 to 70 pounds.

In August, Mainers like Gilliam, who don't have high-speed access, got two pieces of welcome news from a pair of companies, Verizon and FairPoint Communications.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved a $12 million plan from Verizon to make high-speed access available to almost 35,000 Maine people who lack DSL broadband service. The agreement involved Verizon and the Office of Public Advocate, a press release said.

Verizon has six months to complete the agreement that will increase to 70 percent the proportion of Verizon customers with the option of getting high-speed Internet. A previous proposal submitted by Verizon and the Public Advocate was rejected because Maine PUC said it did not have a clear enforcement mechanism.

Bowdoinham is on the list of areas that will get upgrades over the next six months and DSL will be extended, said Phil Lindley, acting executive director of the ConnectME Authority.

In addition, FairPoint announced that it planned to invest $16.1 million in expansion of broadband services in Maine communities. They include Richmond, Bowdoinham, Freeport, Phippsburg and Harpswell, said Pam Joy, a spokesperson for FairPoint.

High-speed Internet access will not only help Maine towns keep up with others, it can foster new opportunities. Davis, of the ConnectME authority, said with the availability of high-speed wireless Internet in Machias, a number of businesses have started, including a medical records firm.

"It's a whole new option. If you provide access, these businesses start growing and businesses do things that they haven't done before. Like a lobsterman. Instead of just distributing locally, he can distribute nationally," he said.

Inside the ring

One way to speed up access is by constructing a fiber optic ring that covers most of the state, Davis said. California has a fiber optic ring and Nevada is building one.

"The cost of doing that is so high it really should be partially state-funded and federally funded," he said.

Businesses would attach to the fiber optic ring to provide local Internet service.

What Davis suggested has been done before with American infrastructure, from rural electrification to highways. In each case, the state and federal governments connected people in ways that boosted them economically.

"Having a road to your town is a good thing. But the federal government isn't leading the effort the way they should be," Davis said.One solution outside of a fiber optic ring is high-speed wireless, which is what Machias has. High-speed wireless uses radio signals for Internet transmissions. Homes must have antennas or receiver dishes to be connected.

"The wireless solution seems to be one of the best solutions out there for these more rural areas," Lindley said.

Such a solution is referred to as "fixed wireless" and a home or business typically needs to be in line of sight of a tower.

"If your house can see that tower, signal-wise, you're going to get a good signal," he said.

His advice for people in areas without high-speed Internet is to contact the local town government and organize groups to work together to come up with different solutions.

ConnectME has received grant applications from community groups looking for high-speed Internet connections. The authority will award them by the end of September to help expand high-speed access.

Gilliam welcomed the news about Verizon and FairPoint, but wondered when it was going to come to his neighborhood. He also sees the benefits for all of Maine.

"We need to. It's going to bring business to the state. It's long overdue," he said.

SIDEBAR

Internet Options

High-speed, broadband Internet service comes in four common varieties: digital subscriber line, or DSL, cable, wireless and satellite.

— DSL uses copper telephone lines to connect to homes. Users must be within three miles of a central office or switch.

— Cable modem technology must be within 100 meters of a switch or service provider.

— Wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, occurs when an Internet service provider sends data over radio waves. It does not need cable or wires, but may require a line of sight between a home and an Internet service provider.

— Satellite dishes can provide high-speed Internet access to any location with a view of the southern sky. But it is the costliest service, with $600 to $2,000 in installation charges and monthly bills ranging from $70 to $1,000.

Gilliam works around this inconvenience for his legal consulting work, but knows that the realities of needing Internet access differ from years ago.