About Our Project:

Washington County is a major hub for blueberry farming and commercial fishing in Maine, but it is also the state’s poorest county.  Axiom Technologies proposes a sustainable broadband adoption project that intends to  provide broadband education, training, access, equipment, and support to community-serving institutions and  economically vulnerable populations in the county.  In addition, to address a healthcare worker shortage in the  area, the project proposes to expand distance learning for healthcare professionals in partnership with the Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions, with the goal of expanding the pool of local residents with associate degrees in nursing. 

This project is funded through a two-year grant of$1,429,596 from the U.S Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. 

Our Mission:

The project also intends to equip ten local farmers and ten local fishermen with wireless equipment and a rugged laptop as a pilot project to help local industries utilize broadband technology in the field and for small business and economic development purposes.The Washington County Education and Employment project also proposes to:

• Provide teacher-led training for approximately 100 residents with 8,200 hours of training over the two-year life of the project.  
• Serve as a prototype for similar projects in the state, compiling best practices and measuring changes in subscribership and job creation for use in future broadband deployment plans across the agriculture and fishing industries.
• Deploy an outreach campaign about the services being offered in the program through newspaper and radio advertising and cooperative marketing with local trade organizations, Chambers of Commerce, and economic development groups.

 Project Partners:

• Down East Community Hospital
• University of Maine at Machias
• Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions
• Sunrise County Blueberry Cooperative
• Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education

Contact: 

Susan Corbett

CEO

AXIOM Technologies, LLC

3 Water Street,

Machias, ME 04654-1118

Susan.Corbett@axiom-tech.net