Remote Maine Island Celebrates Completion of Full Fiber Network

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2025 – After years of planning, the remote island community of Isle au Haut, Maine, has completed its high-speed fiber broadband network, made possible by a newly installed undersea fiber cable.

Nearly a third of the island’s total residents came together for a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 28, with partners from the state, county, Island Institute, Axiom Technologies, and Hawkeye Fiber Optics, to celebrate the completion of the island’s fiber optic system.

Before the fiber project, the island relied on microwave wireless signals for internet access, Sue Foelix, a member of the Isle au Haut Broadband Committee, told Broadband Breakfast in an interview on Wednesday. But, for those who lived on the far side of the island, coverage was spotty. It would take 10 minutes to upload a photo on a good day, she shared.

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“We were actually enlisted by somebody on the island to go to the first Island Institute meeting about broadband,” Foelix said. It was there, in 2016, that Foelix alongside three other community residents, were inspired to pursue a stronger internet backbone for the community.

That early inspiration eventually turned into a full-scale planning effort, as the committee navigated complex permitting and construction hurdles to bring the project to life.

In contact with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the Isle au Haute broadband committee kept in touch about permits to determine when they could run the six-mile undersea fiber cable required. Eventually, a small window appeared. 

A short weather window made the cable landing possible

The first day the team was allowed to work was November 8, 2024.

With harsh winter weather conditions, the “captain and the sub crew started at 3:30 in the morning to lay down the cable safely,” Foelix reminisced, “We had literally half a day window that was good enough weather not to endanger lives.”

The one-inch diameter undersea fiber cable comes ashore near the island, and connects to a new central switch. Then, the fiber is run underground to homes on the island, connecting back to the central node.

Foelix said that utilizing utility poles in the area was not an option. They quickly became too expensive, with the incumbent owning one-third of poles on the island. And, as most of the land is a national park, a large antenna wasn’t going to work either. So they took to the ground, Foelix said.

After a few technical bugs were resolved, the first local residents were connected in February 2025. The population of 92 saw 94 percent of residents pre-register to subscribe for the broadband network the island partnered with Axiom to build.

With over 100 homes and 50 full-time islanders, she shared that bringing people online is a steady process. 

“We have one wonderful gal who is 90,” Foelix said, “and she said ‘I don’t really need it for myself, but I know it’s important for the future,’ so she went ahead and got her house hooked up.”

Foelix illustrated excitement for the new internet, saying the island relies on general contracting, caretaking of property, and fishing. With a more reliable internet connection, Foelix predicts it can boost their economy, helping keep some part-timers to extend their seasons.

Foelix hoped her town’s story could inspire other islands and “inland islands” – she calls hard-to-reach communities with similar stories – to do the same: “The town did commit as a community to start putting aside money so we could match grants. I guess the message would be for any remote communities who still don’t have access, to persevere.” 

Isle au Haut’s fiber expansion project was funded in part by a $1.2 million federal grant from the NTIA's Broadband Infrastructure Program.