Sometimes it"s good to be a university town. In the case of Orono, Maine, its residents will soon be able to reap the benefits of being next to the University of Maine. In a press release this week, it was announced that Orono and the nearby community of Old Town will both benefit from the plans of the University of Maine and the Great Works Internet in offering a 1 Gbps Internet service to those locations.
Orono, Maine has a population of just over 10,000 people, according to the latest census figures. According to the press release, phase one of the project will bring the super fast Internet access to the town"s downtown business-heavy locations of Orono and Old Town. The second phase will reach more residential areas "based on demand and population density."
Pricing for the service sounds pretty reasonable, with residents able to purchase 250 Mbps for $59.95 a month or $89.95 to get the full 1 Gbps speeds. There"s no word on when this service will launch.
Google has been trying to get a 1 Gbps Internet service launched in both Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri for over a year now. An update on the Google Fiber blog from April 2012 revealed that the company has hung out over 100 miles of fiber for its infrastructure but there"s still no word on when it will go into operation.