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63 B U S I N E S S P RO F I L E S B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E S S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N GWI offers various models for working with municipalities. Here are some examples: • In the winter of 2016, GWI was awarded operator status following a rigorous request for proposals process set forth by the Town of Islesboro. e project will bring the availability for universal gigabit level service for the roughly 840 premises on the island. Capital for the project was provided by the town through their bonding of $3.8 million in 2016. GWI is responsible for the design of the connection architecture. GWI will also be responsible for operating the network. e vote to approve the project brought out a near-record number of residents, who overwhelmingly favored the project as a bold investment that will make it possible for residents to raise a family in this close-knit island community while also being able to operate a business in the global economy—thus maintaining the best traditions of island life. e ultra-modern network will make Islesboro one of the best-connected towns in the United States. • In the City of South Portland, the fourth largest city in Maine, GWI engineered and built 9.75 miles of open access dark fiber, passing 680 homes in four phases and offering a mixed-use network with symmetric gigabit offerings. In South Portland, the fiber is owned by GWI, with the city and Southern Maine Community College. e city also receives a percentage of the connection revenue generated from sales by GWI on the route portion of the network leased by the city. is project is a public- private milestone for South Portland's business and residential customers, offering world-class service for upload and download speeds—while saving the city thousands of dollars per month in operational costs. South Portland's willingness to think like an entrepreneur and lease the system sets the city apart, giving it a crucial advantage in attracting and retaining businesses that need to move large amounts of data. In keeping with GWI's open access philosophy, the network, although owned by GWI, allows other Internet providers to have fair access to the fiber, a condition that both the city and GWI view as an important feature to promote competition. • e City of Sanford put out an RFP in 2015 seeking responses for the construction and operation of a 32-mile FTTx (fiber to the home) network. e city's primary goal for the network was to connect community anchor institutions and municipal buildings with ultra high-speed Internet. GWI won the operational side of the RFP and is currently working with the city to move the project forward. • In a public/private partnership, GWI is assisting the City of Ellsworth in the city's goal to compete in a global economy in which high-capacity communications networks are playing an increasingly significant role. e city built a 3-mile fiber network connecting its new business incubator, City Hall and the city's primary business district. e fiber network is part of a visionary economic development strategy to bring higher- paying employers to the region. e partnership with GWI focuses on economic growth, the creation and retention of jobs, workforce development, entrepreneurship and the quality of life in the Ellsworth region. e network is intended to stimulate competition among Internet providers and provide an attractive asset for businesses that are considering locating in Ellsworth, as well as existing businesses that need high-capacity connectivity. While intended primarily for business enterprise service, the network can be expanded with lateral extensions, over time, to additional businesses and residences. GWI's growth Fletcher Kittredge, a Maine native, understood the Internet's potential since its early days. Formed in 1994, the company started serving greater Biddeford as a local Internet Service Provider of phone, dial-up and DSL service. Within a year, service expanded to serve 70% of Maine's population with dial-up Internet access. In 1996, GWI became one of the first ISPs in the country to provide comprehensive Internet services to support high-speed on-line access services to the cable industry; began offering wholesale domain name hosting, customer service and technical support; expanded its suite of on-line connectivity options for direct online customers. In 2000, when online customers were stranded by the collapse of over-leveraged ISPs that went out of business during the Internet bubble burst, GWI became a safe haven. GWI launched broadband service in 2002, first serving six southern Maine markets, then rapidly expanding to 50 urban and rural communities in Maine. e firm launched residential products in 2005, subsequently launching commercial phone service offerings, specializing in serving the voice and data needs of Maine businesses. Over the years, as part of its community efforts, the company has provided low-cost services to over 250 charitable and nonprofit organizations. In 2011, Kittredge was recognized by MaineBiz as its large company Business Leader of the Year, citing GWI's sustained growth over time and Fletcher's leadership in bringing the ree Ring Binder to Maine. Broadband future GWI is on the cutting edge in the continued expansion of broadband—vital in today's world for business, education and society in general. e company is driven to take advantage of industry trends and to leverage those trends for the benefit of 21st century consumers. Offering a suite of products and services, GWI is uniquely positioned to tailor options to consumer preferences, to keep up with the exponential growth of bandwidth consumption, to maintain networks that customers can always rely on, and to build systems that keep up with a fast-changing economy increasingly dependent on the instantaneous movement of huge amounts of digital data. GWI's focus is on providing world-class communications tools at an affordable price—and ensuring an economically vibrant future. e world is ever-changing, but customers can rely on GWI to stay ahead of the curve and offer speeds, reliability and affordability that will eliminate distances for a connected future. l GWI 43 Landry St., Biddeford, ME 04005 Telecommunications Fletcher Kittredge, CEO Founded: 1994 Maine employees: 55 www.gwi.net Director of Network and Voice Engineering Chris Whelan and some of his team analyze network infrastructure. P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F G W I

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