Take half the households in Portland and disperse them in a remote area the size of Delaware. ThatÕs Washington County.

That low population density translates into higher expenses and lower profits for telecommunication companies.

As a result, broadband access is ÒspottyÓ at best, said Harold Clossey, executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Development Council. At his home outside Calais, he can get only dial-up Internet access.

About 25 percent of the county, including a dozen towns, has no broadband access.

But that may change. After years of fruitless lobbying for an east-west highway, business leaders and government officials have come to the conclusion that high-speed Internet access is just as crucial for economic development as a highway and a lot more realistic.

ÒWe have to have that infrastructure in place,Ó Clossey said. ÒItÕs vital for any business that comes in.Ó

The Washington County Development Authority, which has $100,000 in state funds to spend on economic development, recently awarded half of the money to Axiom Technologies to improve high-speed access.

The company, which won the grant in a competitive process, plans to use the money to buy two new installation trucks and additional bandwidth for the companyÕs network. The company is seeking a $750,000 grant from the Connect Maine Authority to upgrade online capacity for the entire county and lower the cost of broadband access to residents, businesses and other Internet providers.

Because of the regionÕs Òsuper ruralÓ character, improving broadband access would be prohibitively expensive without government assistance, said Nelson Geel, chief operations officer for Axiom.

Albert Carver, a lobster dealer on Beals Island, first got high-speed Internet service two months ago. HeÕs developing a Web site so he can sell lobsters directly to consumers.

ÒI think the potential is endless,Ó Carver said. ÒEveryone who has access to the Internet is a potential customer. Whether you can get to them or not is another thing.Ó

In the past, government officials around the county tended to compete with each other rather than unite around a common plan, but that is changing, said Jim Nimon, director of the Office of Business Development for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

Besides agreeing on a plan to improve broadband access, Nimon said, there is also consensus that the county needs to do a better job marketing itself as a tourist destination and that aquaculture has a promising future and deserves support.

LNG PROPOSALS DIVISIVE

But talk of common ground ends when the issue turns to two proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals, which the federal government will consider over the next 18 months. One company wants to build a terminal in Robbinston. Another wants to build a terminal on the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation and a storage facility in Perry.

County residents are divided. Some welcome the prospects of tax income, ready access to natural gas and the estimated 70 permanent jobs an LNG plant could bring. But others question whether LNG operations are safe and environmentally sound.

Apart from the LNG proposals, many officials and residents have come to view the Passamaquoddy Tribe as an agent of economic change. The defeat of the 2003 statewide referendum to allow an Indian-owned casino in Sanford gave rise to new efforts to utilize the tribeÕs special legal status, such as projects to develop wind power in the Columbia Falls area and tidal power in Passamaquoddy Bay.

The Passamaquoddys also hope to get legislative approval to operate slot machines at a harness racing facility. In addition, tribal leader Rick Doyle wants the tribe to work with nearby Eastport, which is looking at its own tidal power project.

By almost every economic indicator, Washington County is MaineÕs biggest economic challenge. It has the stateÕs highest poverty rates, the highest unemployment rates and the lowest incomes. While Maine as a whole saw its population increase 3.7 percent between 2000 and 2005, the countyÕs population has continued to decline.

Washington is the only Maine county that meets all the requirements for a U.S. Small Business Administration program that provides federal contracting opportunities for small businesses in distressed areas.

RICH IN RESOURCES

The countyÕs natural resources historically have played a central role in the economy and still do. Cooke Aquaculture, a Canadian company, is investing heavily in salmon farming.

Since 2004, the company has acquired the Maine holdings of three other aquaculture companies. In the last 18 months, it has increased the number of fish in its 10 Washington County farms from 300,000 to 3 million, and it plans to add another 2.5 million to 3 million fish each year.

The company plans to open a processing plant this fall that would employ 100 people, either in Eastport or Machiasport. It owns shuttered processing plants in each town.

Ocean views are a growing economic asset. Affluent retirees are buying up oceanfront property and building retirement homes, a trend that has been moving steadily eastward. The new homes are creating a lot of jobs, said Jim Parker, who owns an engineering firm and chairs the Washington County Development Authority.

He said a bill to establish a 250-foot setback between the water and shorebird habitat is seen as a threat to property rights and economic growth. In addition, he said, initiatives by conservation groups to purchase development rights for large tracts is shrinking the amount of land available for building and in some cases locking up valuable timberland.

ÒRight now, people would rather feed their kids than go for a hike,Ó he said.

HANCOCK OFFERS MODEL

Where does Washington County want to be in the future? For many, itÕs exactly where Hancock County is today. Located just to the west, Hancock County enjoys a more stable and diverse economy.

On most indicators, like population trends, poverty rates and household income, Hancock County is close to the state average.

One stark contrast between the two counties is the number of college-educated residents. Close to 80 percent of Washington CountyÕs adult population lacks a college degree, which is among the lowest rates in Maine.

Hancock County, though, has the second highest rate, second only to Cumberland County. The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine believes Hancock has benefited from the immigration of well-educated retirees and being home to the College of the Atlantic and Jackson Laboratory.

Business leaders and local officials in Hancock County plan to improve telecommunication infrastructure and promote Bar Harbor Airport as a transportation resource for the region. While Ellsworth has seen rapid growth as a regional retail destination, recruiting manufacturers to the region has been more difficult, said Micki Sumpter, executive director of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce.

But many believe the countyÕs boatbuilders are poised for growth, she said. They are diversifying and increasingly using high-tech manufacturing processes and materials, she said.

ÒThat industry has been very proactive, much more than many industries in Maine,Ó she said. ÒThey are in the forefront. People come from all over the world for that.Ó

Tom Bell can be reached at 791-6369 or at tbell@pressherald.com