Maine emergency medical services agencies that joined a statewide connectivity project in 2023 are preparing to take over its operating costs, according to a notice from Maine EMS.
In its notice to service leaders, the agency says the project began in fall 2023 under five-year memorandums of understanding with participating agencies. Maine EMS used grant funding to pay for hardware deployment and active subscriptions for the first three years. As the project nears the end of its third year, ongoing operating costs shift to participating agencies for the remaining two years, the notice says.
The project equips licensed EMS vehicles with mobile high-speed internet, Wi-Fi at the scene of a call, digital warnings that alert nearby drivers to emergency vehicles and connections to computer-aided dispatch systems, which agencies use to track vehicles and send them to calls.
Maine EMS said leadership and administrative changes at many services since 2023 could leave incoming chiefs and directors unsure what technology is in their vehicles, which services are active or how billing and renewals work. The agency scheduled a virtual information session for Oct. 15 with Jim Carman of NEWCOM, the project's primary statewide contractor.
The notice does not list per-vehicle prices, agency totals or billing dates. A September 2023 launch notice said grant funding would cover internet service, driver-alert and GPS subscriptions for two years, after which continued service would cost $187.50 per month per equipped vehicle. That notice described two funded years rather than the three in the current notice. The current notice does not say whether the $187.50 figure still applies.