The standard definition of high-speed Internet access is 768 kilobits per second transmission. That's 13 times faster than a good dial-up Internet connection and allows users to use Internet telephone programs; access basic email programs; stream music; watch low-quality video and browse simple Web sites. By that definition, 88 percent of Maine households have access to a high-speed Internet connection.

Yet consider this: South Korea has an average broadband speed of 15 megabits, which is about 20 times faster than the standard Maine is using to measure high-speed Internet access. The average U.S. broadband speed is 3.9 megabits and Japan is trying to increase its average broadband speed to an astonishing 100 megabits.

A few more numbers: In the last quarter of 2008, 29 percent of Maine had access to Internet connections that are faster than 5 megabits. But 12 percent of the state had virtually no high-speed broadband access at all.

Which means that Maine is experiencing a digital divide, where some in the state have access to increasingly important -- if not vital -- high-speed Internet service, while others are either in the digital slow lane or have no access whatsoever beyond antiquated dialup service. And that has economic implications: The Brookings Institution determined in a 2007 report on broadband that nonfarm "private employment and employment in several industries is positively associated with broadband use. ... For every one percentage point increase in broadband penetration in a state, employment is projected to increase by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year."

Which is why the state established the ConnectME Authority in 2006 and charged it with expanding broadband access in the state. At that time, only 86 percent of the state had access to high-speed Internet service. Last year, the agency gave out $1.44 million in grants to add another 1.7 percent in potential household broadband access.

This year, ConnectME's job has just been made easier by a fortuitous convergence of state and national priorities, since the Obama Administration has likewise adopted a goal of increasing broadband access across the nation. That means potential federal money for states to do just what Maine needs to do, which is to extend high- and higher-speed internet access into our rural communities.

In order to do that, ConnectME is undertaking a study that will identify just who has access to what speed of internet service across the state. ConnectME director Phil Lindley says he hopes that study will be done in six months and will guide the agency in distributing grants that will increase broadband penetration across the state.

That's all good, but we have some concerns. While 768 kilobits may be the industry definition of high-speed internet, we hope that the state will encourage private industry to build out access to faster-speed connections. At the very least, there must be an acknowledgement among policymakers and industry that the state's internet access is not a static thing, and whatever future capacity we build must accommodate potentially faster speeds.

Likewise, we're not convinced that the small sums allotted to ConnectME through a surcharge on communications bills such as telephone and video are enough to make a difference in getting fast internet to all of Maine. Agency grants awarded in 2007 and 2008 totaled a little more than $2.2 million. As of the start of 2009, the fund had $3.2 million.

Compare those sums to the $40 million bonding available to the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which is charged with bringing every household in that state affordable high-speed broadband by 2010. Or to the $40 million in bond financing available to the Massachusetts Broadband Initiative, which is charged with a similar goal in that state. Maine has a history of making paltry investments in solving its big problems, and lawmakers need to discuss whether this is an area ripe for greater investment through borrowing.

Editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board of this newspaper: Publisher John Christie, Executive Editor Eric Conrad and Opinion Page Editor Naomi Schalit.