Axiom Technologies offered sustainable broadband adoption programs to increase the utilization of technology in the fishing and farming industries in Washington County, Maine. Washington County is a major blueberry crop producer and is home to 23 percent of Maine’s small and medium-sized commercial fishing and marine harvesting operations, many of which are small, socioeconomically disadvantaged businesses.

Some of the farmers and fishermen who attended Axiom’s training classes had never used a computer, but learned to design websites, develop spreadsheets, and use office productivity software to improve operations and sales. Axiom also provided an entrepreneurship coach to help these small business owners identify skills and software to solve their business needs and acquire appropriate training.

Additionally, Axiom Technologies built new applications that helped improve the use of land and water resources and increased business knowledge and productivity software for economic development purposes. They developed and introduced MAPOnline, a data entry program that helped farmers and fishermen record statistical data from their business activities. Through June 2013, Axiom Techologies had recorded more than 400 new household subscribers and more than 60 business or community anchor institution subscribers.

Axiom’s CEO Susan Corbett, a past Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) AT&T Technology Innovator of the Year award recipient, noted that, “What we figured out is that through technology and education we will change the economic status of a region.”