By DIETER BRADBURY

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Doctors, hospitals and other health care providers in rural areas of northern New England will soon be able to share X-rays and other medical images, patients' records and video teleconferences with a new high-speed computer network.

The New England Telehealth Consortium will link 555 clinics, doctor's offices, hospitals, public health centers and universities across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Health care experts say the network will essentially create a "second Internet," dedicated solely to meeting the geographic and technological challenges of providing quality health care in rural areas.

"This is going to develop an infrastructure that's really going to position our rural areas to be players in the health information age," said Charles Dwyer of the Maine Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.

Details of the network, funded with a $24 million grant from the Federal Communications Commission, were announced Monday in Bangor.

Gov. John Baldacci participated in the event, along with members of the state's congressional delegation, public health officials and representatives of the telehealth consortium.

In an interview before the event, Dwyer said the grant will pay for construction of a fiber optic network that is capable of rapidly moving large files among hospitals, universities, clinics and medical offices.

That means health care providers will be able to share X-rays, still or video images of a patient being examined, medical records and video teleconferences.

The FCC is tapping the universal service fund, paid by consumers in their monthly phone bills, to underwrite the telehealth network. Nationally, the FCC has dedicated $417 million to building 69 statewide or regional networks over the next three years.

The $24 million awarded to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is the largest single allotment. The FCC dollars represent 85 percent of the system's costs. Consortium members and other sources will provide the remaining funds.

The funding application for the telehealth consortium was submitted by ProInfoNet, a telecommunications consulting firm that will build the network.

Trevor Gordon, a managing agent for the project at ProInfoNet, said the firm hopes to start bringing the system online in May or June.

John Gale, president of the New England Rural Health Roundtable, said the network is a major step forward in the rural health care system.

He said the network will give hospitals or doctors who can't afford their own diagnostic services access to better technology.

"Having a consistent infrastructure around electronic communications is a big deal," he said. "More and more as we move forward, we'll see a lot of this in the health care system."