The fiber optic Frontier

CORNWALL — Frontier Communications came to all the towns in Connecticut with a partnership offer earlier this year, following its 2014 purchase of a Southern New England Telecommunications (SNET) network here from AT&T.

Frontier suggested a public-private partnership in which the company would wire every business and residence in any interested town with high-speed fiber optic telecommunications cables. All town taxpayers would then be committed to using Frontier as an internet service provider, for a monthly fee. 

Most towns in the region already have one or more service providers and weren’t interested.  Large parts of Cornwall, however, are still not getting high-speed internet service.

Discussions were held between the town and Frontier in early spring. A regional group called NWCONNect, headed by Sharon Selectman Jessica Fowler, began doing research on the pros and cons (the group will give an update on its latest research on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the monthly meeting of the Northwest Connecticut Council of Governments in Goshen).

This month, Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway reported that Frontier is already in town laying down cable along the major trunk line, near routes 4 and 125 in Cornwall Bridge, West Cornwall and Cornwall Village. He said he believes this is because several large businesses, such as the Aquarion water company, have contracted for service with Frontier.