Northwest Corner towns consider federal funds for high speed internet

GOSHEN — Northwest Connecticut towns have an opportunity to tap into federal funds and make broadband internet service a reality.

At a meeting of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments on Thursday, June 23, incoming NHCOG chair Henry Todd of Falls Village said high-speed internet via fiber optic lines is an economic development necessity and as important as utilities such as electricity and traditional telephone service.

Outgoing chair Don Stein of Barkhamsted said he thinks the way forward is to get as many towns as possible together to apply for federal funding. “There is strength in numbers.”

Kim Maxwell of Northwest Connect, who has been working on the issue for years, said fiber optic is the way to go — “not wifi, not 5G.”

Kevin Pisacich, the director of the Office of Telecommunications and Broadband within the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,  gave a lengthy and detailed presentation on the process of applying for federal funds.

He said there is some $42.45 billion in federal funds available nationally “to get everyone connected.”

His office is in the process of getting ready for the lengthy and complex application process.

Pisacich said all 50 states will receive a minimum of $100 million. Additional funds will be allocated based on the number of unserved locations in areas where the cost of building the necessary infrastructure is high. He said he thinks much of Northwestern Connecticut will fall into this category, although the definitions are still being ironed out.

A big moment in the process comes when the Federal Communications Commission releases updated “data maps,” which will in theory provide comprehensive information about what kind of internet service in a given location, nationwide.

He cautioned that the FCC maps may not be as accurate as desired, because the agency relies on census information.

“A carrier can have two houses on a block and call the whole block ‘served.’” he said.

“But we’re all over this,” he continued. “We know exactly where every unserved or underserved location in the state is.”

The timeline for the ambitious project stretches out to September 2026 at a minimum.

The NHCOG members heard from Gayle Huntress, the broadband manager for the small Massachusetts town of Shutesbury.

Shutesbury, which borders Amherst, is similar to many Northwest Corner towns, with a population of about 1800 spread out over 27 square miles, with 42 miles of roads (about 14 miles are dirt roads).

Shutesbury has no stop lights, and the tiny town library lacks running water.

Huntress said when she and her husband bought their home in 2012, everything was great — except the crummy internet service.

Shutesbury’s lone internet option was a Verizon dedicated service line (DSL). The town almost no cellphone coverage (this is still the case), and none of the major telecom players were interested in wiring up the town.

So they did it themselves.

Using a peculiarity of Massachusetts law, Huntress and her group were able to create a fiber optic system under the aegis of the existing municipal power company.

It was a tough slog. Huntress said the group needed to have utility pole tag numbers and GPS coordinates for one of many applications.

The owner of the phone poles, National Grid, didn’t have a list, to their amazement and consternation.

“So we had to count them, and get the tag numbers and GPS.”

This was done with 50 volunteers on a November day. There were some 1500 poles.

“This shows how much boot-strapping we had to do.”

Hurdles cleared, the new system was finished by the end of 2019 — just in time for COVID-19.

“Our timing was impeccable,” Huntress said wryly, adding that absent the new internet system, she thinks many people, confronted with the prospect of no way to ensure online learning for children, or telemedicine for anyone, in the middle of a pandemic, would have simply packed up and left.

The municipal broadband company is profitable, and is planning to lower the monthly fee for internet service from $75 to $60 per month.

Huntress said the overall effort required considerable engagement with the residents. At the town meeting that gave the project the go-ahead, the vote was 99% in favor.

Huntress said the municipal fiber optic internet essentially saved the town from extinction.

Before the service was built, homes were selling, if at all, for much less than comparable properties in towns with adequate internet service.

Now there are hardly any homes on the market, and those that do come on are snapped up quickly.

The total cost of the Shutesbury project was $3.4 million, which was covered by a combination of grants, loans and tax dollars.

As the meeting wound down, Todd reiterated his belief that the NHCOG towns need to come together to make the wiring of the region happen. “Critical mass is really important.”

And Stein said the next step is to schedule a planning meeting with all the NHCOG members who are interested in proceeding.