SALISBURY — At a March 23 meeting of the Economic Development Committee, Allison M. Ellis of Frontier Communications presented an overview of the company’s plans for bringing fiber optic internet and voice service to Salisbury, including how the town will almost certainly be asked to contribute to the cost of providing fiber optic access to the entire town.
Ellis first spoke of Frontier’s recent bankruptcy, which concluded in May of 2021. She said the subsequent restructuring of the publicly-traded company eliminated some $10 billion in debt, brought in an entirely new board of directors and senior management team, which she described as the “most sophisticated we’ve ever had.”
Ellis said the company is building fiber optic infrastructure in Connecticut now, and added that committee members had probably noticed trucks out on major roads.
She described how the fiber optic lines reach customers, beginning in the company’s central office. The line goes to a “neighborhood hub,” then to a “fiber terminal,” and then to the customer’s home.
Ellis said one advantage of fiber optic systems is they use much less power than existing systems. “You just need power at either end for it to work.”
Another significant advantage is much higher capacity. Frontier is offering a $69.95 per month internet connection that provides 1 gigabit symmetrical service (meaning both upload and download speeds are the same).
There are less expensive options, including a 500 Mbps at $39.99 and 100 Mbps at $29.95.
By comparison, Xfinity’s Economy Plus internet service, used by this reporter on Main Street in Lakeville, offers up to 3 Mbps down and up to 2 Mbps up for $29.95 per month. At noon on April 2, it was running at .84 Mbps up and 3.38 Mbps down, as measured by Ookla.
Ellis said the capacity of the fiber optic lines are such that the service is “scalable into the future.”
Customers in the parts of town where Frontier is expanding will be able to sign up in June, she said.
The committee members asked about those areas that will not be covered by the Frontier buildout.
Ellis said that Frontier and towns in the state are discussing how much a town should kick in as a one-time contribution in order to get every address covered.
She noted that Frontier has been negotiating with Falls Village on this subject. (Falls Village’s Board of Finance held a public hearing on Frontier’s proposal Monday, April 3.)
Committee member Kitty Kiefer said she thought that as soon as residents in the more remote parts of Salisbury get a look at the fiber optic service their friends are getting, the demand will be there.
EDC member Tom Shachtman asked what Frontier’s time frame is for getting a decision on whether the town wants to chip in.
Ellis said ideally the subject would have been broached six months ago. She said she has reached out to First Selectman Curtis Rand.
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