SHARON — Just two days after the town signed the $1.6 million contract with Comcast so that internet access would be extended to every household in the town, work began on Caroline Drive where crews deployed high-speed cable lines.
Work on Caroline Drive was underway on Thursday, March 9, according to a notice provided by the Sharon Connect Task Force (SCTF). Even before the contract was officially signed, Comcast had already obtained the necessary permits to attach their lines to the existing poles owned by Frontier Communications and Eversource along that road.
Each pole that is to have Comcast’s cable attached needs to have a separate permit. Applications are being prepared by Comcast to cover the estimated 700 poles that stand along the 28.5 miles of roads where service will be extended. Some roads in town do not have poles, so to serve those homes, Comcast will need to dig a trench in the right of way and string the cable underground.
Commenting on Wednesday, March 15, Jill Davis, SCTF co-chairman, said that the pole permits will be done in bunches and as the permits are received, the SCTF will coordinate with Comcast to alert every home on the street that is about to be strung. In addition, Comcast plans to distribute notices that work is scheduled to each home.
Davis added that SCTF will coordinate with Comcast for updates every two weeks. She said that there is agreement that as the pole stringing work is happening, it will be more efficient if Comcast can know at that point which homes intend to subscribe on that road. If that occurs, then the home installations can be done at the same time. It is the construction team that wires the poles. The installation team then connects the wire to the home and confers with the homeowner about interior connections, Davis said.
According to the SCTF, construction crews are working on mapping and scheduling which roads to take on next. A total of six months of work time from permit receipt to completion is realistic.
Once a road has been wired, the SCTF indicates that the homes will be ready for service. SCTF indicates that soon, residents of Caroline Drive will be able to contact Xfinity.com to schedule installation and choose a subscription plan.
