FALMOUTH – Plymouth/Barnstable State Senator Susan Moran praised a recent agreement between FalmouthNet, Inc. and Tilson to design a fiber-optic broadband network for the town of Falmouth.
She cited benefits for the local economy and the potential to upgrade the town’s resiliency to weather events.
The town plans to use funds awarded from the American Recue Plan Act to support the project.
According to Moran, the agreement is an interim, administrative step that will build a base for a municipal broadband system.
Moran touched on the Cape’s standing as a tourist economy, and the appeal of being able to work at home for much of the population, including older residents.
“A lot of folks continue to work during their retirement and enjoy the incredible Cape Cod environment, that balance of life,” said Moran.
“We need to attract businesses in order to do that and one thing is to have affordable fast speed internet.”
Moran also addressed the importance of increasing the climate resiliency of the town’s utilities, noting the lengthy waits many Cape users endured to have their power and internet restored following the nor’easter that struck the Cape in late October.
“We’ve got to address our utilities in a 360 manner. We’ve got to get everything buried so that they’re storm survivable. When we open a street, we should be burying our utilities so that they are not as vulnerable” she said.
“Going forward these ARPA funds are one-time used and available,” she said.
“And we should do that to really harden our endurance against the climate crisis and to be more welcoming to businesses on the Cape. We can do that, particularly through broadband.”
The design work by the two organizations was slated to begin immediately and is funded by the state’s current budget.
A final report detailing the fiber routing framework, field work and projected costs for the project will be presented to the town on January 21, 2022.
By, Matthew Tomlinson, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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