WELLFLEET – Just under $87,000. That’s what it’s going to cost Wellfleet to connect the buildings that house the Library, Council on Aging and Department of Public Works, to the town’s fiber optic network.
Town Administrator Dan Hoort, speaking at a November Selectmen’s meeting, said he was given the impression that the OpenCape Network would provide more coverage. “A lot of us were surprised. We thought that they were going to wire our communities.”
As it turns out, what they did is hook up just certain town owned buildings.
He added that “if we now want to expand that network to more rural areas, it would be up to us to pay for that.” He received the bad news at a recent OpenCape Network seminar.
Selectman Jerry Houk commented that he felt misled as well. “I thought it was going to be all the buildings. I’m a little upset that hasn’t happened.”
Certain areas of the town don’t have any access to the internet. Hoort says that will be addressed as well as the cost. “One of my hopes is to talk to some of the carriers that provide internet service, such as Verizon or Comcast, and see if I can work out something.” His hope is that they will offer a reduced rate, or possibly even free.
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