For more than a year, residents have been looking into the possibility of building a new community-led fiber optic network that would improve Internet service in town, which many residents have been unsatisfied with for years.
Fiber optic Internet can reach higher speeds with less lag time, and fiber optic cables are more durable than copper cables and can withstand severe weather.
The Falmouth Economic Development and Industrial Corporation and the Falmouth Community Network Committee, the latter is a group of residents working to improve the town's Internet services, have been working together to see if fiber optic Internet has a future in the town. The EDIC hired CCG Consulting to conduct a feasibility study, which found that a fiber optic network is feasible.
WHY IS A FIBER OPTIC NETWORK NEEDED?
Falmouth's broadband service is not as good as it should be, the study found, because of Comcast's slow download speeds and Verizon's older DSL technology.Uploading speeds in Falmouth are also sluggish, the study found. Comcast reports to the Federal Communications Commission that all of its customers in Falmouth can achieve upload speeds of 25 megabits per second, but only 15% are actually uploading at that rate, according to the study.
The study, conducted in March 2020, found that the pandemic exposed coverage gaps. Many homes have experienced slowdowns and interruptions in Internet service during the pandemic, and a new fiber optic network would eliminate that.
IS THERE ENOUGH DEMAND FOR IT?
The study found that 61% of residents surveyed would consider moving to a new network.The need for broadband is also growing, the study found. By Dec. 2019, the average home in the country used 344 gigabytes for the year. By March of this year, that number increased to 403 gigabytes, according to the study.
Of the survey respondents, 70% supported the idea of the town bringing a new fiber network, with an additional 16% saying they might support the idea but need more information. Many who are supportive of the idea hope it would bring more competition, lower prices and deliver more reliable broadband.
WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM A FIBER OPTIC NETWORK?
One of the main goals of a community-led fiber optic network would be to ensure access to every Falmouth resident."Everybody deserves good quality Internet, regardless of their income," Courtney Bird, a member of the Falmouth Community Network Committee, said. "It's got to make money and be profitable, but it is also built to serve the needs of the community."
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
CCG Consulting estimates that the project would cost approximately $54.6 million, which includes the cost for fiber, fiber drops, electronics and operational assets.The debt needed to finance the network would be significant, somewhere in the range of $70 million for the town, the study found, and "unfortunately, there are few private (Internet service providers) that would be able to raise the cash needed to build a fiber network in the town."
WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?
The report discusses different funding options.The town could partner with an Internet service provider to build the fiber network, and the project has enough potential profitability that it could be an attractive investment.
Although costly, a fiber Internet service is financially feasible. CCG Consulting created detailed financial models and determined that most scenarios with a 50% market penetration turn a profit over 20 years.
Other funding options include direct tax funding, raising local start-up capital, partnering with an existing company already in Falmouth and opportunity zone financing, a community development program established by Congress to encourage long-term investments in communities.
CCG Consulting said in the study it is unaware of any grant programs that could be used to build significant amounts of fiber in the town, stating that current federal and state broadband grant programs are aimed at more rural markets.
It is possible, however, to attract grant money by bringing fiber to town in small increments, for example along the downtown business corridor on Main Street, the study said.
"If the town finances the fiber network, all or most of the funding would likely have to come from municipal bonds," the study states.
The funding could be raised by the town and/or the EDIC going out to bond, from local equity or loans from community members or from an ISP partner.
"We rarely see new community fiber networks funded from only one source," according to the study.
CCG Consulting noted that funding across different sources is complicated, as it requires finding out how each fund provider is protected in case the project does not succeed.
WHAT IS NEXT?
With the study completed, CCG Consulting recommended steps including discussing the study results further, educating the public and figuring out how to fund the network.The consultant also suggests figuring out what level of control the local community will have in a partnership, and talking to potential ISP partners.
The project needs a "local champion" to push it forward and tackle each of the study's recommendations, and the consultant also recommends finding ways to reduce construction costs, such as sharing fiber with OpenCape, a nonprofit organization that has hooked up about 45 businesses on Main Street in Falmouth with a fiber optic network.
The town can also reach out to Verizon about possibly bringing its new FiOS technology to the Cape, according to the study.
The Falmouth Community Network Committee will garner more community support and educate the public by contacting homeowner's associations, community civic groups and business groups, Bird said.
"We're hopeful that we can bring the ship home, so to speak," he said, noting the project will not happen if there is not a group of people advocating and pushing for it.
"We caution the town to be persistent if you really want fiber — if not, you might (get) stopped by roadblocks that pop up along the path to get fiber," the study read.
©2020 Cape Cod Times, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
