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    Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead

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    • scottalanmillerS
      scottalanmiller
      last edited by

      And, more importantly, they might get working Internet.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • pmonchoP
        pmoncho @mlnews
        last edited by

        @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

        Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

        A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

        Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

        "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

        About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

        Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

        With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

        I sure hope it works out for them though.

        scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • scottalanmillerS
          scottalanmiller @pmoncho
          last edited by

          @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

          @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

          Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

          A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

          Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

          "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

          About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

          Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

          With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

          I sure hope it works out for them though.

          Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

          Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

          And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

          pmonchoP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • pmonchoP
            pmoncho @scottalanmiller
            last edited by

            @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

            @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

            @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

            Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

            A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

            Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

            "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

            About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

            Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

            With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

            I sure hope it works out for them though.

            Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

            Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

            And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

            I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

            scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • scottalanmillerS
              scottalanmiller @pmoncho
              last edited by

              @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

              @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

              @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

              @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

              Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

              A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

              Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

              "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

              About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

              Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

              With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

              I sure hope it works out for them though.

              Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

              Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

              And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

              I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

              $79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

              They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

              stacksofplatesS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • scottalanmillerS
                scottalanmiller
                last edited by

                With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                pmonchoP 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • pmonchoP
                  pmoncho @scottalanmiller
                  last edited by

                  @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                  With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                  I am not saying that it is not good deal to go with the municipal system, just that based on household income and the % of participation needed to keep costs down may not work out as planned.

                  If 10% of the possible 70% needed to keep costs lower are under $12K per year, they could afford Comcast's $10 per month but not the $99 for Gigabit. It is not stated in the article but the town would need at least 80% of the town at median income levels (to hit the 70% participation rate) to make it work without increase in fees or additional taxes.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • pmonchoP
                    pmoncho @scottalanmiller
                    last edited by

                    @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                    With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                    Like I said, unless I am misunderstanding something, the town will have to raise taxes of $.29 per $1k to get the $1.4 Mil and also charge $79 - $99 per month?

                    JaredBuschJ scottalanmillerS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • JaredBuschJ
                      JaredBusch @pmoncho
                      last edited by

                      @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                      @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                      With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                      Like I said, unless I am misunderstanding something, the town will have to raise taxes of $.29 per $1k to get the $1.4 Mil

                      yes

                      and also charge $79 - $99 per month?

                      Depending on the subscriber count.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • scottalanmillerS
                        scottalanmiller @pmoncho
                        last edited by

                        @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                        @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                        With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                        Like I said, unless I am misunderstanding something, the town will have to raise taxes of $.29 per $1k to get the $1.4 Mil and also charge $79 - $99 per month?

                        Yes, but they 1) Have to raise $450K either way and 2) they only raise it IF they don't get enough subscribers and only IF they don't do Comcast.

                        With Comcast they have to raise taxes either way. Without Comcast, they might not have to.

                        JaredBuschJ pmonchoP 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • JaredBuschJ
                          JaredBusch @scottalanmiller
                          last edited by

                          @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                          @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                          @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                          With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                          Like I said, unless I am misunderstanding something, the town will have to raise taxes of $.29 per $1k to get the $1.4 Mil and also charge $79 - $99 per month?

                          Yes, but they 1) Have to raise $450K either way and 2) they only raise it IF they don't get enough subscribers and only IF they don't do Comcast.

                          With Comcast they have to raise taxes either way. Without Comcast, they might not have to.

                          correct.
                          0271dde7-2fe8-4931-bb40-263fa3de95fb-image.png

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • pmonchoP
                            pmoncho @scottalanmiller
                            last edited by

                            @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                            @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                            @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                            With Comcast, they were going to have to pay the construction on TOP of the higher subscriber fees.

                            Like I said, unless I am misunderstanding something, the town will have to raise taxes of $.29 per $1k to get the $1.4 Mil and also charge $79 - $99 per month?

                            Yes, but they 1) Have to raise $450K either way and 2) they only raise it IF they don't get enough subscribers and only IF they don't do Comcast.

                            With Comcast they have to raise taxes either way. Without Comcast, they might not have to.

                            Ok. So I did have a little misunderstanding. I thought the $1.4 mil had to be raised (via taxes) no matter what.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • scottalanmillerS
                              scottalanmiller
                              last edited by

                              I think it is a smart risk. Long term cost savings, potential short term cost savings, and control of their Internet. Plus having their own has a lot of potential to encourage business investment. Would only take one small business to make all of the different. Having no Internet, like today, would drive businesses away completely. Having Comcast only would do little better, no smart business would consider the location.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stacksofplatesS
                                stacksofplates @scottalanmiller
                                last edited by

                                @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

                                A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

                                Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

                                "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

                                About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

                                Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

                                With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

                                I sure hope it works out for them though.

                                Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

                                Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

                                And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

                                I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

                                $79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

                                They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

                                I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

                                scottalanmillerS DashrenderD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • scottalanmillerS
                                  scottalanmiller @stacksofplates
                                  last edited by

                                  @stacksofplates said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                  Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

                                  A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

                                  Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

                                  "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

                                  About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

                                  Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

                                  With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

                                  I sure hope it works out for them though.

                                  Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

                                  Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

                                  And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

                                  I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

                                  $79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

                                  They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

                                  I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

                                  I deal with it mostly in Houston and Atlanta. Atlanta has been expensive, but no caps, but totally unreliable (up to ten outages a week.) In Houston it's been expensive, heavily capped, and slow.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • DustinB3403D
                                    DustinB3403
                                    last edited by

                                    In Rochester we don't have those kinds of outages. Maybe it's because we're a much smaller city or because our infrastructure is better maintained

                                    I'd refuse to pay for service like that.

                                    DashrenderD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • DashrenderD
                                      Dashrender @stacksofplates
                                      last edited by

                                      @stacksofplates said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      @scottalanmiller said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      @pmoncho said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      @mlnews said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                      Comcast offered to wire up Charlemont, Mass. for $462,000—town said, "no."

                                      A small Massachusetts town has rejected an offer from Comcast and instead plans to build a municipal fiber broadband network.

                                      Comcast offered to bring cable Internet to up to 96 percent of households in Charlemont in exchange for the town paying $462,123 plus interest toward infrastructure costs over 15 years. But Charlemont residents rejected the Comcast offer in a vote at a special town meeting Thursday.

                                      "The Comcast proposal would have saved the town about $1 million, but it would not be a town-owned broadband network," the Greenfield Recorder reported Friday. "The defeated measure means that Charlemont will likely go forward with a $1.4 million municipal town network, as was approved by annual town meeting voters in 2015."

                                      About 160 residents voted, with 56 percent rejecting the Comcast offer, according to news reports.

                                      Using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_Massachusetts

                                      With so few homes, the % needed to keep costs down may be hard to reach with a median income of $50K per household and 10% of the population around the poverty line.

                                      I sure hope it works out for them though.

                                      Only $833 / person in one time construction costs. Assume that's $3300 / household to cover.

                                      Comcast would likely be something like $90/mo and this will likely cost more like $10/mo (in taxes, direct fees, whatever.) That would suggest that it would pay for itself in four years, and be a massive cost savings for the poor after that.

                                      And that's assuming no businesses or grants involved in the process, which might lighten the load considerably. Or if there is cash in the village coffers, then they could avoid interest and it would be closer to three years to pay off.

                                      I unless I misunderstood, the town will still charge $79 a month and $99 if only 40% adoption.

                                      $79 for Gigabit, not $200 for 100Mb/s or whatever with caps that Comcast does. My family in Houston pays hundreds and gets flaky service and can't even download Steam games at Christmas without paying penalty fees.

                                      They might offer way cheaper for people not wanting Gigabit speeds. It's still a massive gap over Comcast. And if they got the penetration, they were paying for the construction entirely from the subscriber fees.

                                      I don't like Comcast but we never have issues like that. Ours is $85 a month for 200 down. It's been very very reliable.

                                      wow - lucky you.. 150 down costs $99 here

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • DashrenderD
                                        Dashrender @DustinB3403
                                        last edited by

                                        @DustinB3403 said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                        In Rochester we don't have those kinds of outages. Maybe it's because we're a much smaller city or because our infrastructure is better maintained

                                        I'd refuse to pay for service like that.

                                        In most places - if you refuse to pay for service like that, then you simply have no service at all.

                                        DustinB3403D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • DustinB3403D
                                          DustinB3403 @Dashrender
                                          last edited by

                                          @Dashrender said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                          @DustinB3403 said in Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead:

                                          In Rochester we don't have those kinds of outages. Maybe it's because we're a much smaller city or because our infrastructure is better maintained

                                          I'd refuse to pay for service like that.

                                          In most places - if you refuse to pay for service like that, then you simply have no service at all.

                                          Sad but true.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • DonahueD
                                            Donahue
                                            last edited by

                                            We are lucky. We pay $90 for gig symmetrical at our HQ. The branch is like $300 for 1000/500

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