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Select Board agrees to expand fiber-optic committee’s mandate to revisit internet options
Summary
Citing ongoing complaints about Spectrum internet service and an earlier town vote against municipal fiber, the board agreed to broaden the fiber-optic committee’s scope to explore other options and check Spectrum’s infrastructure upgrades.
The Select Board agreed on Sept. 15 to broaden the fiber-optic committee’s mandate to revisit town internet options after residents reported persistent problems with Spectrum service. A board member said the town had previously considered municipal fiber but that the proposal was "voted down at the town meeting." Given continued community complaints and unclear follow-up from Spectrum after an infrastructure upgrade, the board decided to "reinvigorate" the committee to review current provider performance and other technologies. The meeting record shows discussion and direction to update the committee mission; no formal vote was recorded to create a new committee. One board member said several residents have contacted the town to complain about internet speeds and that Spectrum had reported an infrastructure upgrade but provided no further communication to users. The board discussed expanding the committee's mission statement to include verifying Spectrum's stated upgrades, surveying residents about current service, and investigating alternative providers or technologies. A board member said, "there's enough chatter in the community right now to be able to basically revitalize and and relook into other options." The action recorded in the meeting was directional: the board will update the committee charge and pursue follow-up work. The committee’s next steps and any recommendations that might require policy or funding decisions were not specified at the Sept. 15 meeting.
