Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee raises concerns that Bass River bridge conduit plan favors single provider; urges challenge testing for broadband maps
Summary
Committee members urged residents and businesses to run official speed tests for a statewide broadband challenge and flagged bid drawings for the Bass River bridge that appear to allocate conduit only to Verizon, raising concerns about future‑proofing for multiple providers.
Speaker 2 (committee member) asked the committee and public to run broadband speed tests at fixcapeinternet.com and to submit challenge data for the Mass Broadband Institute process, explaining that federal broadband maps rely on ISP‑reported FCC data and undercounting can divert buildout funding to other regions.
Speaker 2 also said the recent Bass River bridge bid drawings appear to show conduit allocation only to Verizon, which could limit future competition and ‘‘future‑proofing’’ for other providers. The member said they had alerted regional chambers and business contacts and suggested the committee consider raising the issue with DPW and local chambers so construction specifications could accommodate multiple vendors or spare conduits.
Committee members named existing fiber infrastructure (OpenK Fiber) near both bridge approaches and noted that allowing single‑vendor conduit could complicate later access for Comcast, fixed‑wireless providers, or municipal fiber extensions. No formal action was taken; staff were asked to follow up with DPW and chambers to confirm bid specifications and potential options for shared conduit or later accommodation in the bridge contract.
The committee also discussed related infrastructure timing (conduit runs and construction schedule) and noted the problem should be surfaced to stakeholders before final bids are issued so vendors and businesses can advocate for competitive access.
