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Mayor Bob Hedin: Weymouth will survey residents on municipal fiber after Comcast complaints
Summary
Mayor Bob Hedin said Weymouth has hired a consultant and will distribute a survey to gauge resident interest in a municipal fiber/internet option after listeners reported poor Comcast customer service and rising bills.
Mayor Bob Hedin said Weymouth is exploring a municipal fiber and internet option and will distribute a resident survey as part of a consultant-led study after listeners raised complaints about Comcast service and rising monthly bills.
"We are taking steps to look into providing our own Municipal fiber and internet," Hedin said on the pre-recorded "Ask the Mayor" program, adding, "There is a survey going out any day now" to measure community buy-in. The mayor said the town must reach a certain customer base to make a municipal service viable and that the study is being conducted by a consultant hired by the town.
The issue surfaced after an emailed question from Mary Blake described repeated customer-service failures and higher costs. Hedin acknowledged widespread frustration with large providers but noted that, for now, Comcast remains the incumbent because other companies have not invested to bring competitive infrastructure to town.
Hedin described his own prolonged outage — he said his household went without internet for about two months before a technician traced the problem to equipment outside the house — and said he had paid bills for service he did not receive. "I paid my bill for two months with no service," he said, noting he did not pursue a rebate at the time.
The mayor emphasized that any municipal option would require further analysis: the consultant will assess technical feasibility, costs and the level of resident subscription needed to justify the investment. Hedin did not provide a timeline, the exact buy-in threshold or an estimated cost; he said the survey and the consultant's work are the next steps.
If the survey shows sufficient resident interest, the town would return to the public with more detailed cost and project proposals, Hedin said. For now, residents with service complaints are advised to report them through existing customer-service channels and to use the town's forthcoming survey to signal demand for alternatives.
