Expect the highly anticipated broadband installation on Block Island to swing into high gear in the next couple of weeks. Two major hurdles have been crossed recently. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council has issued its island-wide permit for underground trenching on properties within its jurisdiction, and Verizon has made enough significant progress in utility pole “make-ready” work and licensing that Sertex can begin stringing its aerial fiber-optic cable. The company will also send a second truck and crew to perform underground installations.
Finance Director Amy Land said that although Verizon still needs to issue seven licenses, the 18 recently released “complete the backbone of the system.” She added that even though progress with Verizon had been slow, the island’s experience with Verizon was much better than what communities on the mainland undergoing their own broadband installations were experiencing. She also said the town had not been “sitting waiting patiently,” but had applied “direct and aggressive interaction.”
The New Shoreham Broadband Committee received the good news at its meeting on Feb. 18, and determined it was time to set a deadline for those who have not yet signed up for installation of the fiber to their homes
