John Dougherty of Mission Broadband was on-hand at the Town Council meeting on December 6 to give an update on Block Island’s broadband project. Verizon is still holding up the permitting and licensing process, with only 50 percent of the pole licenses approved, according to Dougherty. Verizon must grant the licenses in order for fiber to be attached to the telephone poles. Dougherty said he hoped Verizon would grant the remaining licenses by the end of the month. Once the licenses are granted, Dougherty says Sertex can “run the lines.” By contrast, BIPCo has granted all of its required licenses for the pole work.
Dougherty reported that the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management had granted the blanket permit for the island, and the Coastal Resource Management Council had the town’s application for its blanket permit in process. He hoped the CRMC permit would come through by the end of the month as well. Finance Director Amy Land explained to the Broadband Committee at its December meeting that this was the first time DEM and CRMC had granted “blanket” permits, which will cover the entire island. Typically, a permit is granted for each individual property rather than for
