ROYALSTON – Meeting remotely, members of the Royalston Broadband Committee Monday night quickly swept aside a proposal from Charter Communications to provide cable TV and broadband internet service to most of the town’s approximately 450 households.
Charter’s plan was outlined by committee Chair Andy West, just about three weeks after the Selectboard, acting on recommendations from the Broadband Committee, voted to enter into negotiations with BLiNQ Networks of Toronto, Ontario, Canada to construct a wireless broadband network for the town.
West said he was contacted by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), who provided him with details of Charter’s proposal.
“Charter had heard of our project,” West said, “and was brought in by the state for a different town to try to use some state grant monies to get internet service in that town. I think it was New Braintree.”
He said he spoke with individuals at DHCD about the plan, but has had no direct talks with anyone at Charter.
“So, Charter offers to cover the town — 96 percent coverage —with cable service,” West explained. “Their proposed cost for the project is $1.912 million. They would use the $1.125 million state grant, that we are currently planning to use. That leaves $787,000 — a little over three-quarters of a million dollars — that Royalston would have to fund of this project.”
“We don’t have that,” Selectboard member Roland Hamel quickly interjected. Just as quickly, West voice agreement.
West went on to explain that Charter also put forward an alternate proposal that would be less costly to the town, “but it only covers 90 percent of the town.”
“I consider that a non-viable option,” he said, “because that’s not our objective — to leave 10 percent of the people at the end of the line with no service. So, I don’t think that’s the right option.”
West pointed out that accepting Charter’s plan would require the town to pass a Proposition 2½ override in order to fund the town’s $787,000 share of the project.
“That means residents would pay twice for their service,” he went on, “once through their taxes, and once for their subscriptions. Residents pay the standard regional rate; there is no discount for a public subsidy. And, in fact, our estimates show that cabling the town would cost in the neighborhood of $3 million. So, this $1.9 million is short of would actually be needed.
“In addition,” said committee member Jim Barclay, “it does not even provide an opportunity to expand this out to public safety, or to cover anything wirelessly outside of a home. It falls short of what we were trying to do in every dimension. It does not achieve what we were formed to achieve 10 years ago.”
Upon West’s recommendation, the committee voted unanimously to urge the Selectboard to reject Charter’s proposal. Instead, the town will move ahead with negotiations with BLiNQ.
At a recent meeting, West told the Selectboard that talks with BLiNQ are aimed at keeping the cost of the wireless network to around $1.4 million, with $1.125 million coming from the state, and the town providing the remainder.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.