BUCKLAND — Surprised by news that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute has reached an internet expansion deal with a cable company for three Berkshire towns, the selectmen want to know if the $5 million allocated for nine “cable towns” in the state’s technology bill is still available, and why Comcast negotiations are taking so long.
MBI announced this week it awarded a $1.6 million grant to Charter Communications to “upgrade and extend broadband access” in Hinsdale, Lanesborough and West Stockbridge. The estimated $3.9 million upgrade and expansion is to take 18 months, reaching about 3,400 homes and commercial properties. The grant for this project, however, doesn’t come from the money for cable expansion in Franklin County but from the money that is available to unserved towns without any broadband access.
However, MBI, the agency responsible for bringing last-mile broadband to western Massachusetts is in its fifth month of negotiations with Comcast for broadband cable expansion to towns that include Buckland, Conway, Gill, Montague, Northfield and Shelburne in Franklin County.
Buckland Selectmen voted Tuesday to send a letter to officials asking if the $5 million earmarked for cable expansion is still “intact,” or if any of it has been used for other projects or to pay for the services of MBI staff.
They also raised concerns that MBI’s board of directors authorized spending $4 million in Comcast negotiations at its June 30 meeting — not the $5 million put aside to expand cable broadband. Selectmen want to know what happened to the other $1 million that is to be used for the broadband cable expansion.
“There’s been a lag in Boston on what’s really been done here,” remarked Board of Selectmen Chairman Rob Riggan. He proposed filing a Freedom of Information Act request to see any expenditures out of the $5 million internet technology bill.
“Is there any truth to the $1 million deduction?” asked Selectman Kevin Fox. “Is the money still available to do what they promised to do for Buckland?”
MBI meeting minutes from June 30 indicate that its board authorized interim Director Peter Larkin to negotiate a grant agreement with Comcast for up to $4 million, to extend broadband services in Buckland, Chester, Conway, Hardwick, Huntington, Montague, Northfield, Pelham and Shelburne.
Since then, The Recorder has learned from MBI spokeswoman Maeghan Welford that the $1.6 million in state grant funding for Hindsdale, Lanesborough and West Stockbridge “will not affect the budget of the Broadband Extensions Program, as those three towns are considered ‘unserved’ with no residential broadband coverage.”
“With regard to the budget for the Broadband Extensions Program, we are still engaged in negotiations with Comcast to extend broadband service in nine communities,” Welford said. “While we are optimistic that we will be able to achieve the program goal with authorized funds, it is too premature to confirm any specific costs regarding a final, agreed-upon grant award.” Welford said the costs of program development and grant management, along with actual construction costs, will be factors. “We believe that an authorization of up to $5 million in state funds will be sufficient to help us achieve our coverage goals,” she said.
Besides concerns about money, town officials are also puzzled and frustrated by how long the negotiation process is taking between MBI and Comcast, especially as this year’s construction season winds down.
“At this point, we have no details on the Comcast contract,” Broadband Committee Chairman Glenn Cardinal told selectmen. “From the day they (sign) the Comcast contract, the results will take two years. It’s very disappointing,” he said. “You would think, for as big an organization as they are, you would think they would be in contact.”
Buckland Town Administrator Andrea Llamas pointed out that the terms of negotiations with Comcast have been ongoing for several months, and questioned whether Charter Communications went through the RFP (“request for proposal”) process that Comcast did.
“All summer, we’ve been told that they’re ‘close to a deal’ (with Comcast),” Llamas said. “We don’t know what the terms are they’re negotiating. We don’t have any say in what they’re going to spend. How is it that Charter can be so much easier to deal with than Comcast?” she asked. “Federal treaties have been negotiated in less time than this deal (with Comcast).”
State Rep. Stephen Kulik was away at a conference but Paul Dunphy, his district aide, said the Charter Communications agreement does not affect ongoing Comcast negotiations.
“MBI found the negotiations with Charter to be smoother and the resolutions went quicker than with Comcast,” Dunphy said. “I don’t believe the agreement with Charter, in any way, will put the Comcast negotiations in jeopardy.”
“Believe me, the state would love it if negotiations with Comcast were quickly resolved,” Dunphy said.