MONTAGUE — The agency responsible for distributing state money to expand broadband Internet service in rural towns is recommending that Montague work with Comcast, rather than the company town officials prefer. On Tuesday it will defend that choice during a public hearing.

Representatives from The Massachusetts Broadband Institute will outline their findings from an investigation into proposals to reach underserved homes in both Montague and Hardwick at 6 p.m. in the University of Massachusetts Lincoln Campus Center in Room 917.

MBI has found that the company Matrix, which proposes to build out and maintain a new optic fiber network to reach most of the remaining 5 percent of unserved homes in Montague, might not have the financial resources to sustain a network.

Montague Broadband Committee members disagree with the findings of the investigation and feel that MBI is trying to force a Comcast solution on them, when Matrix would cover more of the unserved homes at a faster speed, said Robert Steinberg, Broadband Committee member.

Members of the Broadband Committee in Montague said that MBI’s numbers don’t add up and that MBI is not taking into account Matrix’s plan to also serve the Town of Petersham. “The point is: There are three towns working towards Matrix; the report ignores one of the towns,” said Steinberg.

The MBI report states that Matrix would need to provide service to at least 1,000 residential customers to sustain the new network. There are only 360 unserved homes that could be customers in Hardwick and Montague.

“We found several areas of serious concern, particularly with regards to the number of dependencies required to come together for the Matrix projects to be successful and sustaining,” said a report from consulting firm Tilson, hired by MBI.

The firm found that when Matrix was hired by Leverett to design and build its network in 2013 through 2015, Matrix asked for additional fees for work that was already included in the original contract. The town indicated that it would not work with Matrix again, since the work incurred unexpected expenses and delayed completion of the network.

“There were controversies about what the contract said immediately after it was signed,” Selectboard member Peter d’Errico said. “A disagreement arose when the town stopped making payments for completed work and refused to pay for additional work outside the initial scope of the contract.”

Matrix attempted to substitute cheaper work for work specified in the contract, they mismanaged the work and did not pay subcontractors on time, according to the MBI report.

Ronald Cassel, CEO of the Matrix parent company, Millennium Communications Group, rebuffed the claims, stating that MBI made no effort to tell the whole story. “First, the Leverett project was ultimately a success, and town officials have publically praised the completed network and the quality of the work,” Cassel said in letter to MBI.

MBI hired two consultants to conduct background checks on Matrix and Comcast. Both consultants recommended Comcast as the most viable solution for Montague and Hardwick as a low-cost and low-risk solution.

“Comcast’s public securities filings show that is has substantial revenues and cash reserves and more than enough financial resources to fund the network extensions,” said the report issued by MBI. “Comcast’s proposed extension of broadband service in Montague and Hardwick is likely to be sustainable with the one-time award of state funds.”

Comcast is already serving most of Montague and would build out its established network, while Matrix would need to build a new fiber optic network.

Matrix would require a onetime hook-up fee of $500, while Comcast requires no fee. Comcast will also offer lower speeds at lower costs to residents who currently do not need, or cannot afford the higher broadband speeds. Low-income families in the targeted areas will have the opportunity to participate in Comcast’s existing Internet Essentials program, which includes residential Internet access for $10 per month.

You can reach Lisa Spear at:
lspear@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280