Ridgefield seeks federal funds for broadband, high-speed internet - The Ridgefield Press

"This is simply a fibre that sends airy signals truthful the magnitude of accusation you tin transmit is astir limitless and the velocity is beyond thing we ever experienced," said Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, erstwhile describing broadband.

The town's extremity pertains to the support of the government's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which volition deliver $65 billion to assistance guarantee that each American has entree to reliable high-speed net done a historical concern successful broadband infrastructure deployment.

In 2023, the authorities volition spot which towns are "shovel acceptable for broadband" and volition allocate $40 cardinal to those projects. Municipalities that are mapped with “shovel ready” plans successful spot volition beryllium champion positioned for that funding.

To assistance get the municipality "shovel ready," Marconi signed a tri-party declaration betwixt the municipality of Ridgefield, the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, and EntryPoint Networks, a bundle improvement institution to behaviour a Broadband Feasibility Analysis.

"The archetypal signifier is simply a broadband feasibility survey to effort to determine a fig of things similar wherever are the fibre lines close now? What benignant of operation are you going to person for fiber? Is it going to beryllium a backstage model, a public-private partnership, oregon a nationalist only? Is it going to beryllium unfastened access?" said Glori Norwitt, president of the town's Economic & Community Development Commission.

She added having robust broadband networks is "critical infrastructure for Ridgefield" and said she has been pushing for the municipality to statesman a feasibility survey since March.

She said, according to EntryPoint, it volition instrumentality astir 4 months to implicit the study.

The Western Connecticut Council of Governments, oregon WestCOG, volition money the $35,000 survey done its assistance program.

The adjacent signifier successful getting broadband for the full municipality volition beryllium an engineering survey that would impact the specifics of the locations successful municipality for the implementation of the fiber. The survey volition beryllium capable to archer precisely however galore homes person broadband. Norwitt said leftover American Rescue Plan Act funds mightiness beryllium disposable to wage for that study.

Need for broadband

The municipality has recognized a request for high-speed net work for respective years. 

Ridgefield’s 2020 Plan of Conservation & Development said an nonsubjective of the municipality is to beforehand precocious speed/high capableness broadband work for each parts of the town.

Additionally, successful 2021, the archetypal selectman’s bureau conducted Ridgefield’s “Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Survey," to which the municipality received a "D" rating.

In all, astir 10 percent of Ridgefield’s households and businesses responded, ranking their residential and concern net service. 

Residents ranked their existent net work arsenic a “D+” and businesses ranked their existent net work arsenic a “D."

For residential net service:

• 85 percent of the municipality uses Comcast arsenic their net work provider, 15 percent usage Frontier (the State Broadband Office considers anyone with Frontier work to person sub-broadband speeds owed to outdated infrastructure lacking basal broadband speeds of 25 megabits per second/3 megabits per second)
• 72 percent regularly acquisition little work interruptions
• 61 percent acquisition slowdowns erstwhile aggregate radical are utilizing the net successful the concern oregon household 
• 10 percent acquisition nary problems astatine all

For concern net service:

• 10 percent kick of slowdowns erstwhile aggregate radical usage the internet
• 8 percent study buggering oregon lag portion streaming video
• 12 percent study little work interruptions 
• Businesses on the Route 7 corridor study their concern net work goes down astatine slightest erstwhile a week.

Recently, the municipality was readying to allocate $45,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds toward a broadband study. However, erstwhile WestCOG offered to money the study, the municipality decided to usage those funds.

"Our extremity is to supply unfastened access. What that means is that if we tin get this infrastructure built with wealth from the national authorities ... unfastened entree would let you to take who you privation to bash concern with and not person Frontier archer you, you person to judge their products oregon Comcast, you person to judge their products. This opens up the playing tract and makes it a overmuch much competitory marketplace for each of the residents successful our town," Marconi said. "This is thing that we truly privation to supply for our assemblage and we privation to beryllium astatine the caput of the enactment erstwhile the wealth comes retired from the national government."