Getting reliable, high-speed internet service on the Cape can be a challenge. But according to a new report from the Cape Cod Commission, soon that could change.
Cape Cod Commission deputy director Steven Tupper presented the report’s findings to the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners in a meeting Wednesday, August 28.
“One of the biggest issues that came out [of the report] is the lack of competition and affordability. By and large, we’re served by one provider. It’s a marketplace that ends up with high costs—highest costs across the Commonwealth,” he said. “This is an annoyance to some. It's a hardship to others.”
The report found that nearly 40 percent of Barnstable County residents who responded to a survey experience weekly internet slowdowns or dropouts. Also, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents who said they were not “very satisfied” with their internet said the service was too expensive.
The lack of competition is tied to affordability issues, Tupper said. Comcast provides high-speed internet to 99.6 percent of residencies and businesses on Cape Cod.
High-speed internet is also known as broadband. Broadband can be delivered in a few different ways, including cable and fiber. Comcast uses cable, but fiber typically provides faster and more reliable internet connections.
The Commission’s report says less than 2 percent of Barnstable County has access to fiber, providing little incentive for Comcast to improve its services or lower its rates. Compare that to Plymouth County, where 62 percent of addresses have access to fiber.
Tupper and his colleague from CTC Technology and Energy showed the County Commissioners a map of Cape Cod, where orange shading represented areas that have access to faster internet speeds because Comcast decided to invest in network upgrades. Much of the orange shading was concentrated in Falmouth and Mashpee.
Talbot explained why these areas in particular had more access to upgraded services.
“We see this everywhere,” he said. “As soon as a town gets very serious about doing things to bring in a fiber competitor, the cable incumbent—in this case, Comcast—will step up its game.”
The town of Falmouth has been trying to bring fiber competition to Falmouth, the report explains, while the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe recently received a grant from the federal government to build a fiber network.
But other parts of the Cape may see upgrades soon, too, Tupper said.
“All indications are that there's fiber competition from Verizon coming to the Cape. I would encourage towns to reach out and get more specific information from Verizon in terms of, what are their intentions,” he said.
“This is something everybody should be paying attention to because it will significantly change the landscape in terms of broadband service.”
Tupper also said there is grant funding available for municipalities to improve digital equity. The Cape Cod Commission is currently working with Bourne, Sandwich, Orleans, Barnstable, and Falmouth on creating digital equity plans to help secure that grant funding.
