Promise Of High-Speed Fiber-Optic Network For Cape Cod Resurfaces

Verizon is looking to install a high-speed, fiber-optic network on Cape Cod, focusing first on unspecified, underserved areas. Ellen Cummings, Verizon’s regional director of state and governmental affairs, made the announcement at a meeting hosted by the Cape Cod Technology Council. Cummings was asking for the council’s support in applying for a portion of millions in federal funds to help pay for the project. More specifically, about $145 million in grant money would be awarded in $20 million installments and would be administered by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) and funded by the US Department of Treasury. The formal name of the project is the Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Grant Program. The project “aims to expand connectivity to unserved and underserved locations throughout the state to help bridge the digital divide, with a particular focus on communities with substantial low-income households and disadvantaged populations,” according to MBI’s website.