Broadband Advisory Committee Update

There is a lot of new-build fiber construction activity taking place in Goshen and the surrounding area. This serves as one of the most significant capital investments in the region, and is being done by two companies.  This spring, communications construction crews have been actively stringing new fiber optic cable across telephone poles, and laying new orange conduit pipe throughout much of Woodridge Lake.  Though a solid 6-9 months late, due to various weather and DOT issues, Altice USA (Optimum) has deployed multiple authorized sub-contractors to complete its build with the intent of marketing Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband internet and TV service sometime later this year.  In addition, the new Frontier (fiber version) is even more aggressively building an entirely new fiber optic network across the more densely populated sections of its existing customer network (formerly SNET/ATT DSL phone service).   By early next year, Goshen residents who live along state roads or in more densely populated areas will have the choice of two fiber optic broadband solutions. While in other towns, ARPA funds have been used to incentivize construction, in Goshen and its surrounding areas, this race to secure the future fiber customer is being done with no government support.

New Camp Coch Wi-Fi coming soon! After much work, a new Optimum connection was secured to the Camp building on Beach Street. Shortly thereafter, the Board of Selectmen supported a recommendation put forward by the Broadband Committee to purchase new wireless equipment to provide a strong Wi-Fi signal across the camp building, nursing station and the new pavilion. The new system will broadcast a strong signal across the property which has notoriously had a poor signal. This will allow future meeting participants at the camp to gain more functionality and connectivity as well as offering camp parents, counselors, staff and children improved internet access.  It will also help improve the functionality of the existing camera systems which have struggled to broadcast images, due to lack of adequate bandwidth. Committee members have donated their time to handle the installation in order to keep costs down.

What’s so good about fiber anyway?  Today, Optimum customers receive their signal over the legacy hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network which has been upgraded over the years.  However, it has  substantial bottlenecks in bandwidth resulting in slower service during peak periods of data/video consumption as it was designed for downloading information, not uploading.

FTTH is an entirely new physical network with massive bandwidth scale improvements, symmetrical speeds (i.e. same upload speed as download) and no sharing of capacity. Suffice it to say, it is on a different playing field. Normally such a service would come at a premium, but competition of inroads from 5G wireless offerings combined with aggressive new entrants (Frontier, GoNetSpeed, and others) are benefitting the customer as these services are being offered basically at the same price. Don’t be fooled by aggressive marketing, pricing is at or near the same as current services. Call customer retention at 877-936-4778 in order to make sure you are receiving the best rates for service. Pricing has started to go up as 12 months of Showtime is no longer offered, and gift cards have been trimmed.   Prices are: 300 Mbps at $40/month, 500 Mbps now at $60/month and 1Gbps now at $70/month; still with free installation. Rising interest rates and inflation are forcing their hand on pricing. Both Altice and Frontier have removed their 2 & 3 year price caps on offers.

How will I know when service is available at my address?   Keep an eye on your mailbox as you should start to receive marketing materials introducing Optimum Fiber soon. Alternatively, you can check to see if the service is available at https://order.optimum.com/Buyflow/Storefront. Various addresses in Torrington and Litchfield are already live. You will be required to have a new installation where they will bring a new fiber connection to your home either aerially or buried, depending on your current connection.  At that time, your current modem will be replaced with an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) or Fiber Gateway, and you  will be provided with a new wireless router utilizing Smart Wi-Fi 6 which is probably more powerful than your current equipment.  You are free to use your own router if you prefer. Traditional video set-top boxes will be returned (no more rentals) and replaced with their Altice One Mini TV Box.  Video will now be distributed via Wi-Fi in the home. Alternatively, you can use some Apple TV units. No word yet on Roku, Chromecast or other Smart TV devices. TV packages will be similar and can be reviewed on the website.

For those who are dissatisfied with Optimum and Frontier, what other options exist?  Soon, many residents will have an option for the same superior fiber service – a true head-to-head, lowest price wins competition. This is a first without the previous associated time mandated contracts. Frontier had a legacy of terrible service due to an old copper network. After bankruptcy, great internal strides have taken place with a new management team and one of the most aggressive construction programs in the industry. They are aggressively piercing AlticeUSA’s 8 town territory.

Competition is a win for the Customer.   The cable companies are also looking over their shoulder as T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T have rolled out mobile hotspot (Wi-Fi) offers; often with no data caps. This allows for a less expensive solution for folks who do not need symmetrical speeds fiber.

We expect Frontier Fiber to pass 500-600 homes in 2023 and another 600-700 homes in 2024.- Much like other towns in Northwest CT, Frontier is taking an economic approach to its build, concentrating on more dense areas of town, identifying parts of Woodridge Lake, Tyler Lake and homes along key state roads for its deployment. Residents in nearby towns have received mailings detailing comparably priced fiber offerings to what others are offering

Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) - Finally, all Goshen residents should be aware of the  federal assistance program for lower-income households to help reduce the cost of broadband and mobile services( in some cases) to zero.  Some of the paperwork may seem cumbersome but more information regarding the program is on the website and materials are available at town hall.

The TV business is changing FAST.  Customers should NOT be paying high cable bills today. Should anyone have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the BAC committee members or attend one of the monthly committee meetings.