High Speed Internet in Cornish

Feb 5, 2009
A MESSAGE FROM STEVE BOBIN
re:  INTERNET SPEED
Just a quick note about high speed internet.
We live off Root Hill Rd, (CORNISH.) We have had "DSL" for sometime now, however the speed was 100 KBPS much lower than it should be according to my pocketbook. I know, I know, faster than dial up so why complain.
   This past weekend I happened to notice that
we were up to 500 KBPS "real" DSL speed.
Go FairPoint!
   In the current economic stimulus package before congress there is money to develop high speed internet services (Broad Band) in rural areas. This part of the bill has been questioned because some feel it will do little or nothing to stimulate the economy. If you have a different opinion I suggest you contact your representatives asap.
Steve Bobin
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2008 Comments
February 26, 2008
A MESSAGE BELOW FROM JOHN DRYFHOUT re:  COMCAST
This note is to Cornish's elected representatives and senator -- and is worthy of more extensive dispersal - perhaps to your good friends at the NH Utilities Commission or whatever other organizations and bureaus that treat with this sort of thing.

Recently I responded to advertisements by Comcast that I could receive bundled package of TV cable, and Internet High Speed through their firm.  I responded to the on-line site and received a cheery message that indeed my address in zip code 03745 would qualify.  I should call the next day to COMCAST and arrange my installation and order my new modem to be there when the installation would take place.

When I called COMCAST offices the next day - the young woman who talked with me said that they would have to send out one of their reps to survey the area where I lived to give me an estimate etc.  I said but our internet site said I would be able to have the installation - oh she said the internet contractor and our base operation are different - etc. etc. etc.

On Saturday Feb 23 I received a letter from the home of Henry Cannon, Project Coordinator of Comcast, of Springfield, VT. (802 885-8522)

In their "Modest Proposal" they could bring Comcast to my address at a cost of $45,488.53 (you bet!) and they would gladly absorb the first $1,400 of that cost as a "residential subscriber."

Where is that 10 subscriber minimum to Comcast that guarantees coverage and installation in their Cornish contract to do business in the town -- that Selectman Stu Hodgeman tells us is the rule?  How is it that folks along East Rd in Cornish 03746 have this service available without the Modest Proposal attached?

Meanwhile in the Valley News on Friday February 22, 2008 there was this cheery note: 

NEWS: Private Firm Tolerant Of Internet Initiative
Officials at the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network said yesterday that two more Upper Valley towns could join the 15 already identified as potential partners in the proposed project, which aims to bring high-speed Internet access to a wide swathe of eastern Vermont.

I guess my reason for sending you this little memo is -- WHY?  WHY? isn't New Hampshire available to this cozy little group of now 17 Upper Valley communities.  Why? is it that East Central Community Fiber Network - can't extend its wholesome and (by far much less expensive) service pack to our side of the river?  They have COMCAST in their midst - and Verizon - as well as several smaller entities that can provide the same services -- yet they are able to offer these 17 towns on the Vermont side - the platinum of High Speed Internet and Phone etc. - FIBER OPTICS - and do so without charging individual homeowners $45,488.53 (with $1400 charge absorbed in that price)!

What is it about the land of "Live Free or Die" that prevents good proposals from consideration and allows Comcast's Modest Proposal to flourish?

John Dryfhout
13 Whitten Road
Cornish, NH 03745
tele: 603-675-9380


  

February 29, 2008
COMCAST MESSAGE REPLIES:

-from Stu Hodgeman
The rule is : 15 houses per mile before Comcast will consider running a line.
Stu Hodgeman
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-from Remko Scharroo
Hi All,
Here's a reaction to John Dryfhout's qualms about obtaining high speed internet connection to his house. I'm afraid John's not the only one in this boat. I have been shopping around for ground-based high speed connections with several provides 
out of Windsor or Claremont and each came to similar exorbitant pricings. It is a fact: the Cornish customer base seems to those providers too large a risk to take. Hence, they will charge the first costumer the installation cost of several tens of thousands of dollars and then happily string on from there to neighbors of the first installation. They are then basically using YOUR wires to run THEIR business. All without any risk to them (except for the $1400 John was quoting). I'm pretty sure that is completely illegal, but as petty little customer you have little say.

Of course, as John points out: wouldn't it be great if townships would pay for such installation so that everybody gets wired up? But alas, in this system of ours, we have shelved off almost all public services to commerce. And lo and behold: commerce is not interested in such little franchise as Cornish is. There is simply too little money in it. You get what you pay for. And that's when communities have to act and get back a little bit of 
public service under their own control. I've read about several towns across the state that have taken it into their own hands to provide affordable high speed internet connections. Some are wired, some have set up wireless towers to reach local customers.

In Cornish we might have an opportunity to get DSL to everybody. DSL stands to Digital Subscriber Line. This is basically high-speed internet running over your phone line. Installation is relatively inexpensive (as it uses existing wires), but requires you to be within some 2 miles from the nearest "Central Office" (CO). This is basically a box that connects the copper phone lines to optical fiber lines. One CO is in Windsor, serving most of Route 12A, and another has recently been installed on Town House Road near the bottom of Dingleton Hill 
Road to serve the cell tower that is still not operative. The next 
nearest CO is in Meriden.

Last summer Verizon claimed that CO would be running by the end of the summer. That's half a year ago, and Verizon has since, as we know, abandoned this region altogether and is selling its network to an upstart company called Fair Point Communications. The legal wrangling has just finished today. The states of Vermont and Maine and the FCC already approved the take over, but New Hampshire wanted (rightly) 
more assurances. This state was particularly worried that Fair Point isn't financially viable enough to buy the network and then run it.

Fair Point says it is particularly committed to expanding its high-
speed network. Hence, as soon as they start operating in Cornish, I'll be one of the first to keep on pinging on Fair Point to get this DSL connection established. Of course, the more customers commit to DSL service (we're talking in the neighborhood of $30 a month), the better chances we have of getting this service to our community.

This is to say that I gladly volunteer to spearhead a campaign to get DSL at least to the Town House Road corridor, if not throughout Cornish. I'm sure the aptly called ConnectCornish@aol.com e-mail group can be used to gather up some steam behind this effort.

Regards,
Remko
Patrick Pinkson-Burke
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March 2, 2008
MESSAGE FROM Terrie Scott:
In Consider This, Mr. Dryfhout notes that the Cornish Elementary School has been designated as In Need of Improvement.  This is not true. 

This link to the DOE website, which opens as an Excel file, clearly states that Cornish made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) in 2007 - the latest designation - and has every year to date.

http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/
curriculum/Assessment/AYP/2007/district_summary_final.xls

(Cornish is Line 45 on the chart)

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MORE 2008 COMCAST/INTERNET REPLIES:

MESSAGE FROM Nancy Wightman:
I hope it is OK to reply here... I was listening to VPR yesterday and they were talking about this. Someone from Valley.net called in and said they were working in VT to put in fiber-optics and that it was a non-profit effort. What do you technocrats make of that? That's as helpful as I can be. It sounds like a state program or maybe a county program.

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MESSAGE FROM Rachel Donegan:
Check out http://www.valley.net/ and click on EC Fibernet. There is a movement underway (currently only in central VT) to get fiber optics into rural communities. I don't know much about it, but it looks like the way to go. It sounds to me more grass-roots and less giant corporation, so control would be more local and presumably customer service would be better, too. I'm sure a large scale push could get it into NH, too.

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MESSAGE FROM Robert Jaarsma:
To add to Remco Scharro’s comments, do we know the exact status of the CO on Townhouse Road? The line workers told me last August, it was merely a matter of hook-up and should be done by September.

To me this appears the top priority for Fairpoint to act on and give us trust in Fairpoint that they can deliver what they promised.

I was at an informational meeting Fairpoint had last year in White River Junction and met some of their “top dogs”, Walter E. Leach jr. Exec. Director Corporate Development (wleach@fairpoint.com) , Audrey Prior Director State Regulatory&Legislative Affairs ( aprior@fairpoint.com), Bruce Ballantine, Engineering  New England (BBallantine@fairpoint.com) , and others. If need be, we can start an email barrage, if nothing happens!

Almost all of us on Dingleton Hill Rd are in need and within two miles of this CO.  I am sure more of us can start acting and asking Fairpoint.

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MESSAGE FROM Patrick Pinkson-Burke:
For some reason, I’ve been able to get Verizon DSL for the past 2-3 years.  I’m on Root Hill Rd about 1/3 mile from Townhouse Road.  My neighbors have tried to get it, but were told they are too far (even though they are closer than me).   Cable has been less than 1/5 mile from my house for the last 30 years, and there are over fifteen homes within 1⁄2 mile of the village, but Comcast told us they would never run cable up our road.  So much for their promises.

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MESSAGE FROM Sara Brockunier:
First let me say this - I worked for the City of Tampa Office of Cable Communication for 15 years - we were the office who worked on the franchise for several cable companies who wanted to have their service within the city limits of Tampa, Florida.  I am sure that all governing entities have franchises with providers of cable/internet service in their particular areas.

What I am hearing you say is that Comcast (or probably any other cable provider) wishes to charge an outrageous price to install cable in areas that are not saturated with people...and they are probably well within their rights - depending on the following:

1) your city, town, government entity works out a franchise agreement with the local cable provider
2) this franchise agreement states what the cable company will provide, to who, and their rates, channels, premium charges, internet costs, etc.
3) your government entity then tells your cable company whether or not this franchise agreement is okay or they bicker around and make changes until they are both in agreement.
4) they then sign off on the franchise agreement and the cable company and governing entity is bound by the cable franchise.

My advice to you who are questioning the costs of having these installations is that you read the cable franchise agreement and see what you can expect.

Basically, The governing entity is the one responsible for what the cable company provides as they are the people who either accept or reject a franchise.

If a new provider is coming into your area - I would really want to look at what the "Franchise" says they are to provide and contact the governing agency to express your thoughts on what you want or expect from a cable/internet provider.

Also, you might want to see if there is another company that "overbuilds" in your area - in other words - a company that is "allowed" into your area even though they are not the primary provider.